The american samoa department of marine and wildlife resources asdmwr is applying foroias activity BS revegetating mined lands

The U.S. Department of the Interior's Office of Insular Affairs awarded a $552,430.05 Project Grant to the American Samoa Government Department of Commerce under the Economic, Social, and Political Development of the Territories program (CFDA 15.875). The grant aims to restore native vegetation and mitigate environmental hazards from sand, coral, and gravel mining on federal and non-federal lands in American Samoa.

Key project objectives include: 1) Improving the resilience of American Samoa's coastal ecosystem using ecosystem-based techniques to reduce climate change impacts, 2) Implementing a landscape-level approach involving mangrove revitalization, natural bioretention methods, and green-gray infrastructure, and 3) Contributing to workforce development by providing environmental and conservation-related opportunities for young professionals. The project involves coordinating with government/non-governmental organizations, establishing green-gray infrastructure, hosting community workshops, and developing bilingual educational materials. The grant period of performance runs from January 7, 2025 to September 30, 2029.

The main purpose is to restore native vegetationand the mitigation of environmental hazards from sand, coral and or gravel mines on federaland nonfederal lands. The three main foci for this proposal are the following 1 improve theresilience of american samoas coastal ecosystem by utilizing ecosystembased techniques toreduce the impacts of climate change, 2 take a landscapelevel approach by 1. Revitalizingmangroves, 2. Using natural bioretention methods such as rain gardens, and 3. Taking agreengray infrastructure approach and 3 contributing to workforce development by providingopportunities for young professionals to pursue environmental and conservation relatedprofessions ideally in studying mined lands and its negative impacts on natural ecosystems.there are a total of eleven outputs listed within this proposal. Within objective 1.1, the projectlead will 1 coordinate with government and nongovernmental organizations to implement livingshorelines within priority sites surveys needed prior to site selection, 2 establish suitablegreengray infrastructure within priority sites, and 3 work with asdmwrs education andoutreach team on informing the community main stakeholders on the intent, purpose and longtermbenefits of greengray infrastructure. Within objective 1.2, the project lead will 1 hostbilingual workshops in local communities that provide awareness on the harmful effects of sandmining and hardened shorelines while introducing them to a feasible solution greengrayinfrastructure and 2 with the approval of the selected village and proper permitting, put upbilingual educational posters and billboards in priority sites to reinforce cessation of illegal sandmining and the longterm harmful effects of hardened shorelines. Within objective 1.3, theproject lead will develop bilingual handbooks, targeting mostly the youth, the community leads, collaborators. The handbook will give deliverables on ways to combat sealevel rise, floodingand land loss in a sustainable and ecofriendly manner. Objective 2.1 establishesgroundbreaking work including bioretention projects within priority sites and mangrove andwetland restoration with the assistance from the governors biodiversity and conservationoffice, governors resilience office, the department of commerce, nonprofit organizations, ascc land grant and other local nonprofit community groups. The last goal aims to provideworkshops and funding assistance. The workshops will be done through collaberation withnonprofit, federal and local partners and agencies to provide local, biannual workshops aimedat fostering interest in conservation career pathways and educating the public on the negativeimpacts of sand and coral mining. The funding assistance will occur annually with and be onecosystem resilience, climate change adaptation, coastal bioretention and mangroverevitalization related conferences, internships and scholarships for local individuals seekingconservation education opportunities, including the following youth high schoolupperclassmen, interns undergraduate and postgraduate students and fellows within theworkforce.