How important are individuals and small groups to the environmental movement and the coastal habitat restoration community in particular? A new report from Restore America’s Estuaries (RAE) says they are invaluable.

“Hope for Coastal Habitats: People, Partnerships, and Projects Making a Difference” profiles people, organizations, and projects across the country, in a wide variety of coastal and estuarine habitats, and demonstrates the dramatic differences they have made in saving and restoring endangered and degraded watersheds across the United States.

“’Hope for Coastal Habitats’ sheds new light on the old adage that people should think globally and act locally,” said Jeff Benoit, President and CEO of Restore America’s Estuaries.

Among those profiled in the report are Phil Sander and Al Krampert, who united  in the 1960s to save the last remaining stretch of native coastal prairie along the Wisconsin shore of Lake Michigan, a project that consumed more than 40 years; Virginians Harry Lester, Bob Stanton, and Andy Fine who helped restore the famed Lynnhaven River oysters that once graced the tables of British royalty and American presidents; and the Chums of Barker Creek, a small Bremerton, Washington-area citizens group responsible for  removing culverts that had blocked wild salmon runs in their Puget Sound community for decades.

Also examined are the increasingly important roles small groups and public-private partnerships play in preserving and restoring coastal habitats, in particular NOAA’s Restoration Center and its partnerships with local organizations, state and local government agencies, academic and research institutions, and tribal associations on behalf of habitat restoration.

While “Hope for Habitats” contains much good news, it also includes some grim statistics. The report notes that nationwide, at current rates of development, more than a quarter of the nation’s coasts will be altered by 2025. Further, sea-level rise of just one foot could eliminate anywhere from 17 to 43 percent of today’s wetlands. Many climatologists estimate ocean-level rise of about one-eighth inch a year along much of the United States’ coastline.

“Our coastal habitat is at risk. However, as this publication highlights, there are many stories playing out around our coasts that stand as a testament to the power of partnerships, communities, and hard work to conserve habitat,” said Pat Montanio, Director of Habitat Conservation for NOAA.

“The wholesale destruction of coastal watersheds through overdevelopment and pollution, the loss of species and species habitat, and the real and increasing dangers from climate change and sea-level rise constitute the gravest threats our coasts have ever faced,” said Benoit.

But, he noted, while the problems facing our coasts and estuaries are daunting and often demand big technological and governmental fixes, change is possible with participation by individuals, groups, cities, and townships working together.

“The central message of “Hope for Coastal Habitats” is that change comes from the bottom up and that we are all responsible for helping it come about,” Benoit said.

Research, reporting, and production for “Hope for Coastal Habitats: People, Partnerships & Projects Making a Difference” were handled by the North Carolina Coastal Federation (NCCF), one of Restore America’s Estuaries member organizations. Funding was provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Founded in 1995, Restore America’s Estuaries is a national alliance of 11 regional, coastal conservation organizations with more than 250,000 volunteer-members dedicated to preserving our nation’s estuaries. RAE members include: the American Littoral Society, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Conservation Law Foundation, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, Galveston Bay Foundation, North Carolina Coastal Federation, People for Puget Sound, Save The Bay-Narragansett Bay, Save The Bay-San Francisco, Save The Sound-a program of the Connecticut Fund for the Environment, and Tampa Bay Watch.

“Hope for Coastal Habitats: People, Partnerships & Projects Making a Difference” can be downloaded at: https://www.estuaries.org/hope-for-coastal-habitats-people-partnerships-a-projects-making-a-difference.html

via Restore America’s Estuaries | RAE Releases “Hope for Coastal Habitats” Report.