Florida

Alachua Conservation Trust
Increasing Technical Assistance to Improve Habitat for Gopher Tortoise and Bobwhite Quail (FL)
Increase staff capacity to provide technical assistance on engaging in conservation practices and Farm Bill programs to agricultural producers in areas that contain gopher tortoise and bobwhite quail in north and central Florida. Project will protect 1,500 acres under an easement and implement 15 best practices management plans.
$345,059

Alachua Conservation Trust
Ocala Regional Implementation Team Private Landowner Prescribed Fire Assistance (FL)
Assist the 70 members of the North Florida Prescribed Burn Association to plan and complete 750 acres of prescribed burns in longleaf habitat on private lands in North Central Florida. Project will train private landowners to build experience, skills, and confidence using fire as a management tool to enhance longleaf habitat for fire-dependent species across the counties that comprise the Ocala Local Implementation Team working area.
$82,000

Alachua Conservation Trust
Technical Assistance for Conservation Easement Rangeland Management Plans in Florida
Provide technical assistance to landowners whose property is enrolled in federally protected Agricultural Conservation Easement Programs (ACEP). Project will facilitate the coordination between landowners, agencies and other stakeholders to create effective management for at least 90 properties at 125,000 acres primarily in watersheds that affect south Florida estuaries, Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades ecosystems, reducing management impacts on regional water quality and aquatic species.
$326,504

American Forest Foundation
Engaging Landowners in Longleaf Restoration to Benefit At-Risk and Listed Species (FL, LA, MS)
Restore and maintain longleaf pine forests in Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi to benefit populations of at-risk and listed species, such as gopher tortoise, southern hognose snake, and red-cockaded woodpecker. Project will provide technical and financial assistance to restore or maintain more than 1,100 acres of longleaf pine habitat and secure long-term agreements with family forest owners to provide access to the land for monitoring the effects of these activities on species populations.
$154,000

Bonefish and Tarpon Trust
Restoring Hydrologic Connectivity of Mangrove Wetlands in Florida
Design two mangrove habitat restoration projects in Collier County, that will restore the ability of these habitats to buffer against sea-level rise and storm effects as well as protecting coastal communities and recreational fisheries. Project will include wetland characterization, sensitive species surveys, historic imagery review, hydrological monitoring, tidal conditions assessments, wildlife evaluations, and overall preliminary habitat restoration designs.
$250,000

City of Mexico Beach
Phase II: Post Hurricane Michael Marine Debris Removal in Mexico Beach (FL)
Remove approximately 1,100 cubic yards of marine debris located along the shoreline of Mexico Beach. Project will remove of marine debris deposited immediately offshore as a result of Hurricane Michael assisting the City’s economic recovery and provide safe habitat for nesting endangered sea turtles.
$495,639

City of Tampa
Palmetto Beach Living Coastline and Community Engagement (FL)
Design a living shoreline and/or offshore breakwater that incorporates future sea level projections, port expansion, ecosystem needs and asset value for the community. Project will create a new model for data collection, visualization and communication to facilitate community dialogue.
$200,000

Coral Restoration Foundation
Increasing Coral Nursery Capacity to Support Mission Iconic Reefs (FL)
Expand coral nursery capacity in support of Mission Iconic Reefs by generating outplant-ready stocks of species: D. cylindrus and M. cavernosa, and strengthening nursery structures. Project will develop the infrastructure to support long-term coral restoration goals for both fast-growing and slow-growing coral species.
$205,500

Florida Conservation Group
Managing Central and South Florida’s Ranchlands to Improve Water Quality
Provide technical assistance to south-central Florida’s ranchers enrolled in NRCS cost-share programs to develop grazing and other management plans that utilize best management practices for prescribed grazing and burning. Project will improve cattle and land management through prescribed fire and rotational grazing, decreasing soil compaction and nutrient run-off, as well as encouraging native vegetation retention and wildlife habitat, thus improving quality and quantity of surface water.
$599,232

Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Enhancing Landscape Connectivity through Acquisition within the Apalachicola River Ecosystem (FL)
Acquire approximately 31,997 acres of land that supports ecosystem functions and contains critical habitats including wetlands, floodplain and uplands within the Apalachicola River ecosystem in Florida. Project will protect this unique Florida landscape and ensure the land is managed to conserve and restore
$750,000

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Assessing the Effect of Spotted Spiny Lobster Densities on Coral Rehabilitation (FL)
Evaluate the role of spotted spiny lobsters in aiding coral restoration efforts. Project will study the affect of lobster populations on both algal cleaning and corallivore consumption to determine the degree which lobsters can be employed for biocontrol and reef rehabilitation.
$99,838

Forest Landowners Association
Engaging Large-Scale Landowners for Longleaf Pine Restoration (Multiple States)
Establish 2,500 acres of longleaf pine and improve 5,500 acres of existing longleaf forest with prescribed fire on large-acreage private lands within the historical longleaf pine range. Project will address barriers to restoring longleaf pine on large-acreage private lands by building trust among stakeholders to achieve collaborative conservation for at-risk and listed species, and providing technical and financial assistance to support planting and management of longleaf pine.
$250,000

