Bonefish & Tarpon Trust applauds the U.S. Senate for passing a bipartisan infrastructure bill on August 10 that includes significant funding for water infrastructure, environmental remediation, and climate resilience projects. Included in this historic bill are $1.9 billion for aquatic ecosystem restoration projects managed by the Army Corps of Engineers, $491 million in funding to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for restoring marine, estuarine, coastal or Great Lakes ecosystem habitat, and $494 million for NOAA’s National Coastal Resilience Fund.
BTT has worked consistently over the past year to highlight the importance of funding programs such as the National Coastal Resilience Fund, which supports on-the-ground projects that directly benefit flats fisheries through habitat restoration.
“At a time when our fisheries are struggling due to the impacts of habitat loss and nutrient pollution, the Senate has made a down payment on clean water, healthy habitats and coastal resilience,” said Jim McDuffie, BTT President and CEO. “This funding has the potential to make a real difference for our flats fisheries, and BTT looks forward to working with the House of Representatives and the Biden Administration to ensure that infrastructure legislation with robust ecosystem restoration funding is signed into law.”
