Modified project summary/abstract section the grand BAY national estuarine research reserve (gndnerr) is located in the state of mississippi

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources a cooperative agreement totaling one million three hundred thirty thousand dollars on September 1, 2026, to support operations, research, monitoring, stewardship, training, and education activities at the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve under the Coastal Zone Management Estuarine Research Reserves program (CFDA 11.420).

The award funds habitat protection, water quality monitoring, and environmental change assessment consistent with the National Estuarine Research Reserve System's strategic priorities and the Grand Bay reserve's 2023–2027 management plan. Programmatic activities include habitat restoration, scientific studies contributing to coastal landscape improvement, data dissemination to local decision makers, and community training and education. Work encompasses large-scale wet pine savanna restoration and monitoring as part of a separate Natural Resource Damage Assessment land acquisition and habitat management project, and stormwater management and green infrastructure implementation in partnership with the City of Moss Point.

The period of performance runs from September 1, 2026, through February 28, 2028, with place of performance in Biloxi, Mississippi. The obligated amount is one million three hundred thirty thousand dollars, comprising nine hundred thirty-one thousand dollars in federal funds and three hundred ninety-nine thousand dollars in state matching funds from the Mississippi Tidelands Trust Fund representing thirty percent support to all project costs except indirect costs. The State of Mississippi provides up to two hundred thousand dollars annually for building repairs as additional program support outside the match requirement.

Mississippi State University partners with the recipient on a portion of the work.

The reserve is administrated by the mississippi department of marine resources (mdmr) who is submitting this application for fiscal year (FY) 2026 funds to support operations: research and monitoring, stewardship, training, and education activities from september 1, 2026, through february 28, 2028. The mdmr is requesting $931,000 in federal funds, which will be matched by $399,000 in state funds from the mississippi tidelands trust fund in the form of 30% support to all project costs (except indirect). During FY2026, programmatic efforts at the gndnerr are focused on habitat protection, water quality and environmental change and are consistent with the national estuarine research reserve systems (nerrs) 20172022 strategic plan focus areas and 20232027 grand BAY nerr management plan. A portion of this work occurs through a partnership with mississippi state university (MSU). The state of mississippi provides additional funding (up to $200,000) each year to support building repairs. This additional funding is not counted as match but is significant support for the program. The gndnerrs primary goal is to support habitat restoration and high-quality scientific studies that contribute to improving the coastal landscape and our understanding of grand BAY and disseminate those results and data to local decision makers for use in management decisions and provide the community with training and education opportunities. Additionally, we work on a large-scale wet pine savanna restoration and monitoring with partners as part of the nrda land acquisition and habitat management project which is a separate contract with mdeq. We also have several projects working with the city of moss point on stormwater management through green infrastructure, including a separate grant from U.S. Environmental protection agency, NOAA OCM, nfwf, and others, and a variety of other external and internal projects that support program objectives and our reserves mission.