Florida

Alachua Conservation Trust
Restoring and Maintaining Longleaf Pine in the Ocala Local Implementation Team Geography – II (FL) 
Enhance 16,000 acres of existing longleaf pine habitat and establish an additional 1,000 acres of longleaf pine seedlings to benefit red cockaded woodpecker, Bachman’s sparrow and gopher tortoise in north-central Florida. Project will engage private landowners in longleaf pine restoration through a prescribed burn association and will restore and enhance longleaf pine habitat on the Ocala National Forest and public and private lands surrounding Camp Blanding Joint Training Center.
$272,000

Alachua Conservation Trust
Increasing Landowner Engagement to Improve Water Quality and Quantity in the Suwannee Watershed (FL)
Provide additional technical assistance to landowners within Florida’s Suwannee Basin to accelerate the conveyance of Farm Bill programs benefiting water quality and quantity. Project will engage landowners in cost-share programs resulting in permanent acres protected and the implementation of best management practices for the reduced impact on regional water and aquatic species.
$200,000

American Forest Foundation
Enhancing Water Quality through Forested Watershed Conservation (Al, FL, MS)
Enhance and maintain water quality by protecting and restoring forested watershed conditions in key watersheds across the Gulf Coast. Project will be implemented through a public-private partnership and will support capacity building and expand resources to protect and restore forested watersheds in the Gulf States.
$10,000

City of Jacksonville
Restoring Stream, Wetlands and Floodplains of McCoys Creek (FL)
Restore McCoys Creek in Jacksonville, Florida, including 1 mile of stream and up to 35 acres of floodplain and wetlands using natural, nature-based features and materials, benefiting rock sea bass, summer flounder, crevalle jack, gray snapper, red drum, pink shrimp, brown shrimp and white shrimp. Project will complete restoration using a mixture of cypress and hardwood forests, freshwater ponds and salt marsh vegetation, as appropriate, along the salinity gradient.
$4,300,000

City of Miami
Developing a Resilient Waterfront and Shoreline Enhancement Plan (FL)
Develop a 20-year capital plan for city of Miami shoreline enhancement projects, including updated design and permitting guidelines and financing recommendations. Project will lead to reduced increasing flood risks over the next 40 years and will protect and enhance the currently compromised ecosystems of Biscayne Bay, Miami River and Little River through a combination of nature-based and structural means.
$225,000

Coral Restoration Foundation
Improving Coral Restoration Monitoring Through Implementation of an Automated Photomosaic Tool (FL)
Design and implement an automated web-based application to stitch, store and analyze reef-scale photomosaic images for the purpose of coral restoration monitoring. Project will increase monitoring scalability and efficiency using large-scale photomosaics and machine learning recognition of coral species.
$148,430
Escambia County

Creating a Pensacola Bay Living Shoreline (FL)
Construct approximately 5,300 linear feet of emergent and submerged offshore reef breakwaters, 9 acres of sandy beach habitat and create conditions to support natural recruitment and colonization of up to 22 acres of submerged aquatic vegetation habitat at Sherman Inlet located in southwestern Pensacola Bay. Project will complete restoration at Sherman Inlet and will benefit numerous finfish and shellfish species while enhancing coastal resilience of Naval Air Station Pensacola.
$2,502,059

Florida Conservation Group
Implementing Gopher Tortoise Habitat Management on Private Ranchlands (FL)
Provide technical assistance to ranch operators to accelerate the implementation of prescribed fire and other practices that benefit upland habitats that are vital for supporting gopher tortoise populations in southcentral and southwest Florida. Project will design and implement 15 best management practices to improve 6,000 acres of private working ranchland for gopher tortoise.
$258,540

Gentner Consulting Group
Deepwater Horizon Oceanic Fish Restoration Project Project Monitoring and Evaluation (multiple states)
Conduct requisite statistical analyses to evaluate key performance indicators for the project in accordance with the Oceanic Fish Restoration Project Monitoring Plan. Project will estimate bycatch reduction and alternative gear performance during the remaining repose years and will support evaluation of the overall performance of the project following the final repose year.
$430,600

