The national oceanic and atmospheric administration (NOAA) is providing ongoing funding through the national coastal zone management program to the state of ohio to help administer the ohio…

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Office of Coastal Management a $8.23 million cooperative agreement on October 1, 2025 under the Coastal Zone Management Administration Awards program (CFDA 11.419) to administer Ohio's federally approved Coastal Management Program through September 30, 2027.

The recipient will deliver policy coordination and analysis, coastal hazard and erosion management, economic development support, recreation access enhancement, climate change adaptation, habitat protection and restoration, water quality initiatives, coastal shoreline monitoring, permitting assistance, and technical assistance to local communities across Ohio's Lake Erie coast and major tributaries. The program continues implementation of the Clean Marinas voluntary best management practices initiative to reduce nonpoint pollution in Lake Erie. New initiatives include the Lake Erie Public Access Guidebook, a comprehensive resource documenting publicly accessible recreational and scenic sites along Ohio's 312-mile Lake Erie coast and its major tributaries.

NOAA's investment leverages over $2 million in state funds and supports jobs. Performance occurs in Huron, Ohio.

The Ohio State University, through its Office of Sponsored Programs, receives pass-through funding to develop a comprehensive coastal geospatial database using ArcGIS, analyzing shoreline type, existing conditions, shore structures, shoreline vegetation, sand resources, nearshore substrates, habitat distribution, and coastal recession. The Ohio State University also implements the Clean Marinas Program in partnership with OSU Sea Grant, supporting participating marinas to reduce nonpoint pollution in Lake Erie. Cleveland Metropolitan Park District receives funding to relocate a kayak ramp for increased public access and pedestrian safety. Ottawa County receives funding to construct an overlook and boardwalk connecting to the main trail in Catawba Island Township.

The national oceanic and atmospheric administration (NOAA) is providing ongoing funding through the national coastal zone management program to the state of ohio to help administer the ohio 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. Noaas investment of over $2.1 million is leveraging over $2 million in state funds. These funds will support jobs and provide continued assistance to the ohio coastal management program to address many important coastal issues in the state including policy coordination and analysis, coastal hazards and erosion, economic development, recreation, climate change, habitat protection and restoration, water quality, coastal shoreline change, permitting, technical assistance to local communities, and enhancing public access. The coastal program will also continue implementation of the clean marinas program. The award is also supporting new initiatives such as lake erie public access guidebook to improve public access and awareness of coastal and river access sites. This guidebook will provide a comprehensive resource for exploring publicly accessible recreational and scenic sites that border ohios 312-mile lake erie coast and its major tributaries. The award is also funding a number of local projects or initiatives including: ohio clean marinas is a voluntary, incentive-based program that encourages marina owners/operators to implement voluntary best management practices designed to protect the coastal environment and keep marinas clean for continued enjoyment by boaters. The lake erie water trail paddling access improvement project will improve public access points for kayakers and boaters at a full service marina in cleveland metroparks scenic park. This project will provide safe and clean green public parklands for all visitors to and residents of the region and will improve access to the lake erie water trail and improve safety at the site, which will improve visitor satisfaction. Increasing public access to islander woods and trailhead boardwalk overlook, 7.6-acre parcel of property in catawba island township comprehensive coastal geodatabase that will link information on shoreline type, existing shoreline conditions, shore structures (type, condition, age, and effectiveness), and shoreline vegetation with research efforts related to sand resources, nearshore substrates, habitat distribution, and coastal recession. Coastal resource and resiliency - shore structure geographic information systems inventory. This is phase four of the digitizing of shore structure polygons which entails looking at aerial photographs to identify and draw polygon shapes around built structures along the 312-mile stretch of lake eries shore. The project will assist in managing coastal resiliency and planning efforts along the lake erie shore.