NOAA Awards $310 Million for Living Shorelines and Mangrove Storm Buffers Across Coastal States

WASHINGTON — Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad announced on Monday the distribution of $310 million in federal coastal resilience investments from the Inflation Reduction Act to construct engineered living oyster reefs, restore 25,000 acres of coastal mangrove wetlands, and rebuild protective barrier island dunes across fifteen coastal states.

The nature-based coastal infrastructure investments, administered through NOAA's Climate-Ready Coasts initiative, absorb wave energy, attenuate hurricane storm surges, and mitigate chronic coastal erosion while creating essential nursery habitats for commercially vital marine fisheries.

Protecting Coastal Communities with Engineered Nature-Based Defenses Coastal engineering research demonstrated that healthy coastal wetlands and living oyster breakwaters reduce ocean wave height and storm surge energy by up to 60 percent, delivering superior long-term flood mitigation compared to traditional vertical concrete seawalls that reflect wave scour.

"America's coastal communities are on the frontlines of rising seas and intense storm surges, and nature-based infrastructure is our most durable and cost-effective defense," NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad said in Washington. "These $310 million investments restore protective coastal marshes, engineer living oyster reefs, and expand mangrove forests, protecting billions in coastal real estate and critical infrastructure while sustaining our vibrant coastal maritime economies."

Major Coastal Restoration Packages Key state allocations include:

• Louisiana Gulf Coast Living Reefs: $60 million to construct 30 miles of offshore submerged bio-engineered oyster reef breakwaters in Barataria and Terrebonne Bays.
• Florida Mangrove & Seagrass Restoration: $55 million to restore 8,000 acres of coastal red mangrove forests across Tampa Bay and Biscayne Bay.
• North Carolina Outer Banks Dune Stabilization: $40 million for engineered beach nourishment and maritime forest plantings along Cape Hatteras.
• Texas Coastal Bend Wetland Buffers: $35 million for salt marsh reconstruction in Matagorda and Aransas Bays.
• Eleven additional Atlantic, Pacific, and Great Lakes coastal restoration projects receiving between $10 million and $25 million.

Coastal mayors, commercial fishing captains, and marine conservation biologists commended the federal grants, emphasizing that nature-based living shorelines provide continuous self-healing flood protection.