NOAA Awards More than $2.4 Million to National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

NOAA AWARDS MORE THAN $2.4 MILLION TO
NATIONAL FISH AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation has received a grant totaling more than $2.4 million from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for habitat conservation and species recovery. NOAA is an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department.

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) will use this grant to continue an eight-year partnership with NOAA for work in a series of on-the-water marine and coastal conservation and species recovery activities. The agreement will help implement a broad brush of programs that will benefit key species like whales, sea turtles and salmon, as well as commercial fisheries. The funding will also help engage communities in habitat restoration and conservation that touch a variety of marine, estuarine and riparian habitats, including salt marshes, seagrass beds and coral reefs.

“We are grateful and excited to continue our wonderful partnership with NOAA to promote marine conservation and sustainable use of America’s ocean resources,” said John Berry, executive director of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

“NOAA and the Bush Administration are working to improve the understanding of our environment and to strengthen initiatives like our partnership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “NOAA is proud to be part of this ongoing partnership to restore estuarine habitats and conserve our marine resources.”

Each year, NOAA awards approximately $900 million in grants to members of the academic, scientific and business communities to assist the agency in fulfilling its mission to study the Earth’s natural systems in order to predict environmental change, manage ocean resources, protect life and property and provide decision makers with reliable scientific information. NOAA goals and programs reflect a commitment to these basic responsibilities of science and service to the nation for the past 33 years.

The Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation’s coastal and marine resources. To learn more about NOAA, please visit http://www.noaa.gov.