Media Mentions

A Watershed Moment for Clean Water Action in RI & MA: U.S. Senators Unveil SNEP Authorization Act

April 21, 2026 - What started over a decade ago when U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) secured a $2 million appropriation to launch the collaborative Southeast New England Program (SNEP) for Coastal Watershed Restoration program in Fiscal Year 2014 has grown into a clean water success story with over $70 million in federal funding and the appropriations pipeline flowing to revitalize local watersheds in Rhode Island and southern New England.

Senator Jack Reed

CITGO Awards $800,000 to Caring For Our Coast Nonprofits

November 18, 2025 - Environmental progress is happening now as sixteen nonprofits expand their reach and deepen their impact with $800,000 in new grants from CITGO Petroleum Corporation's Caring For Our Coast (CFOC) initiative.

PR Newswire

Bowdoin’s Schiller Coastal Studies Center Secures Water Monitoring and Eel Grass Restoration Funding

November 1, 2025 - Two grants funded wholly or in part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency will support SCSC’s water quality monitoring and eelgrass restoration efforts in Casco Bay.

Bowdoin News

New footbridge, reopened trails at Hinckleys Pond - Herring River Preserve in Harwich

October 23, 2025 - The Harwich Conservation Trust hosted a ceremony Wednesday morning at its Hinckleys Pond -- Herring River Preserve in Harwich to celebrate the completion of the eco-restoration project that rewilded two retired cranberry bogs.

Cape Cod Times

More than $3M awarded for environmental projects in Southeastern Massachusetts

October 21, 2025 - Approximately $3.2 million in grants was announced Monday to support environmental efforts in and around New Bedford.

WPRI.com

Cassidy Introduces Resolution Designating September 20–27 National Estuaries Week

September 29, 2025 - U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) introduced a resolution designating September 20 through September 27, 2025, as National Estuaries Week and calling for the protection and restoration of America’s estuaries, which drive economic activity and are facing mounting threats from rising sea levels, pollution, and extreme weather.

U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy M.D.

National Estuaries Week encourages awareness, protection

September 22, 2025 - This week, Sept. 20-27, is National Estuaries Week, an annual opportunity to raise awareness and encourage protection of these natural resources.

Coastal Review

5 Reasons to Love Estuaries

September 22, 2025 - NOAA’s Office of Habitat Conservation protects and restores habitat to sustain our nation’s fisheries, recover endangered species, and support coastal communities. Estuaries—where salty seawater mixes with fresh water draining from the land—are one of many coastal habitats in which we work.

NOAA Fisheries

Grays Harbor and Willapa Bay estuaries create abundance

September 20, 2025 - Do you live near an estuary, where salt and freshwater meet to create a vibrant ecosystem to support the local economy?

The Daily World

Construction on Thompson Island Living Shoreline Project Underway

September 12, 2025 - DNREC and the Center for Inland Bays have begun construction on the Thompson Island Living Shoreline Project. This project includes about 400 wave attenuation devices designed to protect the island’s shoreline and enhance the surrounding aquatic environment.

WGMD

ScottsMiracle-Gro: Helping To Protect and Restore Bays and Estuaries for More Than 10 Years

September 10, 2025 - Since 2014, The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation has partnered with Restore America’s Estuaries (“RAE”), a national non-profit conservation organization dedicated to protecting and restoring bays and estuaries as essential resources for our nation.

Scotts Miracle Gro

Setalcott Nation awarded $90,000 grant for Long Island Sound stewardship efforts

July 18, 2025 - The Setalcott Nation, an Indigenous community with ancestral ties to the Town of Brookhaven, is one of 16 organizations to have been awarded grant money from a fund aimed at supporting historically marginalized communities addressing the health of Long Island Sound.

Newsday

CT organizations receive federal funding to protect Long Island Sound

July 15, 2025 - Long Island Sound, one of the most densely populated estuaries in the United States, is getting a boost from the federal government. The Environmental Protection Agency is awarding $1.5 million in grants to more than a dozen projects in Connecticut and New York focused on protecting Long Island Sound.

Connecticut Public Radio

Shell Recyclers in Connecticut Are Helping Oysters Find Homes

April 21, 2025 - Summer in New England means lobster rolls, fried seafood and, of course, freshly shucked oysters. But there’s a problem. Those empty shells usually end up in a dumpster instead of back in the water, where they play a key role in the oyster life cycle.