Manomet
Western Atlantic Flyway Whimbrel Conservation Program (Multiple States)
Expand on efforts to coordinate conservation and monitor declining whimbrel populations using the western Atlantic Flyway. Project will increase coordination of whimbrel partners working throughout the flyway, address information gaps on whimbrel ecology and demography, and continue monitoring program built around night roosts.
$120,000

Manomet
American Oystercatcher Recovery along the Atlantic Coast (multiple states)
Coordinate the American Oystercatcher recovery initiative, conduct a range-wide aerial survey to count all wintering oystercatchers along the Southeast Atlantic and Gulf coasts (United States), and reduce the impact of predators and human disturbance on populations of coastal breeding shorebirds. 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.
$205,000

Museum of Science
Habitat Restoration in Miami-Dade County (FL)
Promote community stewardship by making natural areas accessible for educational, recreational and ecological purposes as a part of the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science’s Museum Volunteers for the Environment program. Project will enhance three coastal ecosystems, including two dunes and one coastal hammock.
$42,104

Reef Renewal USA
Expanding Genetic Diversity in Coral Nurseries in the Florida Keys (FL)
Increase capacity and genetic diversity in offshore coral nurseries to support Mission: Iconic Reefs in the Florida Keys. Project will add 25 genotypes from 10 new species of coral to existing offshore nurseries, and develop techniques for propagating, rearing, and outplanting.
$150,000

Mote Marine Laboratory
Integrating Artificial Intelligence into Reef Fish Fishery Electronic Monitoring (FL)
Streamline artificial intelligence driven data collection processes by creating a repeatable process for generating data and algorithms. Project will make strides in applying artificial intelligence in the Gulf of Mexico reef fish fishery to serve as a foundation for providing more timely and efficient data for management and industry applications.
$349,000

NOAA Fisheries
Non-invasive Diet Characterization of Southern Resident Killer Whales (WA)
Test the use of stable isotopes to analyze dietary composition for Southern Resident killer whales in the Salish Sea using naturally occurring chemical tracers. Project will measure how stable isotopes in fecal matter and breath samples reflect diets from a feeding study on captive killer whales and compare to archived collected samples from Southern Resident killer whales.
$148,760

Santa Rosa County
Living Shoreline Assessment and Design for Navarre Beach in Santa Rosa County (FL)
Assess, characterize and design a nature based living shoreline along 1,400 linear feet of coastal shoreline on Santa Rosa Sound. Project will develop designs to address severe coastal erosion due to historical storm surges, sea-level rise, waves and wind action, protecting Navarre Beach Utilities Wastewater Treatment Plant, and restore estuarine aquatic habitat within the northeastern Gulf of Mexico.
$250,000

Sea Turtle Conservancy
Increasing Sea Turtle Survivorship by Strengthening Local Lighting Ordinances in Florida
Assist local governments across Florida in updating their lighting ordinances to align with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s newly adopted Model Lighting Ordinance for Sea Turtle Protection. Project will support sustained reduction of hatchling disorientation for loggerhead, leatherback, and green sea turtles through darker nesting habitat for adults and hatchlings.
$110,000

The Longleaf Alliance
Longleaf Ecosystem Restoration in the Gulf Coastal Plain Ecosystem (AL, FL)
Restore the longleaf pine ecosystem, with a focus on improving habitat and conservation of several rare species in the Gulf Coastal Plain Ecosystem, such as the red-cockaded woodpecker, gopher tortoise, and Bachman’s sparrow. Project will improve more than 181,000 acres of longleaf pine habitat through prescribed burns, control of invasive species, and plantings of longleaf pine and groundcover, and will reach 900 landowners in Alabama and Florida with education and technical assistance.
$565,000

The Nature Conservancy
Develop, Test and Deploy Machine Learning to Reduce Storage for Electronic Monitoring of Fisheries (multiple states)
Develop, widely test and deploy open source computer vision tools which identify and trim video segments to reduce archival video storage costs for fisheries electronic monitoring. Project will employ a two-step process where detection of humans is completed during video review and trimming is done only after video review is completed to reduce risk of eliminating important fishing activity and to facilitate adoption by regulators.
$144,889

The Nature Conservancy
Improving Longleaf Pine Habitat in the Apalachicola Partnership Landscape (FL, GA)
Restore and manage more than 32,000 acres of longleaf pine habitat within 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 on the Apalachicola National Forest and other public lands, and provide financial assistance to private landowners to restore longleaf pine, improving habitat for the eastern indigo snake and Bachman’s sparrow.
$450,000

The Nature Conservancy
Planning Coastal Resilience and Ecosystem Restoration at Tyndall Air Force Base (FL)
Design the reconstruction of Tyndall Air Force Base through restoring dunes, salt marshes, and oyster reefs to make the base more resilient and provide habitat for coastal resident and migratory species. Project will gather data and develop engineering designs and permits to implement four projects to enhance habitats critical for biodiversity and military infrastructure resilience along 6,000 feet of shoreline.
$4,800,000

The Trust for Tomorrow
Protecting Critical Habitat and Water Quality through Grazing Management Plans (FL)
Provide technical assistance to farmers and ranchers to provide grazing management plans and implement conservation practices that will improve water quality and quantity, while protecting critical habitats and creating carbon benefits. Project will result in 55,000 acres under grazing management throughout Florida; development of 240 grazing management plans; outreach, education, and technical assistance to 240 private landowners; and implementation of conservation actions by 240 landowners.
$681,110