Gulf of Mexico Beach(NOAA).

June 2013 - The Natural Resource Trustees have announced new opportunities for the public to engage in restoration planning for the Natural Resource Damage Assessment for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. A Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, or PEIS, will be prepared to evaluate the potential environmental effects of future early restoration projects and the cumulative impacts of early restoration.

The Trustees have initiated the public scoping process to assist in preparing the PEIS. The development of the PEIS for early restoration begins with a public scoping period, from June 4 to August 2, 2013. The Trustees will hold meetings—one in each of the Gulf States and one in Washington, DC. For a list of the next phase of early restoration projects to be proposed or more information on public scoping meetings, visit the Gulf Spill Restoration website.

Residents and visitors alike enjoy the restored Lardner's Point Waterfront
Park near Philadelphia (NOAA)

May 2013 - The Delaware River Basin, which includes the greater Philadelphia area, is one of 11 urban waterfronts across the U.S. to join the Urban Waters Federal Partnership (UWFP). The UWFP's collaborative efforts aim to restore waterways, enhance recreation, boost local economies, create jobs, and protect Americans' health.

The Delaware River is a heavily developed and populated waterway with a history of contaminated industrial sites, habitat loss, and impacted natural resources. The Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Program has been actively working in numerous sites throughout the Delaware River Basin to clean up and restore this urban watershed, strengthen thriving economies, and revitalize local communities. Lardner's Point is one example of a restoration project where NOAA, the UWFP, and the Delaware River City Corporation transformed the riverfront from a concrete blight to a natural gem. NOAA and UWFP will continue seeking restoration opportunities to return the Delaware River to the community. For more information, check out the Office of Response and Restoration blog.

Healthy habitats are the foundation of robust fisheries and economies.
(NOAA)

May 2013 - NOAA announces the release of an illustrated report outlining the crucial role that habitat plays in keeping U.S. commercial and recreational fisheries strong. Drawing on peer-reviewed articles and original data, the report shows why habitat conservation is a good investment, producing significant gains in the size and health of fish populations.

Highlights of the report include:

• A 1140% increase in migrating herring after fishways were installed on the Acushnet River
• Fish growing six times larger as a result of habitat improvements in California
• Huge increases in blue crab, red drum, spotted sea trout, and flounder populations following oyster reef restoration in Alabama

NOAA partnered with Restore America’s Estuaries and the American Sportfishing Association to produce More Habitat Means More Fish.

April 2013 - We want you to take a bird's eye view of restoration with our wildlife webcams. In 2006, NOAA's Montrose Settlements Restoration Program, established to make up for a toxic DDT and PCB legacy in southern California, installed a live webcam with a close-up view of the first Bald Eagle nest to hatch a chick naturally on California's Santa Cruz Island in over 50 years. Today, there are a total of five webcams on other nests around the California Channel Islands, highlighting the success of our Bald Eagle Restoration Program. Currently these webcams are placed near Bald Eagle nests located on Catalina and Santa Cruz Islands in the California Channel Islands. Viewers can watch daily as both male and female adults attend to their chicks by feeding them and keeping them warm. If you are more interested in what lurks beneath the ocean, then you should check out the live fish webcam that is broadcast from Talbert Marsh in the Huntington Beach wetlands. Read about it on our Office of Response and Restoration blog to learn more.

View the Bald Eagle Chicks webcam

View our fish webcam

The Trustees, working cooperatively
with the responsible party, oversee
restoration to create the creek network and restore tidal flow during the construction
(Photo courtesy of NOAA).

April 2013 - NOAA and its co-Trustees restored approximately 12 acres of salt marsh and an additional acre of upland buffer area on Noisette Creek, a tributary of the Cooper River adjacent to the City of North Charleston, SC. These efforts were part of a larger restoration plan to address the environmental and recreational impacts from the Everreach oil spill in 2002, when approximately 12,500 gallons of oil spilled out of the container ship M/V Everreach as it pulled away from North Charleston. The oil was seen over some 30 miles of shoreline and sediments, including tidal flats, fringing marshes, intertidal oyster reefs, and sandy beaches as well as docks, piers, and bulkheads. As a result of this restoration, the public will be able to enjoy a beautiful living shoreline which supports the surrounding area's ecological services and benefits activities like boating, fishing, shellfish harvest, and shrimp baiting. The Trustees will monitor the wetland enhancements over the next five years to ensure the project achieves the desired ecological improvements.

This project, the first of the planned restoration completed for the 135 acre Noisette Creek Preserve, has created momentum and excitement for several similar projects slated for this small urban watershed. By aligning these restoration efforts with the larger goals for the City of North Charleston's smart and sustainable growth, NOAA and our partners have been able to build stronger, greener coastal communities and support a thriving local economy—a success for both the environment and the people of North Charleston. Learn more at the NOAA Office of Response and Restoration blog!