New York Times

Eco-restoration Project To Begin At Hinckleys Pond

March 26, 2025 - Hinckleys Pond/Herring River Watershed Restoration Project will get underway in a matter of days, according to Harwich Conservation Trust Executive Director Michael Lach, after a federal funding freeze was lifted.

Cape Cod Chronicle

Collective Oyster Recycling & Restoration

March 6, 2025 - Around 150 students from all over the Southeast descended on Eckerd College campus Saturday for the first ever Tampa Bay Youth Ocean Summit. The event brought together more than 30 professionals from careers that connect to the health of our oceans, waterways and estuaries.

Environment America

Oyster restoration "a shot in the arm" for business and nature

February 28, 2025 - Investment into oyster restoration delivers almost double the amount in economic and environmental benefits, a new report has celebrated, adding that for every $1 spent on reef restoration so far, communities have seen as much as $1.70 in return.

Oceanographic

Funding freeze hits water programs once backed by Trump, Zeldin

January 28, 2025 - The freeze is also affecting projects funded by the Protect and Restore America’s Estuaries Act, a bipartisan bill that President Donald Trump signed into law at the end of his first term, said Daniel Hayden, president and CEO of Restore America’s Estuaries.

E&E News

Trump’s funding freeze sends shock waves across energy, environmental agencies

January 28, 2025 - Grant programs to clean up estuaries like the Chesapeake Bay and the Great Lakes are also expected to be "directly impacted" said Brad Williamson, manager of government affairs and communications for Restore America's Estuaries.

E&E News

Pearls of Wisdom

January 21, 2025 - “If we harvest all of the oysters — or even just a significant percentage of the oysters — out of the region, then the next generation has no place to grow,” said Hilary Stevens, the coastal resilience manager at Restore America’s Estuaries, which works in Mobile and other places along the coast.

Southern Science

The Oyster Alliance Recycles Over 25 Tons of Oyster Shells

January 1, 2025 - It’s no secret that oysters are a staple in the Florida Panhandle. Not only do they play a crucial role in the ecosystem, they also contribute to the local economy by supporting the commercial finishing industry.

Ballinger Publishing

Coastal Habitat Conservation Act Signed into Law

December 13, 2024 - On Wednesday, December 11th, the Coastal Habitat Conservation Act was signed into law, authorizing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife (FWS) Coastal Program U.S. The Coastal Program is a voluntary, partnership-based, habitat conservation program focused in 24 priority coastal areas along the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, Gulf of Mexico, Great Lakes, and in the Caribbean, including the Chesapeake Bay.

Representative Jared Huffman

Marshland surrounding a beloved CT state park is drowning. It’s one of ‘most imperiled’ in the state.

December 9, 2024 - Officials said that most of Connecticut's tidal marshes are now considered in peril due to increased development along the coastline creating erosion.

Hartford Courant

Rocky Neck State Park gets $4M NOAA grant for marsh restoration

December 4, 2024 - A $4 million grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will go towards restoring Rocky Neck State Park, leaders with the Nature Conservancy in Connecticut announced Tuesday.

WTNH

25 tons of oyster shells recycled in Pensacola area — what to know

November 12, 2024 - The Pensacola and Perdido Bays Estuary Program has collected over 25 tons of oyster shells since launching The Oyster Alliance in August.

WKRG

Manatee County man awarded by NOAA and the American Fisher’s Society

October 21, 2024 - Manatee resident, Damon Moore has been awarded the 2024 Dr. Nancy Foster Habitat Conservation Award at Restore America’s Estuaries’ Coastal & Estuarine Summit. This award was presented by the NOAA and the American Fisheries Society.

ABC 7

US Representative Bill Keating and EPA Announce $11.5 Million for Cape Cod & Southeast New England Environmental Restoration

October 3, 2024 - On Friday, October 4, U.S. Representative Bill Keating will be joined by federal, state and local partners to announce $11.5 million in grants and technical assistance for local organizations working on high-priority environmental projects, provided through the Southeast New England Program (SNEP).

PR Newswire

National Estuaries Week sheds light on fragile habitats

September 27, 2024 - Restore America’s Estuaries, the National Estuarine Research Reserve Association and the Association of National Estuary Programs have sought to draw attention to these fragile ecosystems that are continually facing challenges by celebrating National Estuaries Week, Sept. 21-28.

