Habitat Restoration Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act

NOAA’s Office of Habitat Conservation is making a historic impact to restore coastal habitats and support communities across the country through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act.

National

Tidal wetland restoration in California. Credit: NOAA Fisheries.

For decades, NOAA’s Office of Habitat Conservation has supported habitat restoration efforts across the country through large-scale competitive funding opportunities and expert technical assistance. With funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, we are continuing our work to support fisheries and communities through habitat restoration and coastal resilience efforts. This includes:

Fish passage projects that restore access to healthy habitat for migratory fish
Habitat restoration projects that support fisheries and protected species while also strengthening the resilience of coastal ecosystems and communities
Capacity building and on-the-ground restoration projects that advance the coastal habitat restoration priorities of tribes and underserved communities

Results to Date

The Office of Habitat Conservation has run four funding opportunities under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. Through these competitions, we are awarding more than $480 million for 109 projects. View the full list of project descriptions (PDF, 27 pages).

Map of the United States showing projects selected through four funding opportunities under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act — Map of awards in Round 1 throughout the country across the Office of Habitat Conservation’s 4 competitions. Circles represent awards in single states or territories; triangles represent awards that span multiple states or territories.

Learn more about the awards from each competition:

News and Project Updates

Learn more about how these projects are helping to recover threatened species, reduce the impact of coastal flooding and land loss, and empower underserved communities by reading our latest feature stories and project updates for some highlights:

See all of our content about projects funded under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act.

Chinook salmon jump in frothy white water — Migrating Chinook salmon. Credit: Laura Mahoney/USFWS.

Fish Passage

With this funding, NOAA is continuing our work to reopen migratory pathways and restore access to healthy habitat for fish. A portion of this funding is specifically dedicated to support tribes and organizations that represent tribes in implementing fish passage projects and building tribal organizational capacity.

Every year, millions of fish migrate to their spawning and rearing habitats to reproduce. Some fish need to swim thousands of miles through oceans and rivers to reach their destinations. They are often blocked from completing their journey by barriers like dams and culverts. When fish can’t reach their habitat, they can’t reproduce and maintain or grow their populations. As a result, many fish populations have declined. NOAA works to reopen these migratory pathways, restoring access to healthy habitat for fish. These efforts also provide community and economic benefits, like increased opportunities for fishing and boating and reduced risk of flooding.

Fish Passage Projects

To date, NOAA has announced funding for 36 fish passage projects under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Learn more about these projects:

Past Funding Opportunities

Aerial view of several buildings surrounded by forest on the shore of a wide river — Funding will support the Native Village of Levelock, Alaska, in assessing how future climate scenarios could affect their community. Credit: Rich Buzard/Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys.

Habitat Restoration and Coastal Resilience

NOAA is using this funding to invest in transformational habitat restoration and coastal resilience projects across the country. NOAA has dedicated a portion of this funding specifically to advancing the coastal habitat restoration priorities of tribes and underserved communities, to provide capacity for these communities to more fully participate in restoration activities.

Communities, businesses, and infrastructure in coastal areas are under increasing pressure from the impacts of flooding, climate change, and sea level rise. Habitat restoration provides a safe, effective, and affordable approach to coastal protection. Efforts like restoring coastal wetlands and reopening rivers to migration help strengthen the resilience of coastal communities and ecosystems while also supporting our nation’s fisheries and protected species. Capacity building and on-the-ground restoration activities in tribal and underserved communities help to ensure their needs and priorities are at the center of habitat restoration efforts in their communities.

Habitat Restoration and Coastal Resilience Projects

To date, NOAA has announced funding for 73 habitat restoration and coastal resilience projects under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law with funding leveraged from the Inflation Reduction Act. Learn more about these projects:

Past Funding Opportunities

Habitat Restoration and NOAA

The NOAA Fisheries Office of Habitat Conservation has a long history conducting habitat restoration efforts with large-scale competitive funding opportunities and expert technical assistance through our Community-based Restoration Program. Since 1996, the program has partnered with more than 2,600 organizations to take on more than 2,200 projects. These efforts have restored more than 94,000 acres of habitat and opened up more than 4,400 miles of streams and rivers to fish migration.