A wealth of birds, including Great Blue Herons and other wading birds, will benefit from improvements to coastal wetlands and barrier islands.

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation announced $30 million in new grants awarded from their National Coastal Resilience Fund to benefit coastal areas across the country. Among them, Audubon received funding for three projects totaling more than $1 million with matching funds to enhance coastal areas in North Carolina, New York, and California that will benefit a wide variety of birds, other wildlife, and citizens.

“Our coasts are the first lines of defense against sea level rise and stronger more frequent storms,” said Dr. Karen Hyun, vice president for coastal conservation at the National Audubon Society. “These grants will allow us to shore up marshes and wetlands that provide critical habitat for birds like Saltmarsh Sparrows and White Pelicans.”

“We thank Congress, NOAA, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for their support to increase coastal resilience for birds and for coastal communities,” Hyun added.

Following the destructive 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation created the National Coastal Resilience Fund in partnership with NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) to strengthen our nation's natural infrastructure such as coastal marshes, beach dunes, barrier islands, and coral reefs.

With coastal resilience grants awarded in three states, Audubon will 1) Develop a publicly informed and community-supported design to restore and strengthen urban wetlands in Marin City, California that will serve as shoreline protection from storms and floods while supporting birds and other wildlife, plus provide much-needed opportunities for local residents to engage with nature. 2) Complete a comprehensive marsh site assessment in Currituck Sound, North Carolina, and generate a design plan at one to three of the highest-priority sites to increase community resilience to flooding, sea level rise, storms, and other coastal challenges. 3) Restore priority coastal habitat in a flood-prone area in Brookhaven on Long Island, New York to benefit priority bird species and other wildlife, reduce flooding, and better protect inland areas from rising sea levels and storm events.

For more information about how Audubon works to make our coasts stronger and more resilient, visit https://www.audubon.org/conservation/coastal-resilience