Coastal Review

Restore America’s Estuaries Summit to Examine Management Approaches for a Changing Climate

September 24, 2024 - The Pew Charitable Trusts works to address the twin challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss through the conservation and restoration of coastal ecosystems. That’s why Pew is proudly sponsoring and participating in the Restore America’s Estuaries (RAE) 2024 Coastal and Estuarine Summit: “Capitalizing on Our Coasts.”

Pew Charitable Trusts

CITGO Donates $1 Million for Coast Protection

September 24, 2024 - CITGO has announced it latest round of grants through the CITGO Caring For Our Coast initiative, which includes $1 million for 17 environmental organizations located around the Gulf Coast region and in Lemont, Ill., where CITGO has operations.

CStore Decisions

RI Trout Unlimited, DEM land funds for Breakheart Dam removal project

September 13, 2024 - RI Trout Unlimited, DEM land funds for the Breakheart Pond Dam removal project. Rhode Island Trout Unlimited and the state Department of Environmental Management received a $190,000 2024 SNEP grant for their joint project — engineering for the removal of Breakheart Pond Dam in the Arcadia Management Area in Richmond

Providence Journal

En-shoring a Better Future for Coastal Ecosystems and Communities

September 10, 2024 - Welcome to Season 8 of The Climate Conversation podcast! Many of us are returning from trips to the coast, where breezy beaches provided a respite from the brutal summer heat. But these coastal areas are important for more than just the occasional vacation.

EESI

Reed Announces $11.5 Million for Rhode Island’s Regional Environment

September 05, 2024 - The Southeast New England Program (SNEP), funded by Congress and managed by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), works to restore clean water, healthy ecosystems, and sustainable communities in Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts.

Senator Jack Reed

Whitehouse and Cartwright Reintroduce Bill to Create National Strategy to Protect America’s Natural Resources from the Climate Crisis

July 24, 2024 - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Representative Matt Cartwright (D-PA) reintroduced a bicameral bill to protect America’s natural resources and wildlife...

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse

NOAA Partners Create Jobs, Train Future Leaders to Advance Habitat Restoration Across the Country

July 22, 2024 - Restore America’s Estuaries is coordinating with partners across the Gulf of Mexico to expand oyster recycling efforts and restore oyster reef habitat.

NOAA Fisheries

Nanticoke Tribe and CIB unite for Thompson Island restoration

July 17, 2024 - In a historic gathering, members of the Nanticoke Tribe joined with Delaware Center for the Inland Bays staff June 13 to inaugurate plans for a restoration project taking root at Thompson Island.

Cape Gazette

$5m worth of oysters wiped out after fresh rainwater overwhelms their Texas home

June 12, 2024 - The oyster industry in Texas was dealt a massive blow after weeks of storms in Houston caused a near-collapse of the mollusk population in Galveston bay and millions in losses for local businesses.

The Independent

Pearl of a program: Tampa Bay Watch repurposes shucked oyster shells to restore the shore

June 5, 2024 - Shucked shells are helping restore water quality and important oyster reef habitats in Tampa Bay...

83 Degrees

Hundreds More Lobster Traps Removed From Massachusetts Island

May 30, 2024- The Center for Coastal Studies (CCS) Marine Debris and Plastics Program was awarded a two-year SNEP Watershed Implementation Grant to locate, remove and properly dispose of lost fishing gear...

Center for Coastal Studies

Restore America's Estuaries Announces Long Island Sound Community Impact Fund Subawardees

May 8, 2024 - Restore America's Estuaries (RAE) is pleased to announce subawardees for the Long Island Sound Community Impact Fund (LISCIF)...

Yahoo Finance

Why recycling oyster shells is important + how a $5M grant will help those efforts

March 15 2024 - Five million dollars. That’s how much extra funding oyster conservation groups here on the Gulf Coast just received from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)...

Bama Buzz

Gulf Coast: Oyster Shell Recycling Key to Sustainable Seafood and Coastal Protection

March 6, 2024 - Sitting in one of New Orleans’ popular seafood restaurants, you wouldn’t know that oysters from the Gulf Coast are in trouble...

NOAA Fisheries

CRCL to Join Gulf Oyster Recycling and Reef Restoration Network

April 18, 2023 - The Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, which operates one of the largest shell recycling programs in the nation, has received federal funding...

Biz New Orleans

The Economic Value of America's Estuaries

December 9, 2021 - Estuaries have always been an essential feature of the economy. “The Economic Value of America’s Estuaries,” written by the Center for the Blue Economy and TBD Economics LLC...

The Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey