Rhode island infrastructure capacity-building project description: the national oceanic and atmospheric administration (NOAA) is providing $900,000 in federal funding to the state of rhode island…

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) awarded a $900,000 Cooperative Agreement under the Office for Coastal Management (CFDA 11.473) program to the State of Rhode Island's Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC). This funding will build the capacity of Rhode Island's coastal management program to plan for and implement habitat restoration and conservation projects proposed through funding opportunities connected to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Key activities include extending a project specialist position at the Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, establishing new coastal regional resilience coordinator roles, and updating the state's Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Plan. The award will also engage underserved communities and support the identification, prioritization, and development of coastal resilience project proposals in Rhode Island.

Rhode island infrastructure capacity-building project description: the national oceanic and atmospheric administration (NOAA) is providing $900,000 in federal funding to the state of rhode island through the bipartisan infrastructure law. This funding will build the capacity of the states federally-approved coastal management program within the rhode island coastal resources management council (CRMC) to plan for and implement habitat restoration and conservation projects proposed through funding opportunities connected to the bipartisan infrastructure law. Specifically, CRMC will use these funds to continue its partnership with rhode island department of environmental management's narragansett BAY national estuarine research reserve to extend the 3-year term project specialist position at the reserve an additional two years. The project specialist has been and will continue to support efforts to identify, prioritize and develop conservation and restoration projects for bipartisan infrastructure law funding. In addition, the award will fully support a new coastal regional resilience coordinator and will partially support two additional regional resilience coordinator positions for riverine and urban areas with the reserve. These regional coordinator positions working closely with the project specialist, municipalities, non-governmental organization, and the states chief resilience officer, will continue to identify, prioritize, and develop bipartisan infrastructure law coastal resilience project proposals in rhode island and support implementation, tracking and administration of successful projects that receive funding. In addition, the award will update the rhode island coastal and estuarine land conservation plan to incorporate new data and information, including new sea level rise data, to inform land protection and habitat restoration efforts in the state. A special emphasis will be placed on engaging with underserved communities.