Groundwork Jacksonville
Developing a Hogans Creek Restoration Plan (FL)
Develop a preliminary design for the ecological restoration of Hogans Creek to reduce flooding, improve water quality, create habitat for fish and wildlife and provide nature-based recreation using concepts in natural channel design to fit its watershed and receiving waters. Project will engage the neighborhoods within the creek’s watershed as well as other key stakeholders as design partners.
$294,000

Gulf Fisheries Research Foundation
Remote Electronic Monitoring for the Gulf of Mexico For-Hire Reef Fish Fishery (AL, FL, TX)
Develop remote electronic monitoring for the Gulf of Mexico for-hire reef fish fishery using wireless video and data transfer, onboard artificial intelligence, cloud data storage and remote video review. Project will explore incentives specific to the for-hire industry, develop an image library for regulated species, explore artificial intelligence to minimize video review costs and contribute information for science and management, including post-release mortality estimates.
$396,343

Manomet
Managing American Oystercatchers and Minimizing Coastal Engineering Impacts Along the Atlantic Coast (multiple states)
Coordinate the American oystercatcher recovery initiative, implement best management practices for disturbance and predation management along the U.S. Atlantic Coast and Gulf Coast of Florida and develop long-term improvements in coastal engineering protocols to restore habitats critical to focal shorebird species. Project will support the goals of the Atlantic Flyway Business Plan by creating a framework for long-term protection, restoration and creation of shorebird habitat at key sites.
$189,999

Mote Marine Laboratory
Post-Restoration Monitoring for Robinson Preserve Wetlands Restoration Project (FL)
Conduct fisheries monitoring after restoration is completed at Robinson Preserve in Florida to measure nekton abundance, composition, and density for a period of up to three years post-restoration.
$81,682

Museum of Science
Restoring, Enhancing and Maintaining Coastal Habitats in South Florida’s Coastal Watershed
Restore, enhance and maintain three separate coastal habitats in South Florida’s coastal watershed: 1) The City of Miami’s Virginia Key North Point Beach Park Coastal Hammock; 2) Crandon Park Beach Dune; and 3) Haulover Beach Park Dunes. Project will engage 1,400 volunteers directly during 28 workday events and plant a total of 10,000 dune plants and coastal hammock trees.
$34,196

National Marine Sanctuary Foundation
Developing Capacity to Recycle Fishing Debris in The Florida Keys
Identify recycling solutions for gear approaching “end-of-life.” Project will use targeted engagement with local stakeholders to develop capacity and logistics for recycling of end-of-life and derelict fishing gear throughout the Florida Keys, a pervasive issue that affects the health and well-being of delicate ecosystems and habitats including coral reefs.
$70,591

National Marine Sanctuary Foundation
Building Resilience through Community Stewardship of Coral Reefs (FL)
Restore coral reefs at Eastern Dry Rocks, one of seven focus sites of the Mission: Iconic Reefs initiative. Project will complete site preparation and maintenance for coral out-plantings through community engagement in site-based activities, involve restoration practitioners from propagation to planting of elkhorn and staghorn corals, and complete monitoring during and after the project work period to inform impacts.
$4,958,494

North Carolina State University
Expanding Prescribed Fire Delivery to Restore Southeast Forests (multiple states)
Expand and accelerate the implementation of prescribed fire to restore and enhance longleaf pine habitat and other fire dependent forest and grassland communities within the Southeast. Project will engage landowners, including underserved landowners and fire practitioners through technical assistance, training and outreach to increase the use of prescribed fire.
$180,000

Nova Southeastern University
Saving the Corals of Florida’s Iconic Reefs Using Proven Disease Mitigation Techniques
Utilize proven disease mitigation techniques to stop stony coral tissue loss disease on large coral colonies at Florida’s Iconic Reef sites. Project will provide treatment along the disease line to maintain existing coral cover with prioritization for species diversity and large colony size classes.
$233,238

Pinellas County
Enhancing Shoreline Protection at the Tampa Bay Philippe Park (FL)
Assess and design seawall enhancement options in Tampa Bay, at Philippe Park in Safety Harbor, Florida, with a goal of demonstrating and comparing resiliency, creating salt marsh and oyster reef habitat and assessing cost-effectiveness. Project will result in 60% design of several different living shoreline treatments, both traditional and innovative, along a concrete seawall and baseline monitoring.
$130,000

