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ERA
Information:
NOAA's Role in the
ERA
Photo
Credit: NOAA, Department of Commerce
The federal financial assistance program described in the ERA and its strategy is only one component of the effort required to meet the Act's million-acre goal. As a member of the Estuary Habitat Restoration Council, NOAA is part of an interagency effort to create and maintain effective partnerships for the promotion of estuary habitat restoration, and develop and enhance restoration monitoring and research capabilities. In support of these efforts, NOAA is promoting regional restoration planning efforts, assessing habitat trends, and working to evaluate restoration techniques and develop innovative technologies for restoration and restoration monitoring.
In addition, the Estuary Restoration Act directs NOAA to develop and maintain a restoration project database and establish standards for restoration monitoring. The ERA database and monitoring protocols have broad applicability to estuary restoration projects, serving to document the success of various restoration techniques -- their purpose is not limited to support of the Act's financial assistance program.
NOAA is taking an active role in compiling project information for the project database, working with other federal agencies, state regional organizations and nonprofit groups to expand the scope of the database, allowing it to ultimately function as a national clearinghouse for restoration project information.
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