The national oceanic and atmospheric administration (NOAA) is providing ongoing funding through the national coastal zone management program to the territory of the US virgin islands to help…

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) awarded $1.171M to the Executive Office of the Government of the Virgin Islands, Division of Coastal Zone Management, under the Coastal Zone Management Administration Awards program (CFDA 11.419) for the period October 1, 2025, through March 31, 2027. This cooperative agreement provides ongoing federal-state partnership funding to administer the U.S. Virgin Islands' federally approved Coastal Zone Management program. The award supports the territory's capacity to protect, restore, and responsibly develop coastal communities while balancing economic development with natural resource protection.

The funding enables delivery of comprehensive coastal management services including coastal permitting and legal enforcement, water quality and watershed management initiatives, habitat protection and restoration planning, coastal resilience strategic initiatives, geospatial capacity development, and public outreach and engagement programs. Additionally, the award funds new green infrastructure drainage improvements in St. Croix's watershed adjacent to a salt pond slated for restoration, as well as marine debris management, spatial database upgrades, and online program presence enhancements. These activities support job creation and address critical coastal management priorities including water quality, coastal community development, public access, and coastal resilience across the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The national oceanic and atmospheric administration (NOAA) is providing ongoing funding through the national coastal zone management program to the territory of the US virgin islands to help administer the territorys federally approved coastal management program. The national coastal zone management program, under the coastal zone management act, is an important voluntary federal-state partnership that protects, restores, and responsibly develops our nations coastal communities and resources by balancing economic development, coastal uses, and natural resource protection. NOAA's investment totals $1,171,000 for this fiscal year. These funds will support jobs and provide continued assistance to the US virgin islands coastal management program to address many important coastal issues in the state including habitat protection, coastal resilience, water quality, coastal community development, and public access. For example, one project will provide geospatial capacity for multiple territorial needs and initiatives. The funding also supports ongoing coastal permitting, planning, public outreach, marine debris management and continued upgrades to spatial databases and online presence for the program. The award also is supporting new initiatives such as designs for green infrastructure drainage improvements of a key watershed in ST. Croix, directly adjacent to a degraded salt pond that is planned for restoration. The award is also funding a number of local projects or initiatives including: coastal zone permitting team to ensure development in coastal areas is done responsibly and sustainably; coastal zone legal team to handle the many legal challenges that the coastal program faces in performing their duties; watershed and water quality initiatives that support watershed planning and coordination; coastal zone outreach programs that continue to engage the local community in natural resource management and conservation; coastal resilience initiatives for strategic and resilient recovery to impacts from climate change; and marine debris initiative for community engagement and marine debris prevention.