This action provides funding in the amount of $850,000 to assist the tampa BAY estuary program (tbep) in the implementation of the national estuary program (NEP) comprehensive conservation and…

This $850,000 Project Grant awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the National Estuary Program (CFDA 66.456) will assist the Tampa Bay Estuary Program (TBEP) in implementing its Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) for the Tampa Bay estuary. The grant will fund activities to assess trends in water quality, habitats, and natural resources, coordinate CCMP implementation, and monitor the effectiveness of conservation activities. Key deliverables include annual assessments of benthic and sediment conditions, seagrass transect monitoring, reporting on bay health indicators, and expanded fisheries monitoring. The grant will also support community engagement initiatives to improve science literacy and promote public stewardship. TBEP will make sub-awards to Manatee County and other partners to execute specific components of the project. The grant has a period of performance from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2029.

This action provides funding in the amount of $850,000 to assist the tampa BAY estuary program (tbep) in the implementation of the national estuary program (NEP) comprehensive conservation and management plan (ccmp) and EPA strategic plan goal 5: ensure clean and safe water for all communities and objective 5.2: - protect and restore waterbodies and watersheds to improve the water quality, protect the natural habitat and living resources, and support sustainable human uses in the estuary. The award helps to implement the cornerstone strategies of the current strategic plan and strives to achieve the following program priorities: 1) clean water and sediments; 2) thriving habitats and abundant wildlife; and 3) an informed, engaged and responsible community through tasks outlined in the annual work plan of its partners. Activities:the projects included will support activities that address the key challenges facing the estuary including assessing trends in water quality, habitats, natural resources and uses; coordinating implementation of the ccmp by the NEP, along with the state, federal, local agencies, stakeholders, ngos, citizens, partners, and others; and monitoring the effectiveness of activities conducted under the management conference approved ccmp and annual workplan. The activities to be performed are to assess benthic and sediment conditions on an annual basis, coordinate and facilitate annual seagrass transect monitoring, and to report on annual status and trends of seagrass species composition and cover-abundance. Additional activities to be performed are to report on the status and trends of key indicators of BAY health using open science methods to synthesize environmental data collected by multiple partners, expand critical fisheries monitoring to assess impacts of altered freshwater flow and climate change on fish communities, and engage a broad audience of community members to improve science literacy and promote public stewardship through volunteerism.subrecipient:sub-awards will be made through tbep for intergovernmental agreements and manatee county. Outcomes:the anticipated deliverables include annual application of the tampa BAY benthic index, updated tidal creek hydrologic data, maps, cost estimates, plans, permits, and habitat restoration projects and electronic datasets. The expected outcomes include the reduction of trash, marine debris, and invasive species in the tampa BAY, increased stewardship, knowledge and connection of communities with the BAY and its contributing watershed through in-person engagements and multilingual products to improved fish and wildlife habitat and stewardship among tampa BAY residents. The intended beneficiaries include the citizens, local communities, etc. In the state of florida and this estuary directly benefit from this project.