The national oceanic and atmospheric administration (NOAA) is providing $1,963,233 in federal funding to the coastal states stewardship foundation, serving as fiscal sponsor for the northeast regional…

The national oceanic and atmospheric administration (NOAA) is providing $1,963,233 in federal funding to the coastal states stewardship foundation, serving as fiscal sponsor for the northeast regional ocean council (NROC) regional ocean partnership through the bipartisan infrastructure law. The bipartisan infrastructure law provides funding for established regional ocean partnerships (ROPS) to coordinate the interstate and intertribal management of ocean and coastal resources and to implement their priority actions, including to enhance associated sharing and integration of federal and non-federal data. Specifically the northeast regional ocean council will use these funds to advance the priorities of their three committees: the coastal hazards resilience committee, the ocean and coastal ecosystem health committee, and the ocean planning committee, to achieve the following outcomes. The coastal hazards resilience committee will improve the ability for managers and the public to observe and monitor water levels and use related products and tools in decision-making and expand the implementation of living, natural and green infrastructure. The ocean and coastal ecosystem health committee will help protect and conserve ocean and coastal resources by improving our understanding of coastal vegetation as a resource for storing carbon and providing important habitat, expanding a regional network for monitoring ocean acidification, and improving seafloor mapping and understanding of rare or critical benthic marine habitats. The ocean planning committee supports and improves regional ocean management decisions by enhancing interjurisdictional coordination, advancing understanding of coastal and submerged archaeological and cultural resources, particularly those important to tribes; enhancing the ability of the northeast ocean data portal to support outreach and engagement, public comment, and agency processes; and coordinating research and monitoring through the regional wildlife science collaborative for offshore wind.