Santa Rosa County
Developing a Living Shoreline Suitability Model for Pensacola Bay (FL)
Develop a living shoreline habitat suitability model and master plan for the Pensacola Bay System and assess approximately 175 miles of shoreline and include parameters such as land use, bathymetry, habitat type, wave dynamics and sediment transport. Project will create a model to characterize and prioritize living shoreline opportunities across local government jurisdictions as a comprehensive coastal resilience strategy.
$73,891

Stantec Consulting Services
Gulf-wide In-water Sea Turtle Monitoring Plan (multiple states)
Develop a statistically sound plan for the establishment of a coordinated Gulf-wide network for collection and compilation of critical abundance, demographic, and biological information on sea turtles in the Gulf of Mexico. Project will provide important context for project-level monitoring at individual sites where restoration is implemented and will assist with comparisons across multiple projects.
$224,267

The Longleaf Alliance
Coordinating Local Implementation Team Capacity and Landowner Technical Assistance and Outreach (multiple states) - V
Improve and sustain coordination among 18 multi-partner local implementation teams that organize, plan and deliver conservation actions to restore and enhance the longleaf pine ecosystem. Project will support conservation planning, as well as tracking and communication of longleaf pine restoration accomplishments.
$250,000

The Longleaf Alliance
Habitat and Species Recovery in the Gulf Coastal Plain Ecosystem Partnership Landscape (FL, AL)
Restore and maintain 149,000 acres of longleaf pine habitat in south Alabama and the western panhandle region of Florida to benefit rare and declining species such as the Bachman’s sparrow, red-cockaded woodpecker, gopher tortoise and northern bobwhite. Project will provide technical assistance to private landowners and deploy an ecosystem support team to implement prescribed burning, plant longleaf pine, remove invasive species and support rare species recovery on public and private lands.
$300,000

The Longleaf Alliance
Conserving Longleaf Forests, Wildlife Habitat and Water Resources through Innovative Partnerships (FL, GA, LA, SC, TX)
Restore and enhance 5,000 acres of longleaf pine habitat within priority drinking water supply watersheds in the Southeast. Project will build partnerships between forestry and conservation organizations, landowners and drinking water supply utilities and provide private landowners with technical and financial assistance to restore and enhance longleaf pine habitat, protecting drinking water supplies and benefiting the gopher frog and other at-risk forested-wetland dependent species.
$411,000

The Nature Conservancy
Restoring and Enhancing Longleaf Pine Habitat in the Florida Panhandle (FL) 
Restore and enhance more than 30,000 acres of longleaf pine habitat within the Apalachicola Regional Stewardship Alliance area of the Florida Panhandle located between the Aucilla and Choctawhatchee rivers. Project will plant longleaf pine, implement prescribed fire, thinning and invasive species treatments in existing longleaf habitat, and provide financial assistance to priority private landowners for longleaf pine restoration, improving habitat for the eastern indigo snake and Bachman’s sparrow.
$300,000

The Nature Conservancy
Building Capacity and Partnerships to Plan and Implement Coastal Resilience in the Florida Panhandle
Create a portfolio of nature-based solution projects for coastal resilience in Franklin, Gulf and Bay counties in Florida through work with regional and local partners and analysis of the effectiveness of natural features in reducing storm damage from Hurricane Michael. Project will establish a regional resilience planning framework, including a process for using existing decision support tools and resources, and guide investments in restoring, strengthening and creating natural features.
$206,753

University of Florida
Designing Innovative Saltmarsh Restoration and Protecting Coastal Community Infrastructure (FL)
Collect baseline data, develop a guidance manual and provide preliminary design plans that facilitate salt marsh lateral expansion, enable dredged sediments to be applied to adjacent salt marshes and augment salt marsh accretion. Project will engage multiple stakeholders in the design of an innovative approach focused on using thin-layer placement of dredged sediments from the Intracoastal Waterway to enhance the resilience of adjacent salt marshes and community infrastructure.
$157,834