Alabama Trustees release Restoration Plan IV with $24.1 million for coastal restoration projects

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Recovery Plan IV, which includes projects to repair damage to Alabama’s natural resources caused by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, has been approved by the Alabama Trustee Implementation Group of the Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) program.

The final plan includes 11 potential coastal restoration projects. The Alabama Trustee Implementation Group has selected seven projects for implementation focused on restoring wetlands, coastal and nearshore habitats. nutrient reduction in certain coastal waters; birds; oysters; and access to outdoor recreation. A total of $24.1 million in restoration funding was allocated to the seven projects.

Chris Blankenship, commissioner of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and executive trustee for Alabama, said the final recovery plan is the result of years of hard work and dedication to restoring Alabama’s coast.

“I appreciate the work of Alabama Deepwater Horizon Coordinator Amy Hunter, her staff and the other NRDA trustees in getting this plan over the finish line,” Blankenship said. “The work completed under Restoration Plan IV will build on work completed under previous restoration plans and will have a positive impact on Coastal Alabama.”

The projects to be implemented include, among others:

Lower Perdido Islands Habitat Restoration – Phase II ($9,452,000)

The habitats of the Lower Perdido Islands consist of emergent wetlands, unpaved sandy shorelines and forested plateaus, and adjacent submerged aquatic vegetation. These unique habitats are home to diverse wildlife, particularly shorebirds, shorebirds and waterfowl. The goal of this project is to restore valuable coastal island habitats in Lower Perdido Bay that support a wide variety of plants and animals. Phase II also includes the restoration of approximately 23 acres of contiguous coastal habitat on Walker Island, including 5 acres of intertidal habitat, 13 acres of scrub habitat, 1 acre of marsh habitat and 4 acres of unpaved beach habitat on Walker Island. This project is expected to benefit wetlands, coastal and nearshore habitats, and many species of shorebirds and waterbirds, such as: B. the tricolor heron, the red heron, the little egret, the great egret, the white ibis, the brown pelicans, the gray heron, the great egret and the great egret, and willet.

Puppy Creek – Juniper Creek-Big Creek Watersheds Nutrient Reduction ($1,520,900)

The health of the Gulf of Mexico depends on the health of its estuaries, and the health of these coastal waters is influenced by land use in the watersheds of its tributaries. This watershed-scale project would restore water quality impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill by reducing runoff of nutrients and sediment from surrounding cropland, grassland, forest and urban sources in the Gulf waters.

Managing Nesting Bird Habitat on the Alabama Beach Coast ($4,740,456)

The Gulf Coast hosts a variety of shorebird species year-round by providing nesting sites in the summer, serving as a stopover for migratory species in the spring and fall, and serving as a wintering area for numerous species that breed elsewhere. The aim of this project is to improve the condition of beach-nesting birds. It builds on previous shorebird recovery efforts to reduce human disturbance and predation on nests and chicks, thereby increasing the productivity of these species.

Improving oyster resilience by connecting breeding and sinking reefs ($2,800,000)

This project aims to increase oyster abundance and resiliency in Alabama waters by creating a network of breeding and sinking reefs across a range of habitats and salinities. The project is expected to bring numerous benefits to offshore and offshore marine resources. A healthy network of oyster reefs would restore the ecosystem services provided by oysters, including improved water quality through filtration, shoreline and estuarine habitat protection through attenuation of wave energy, support recreational oyster harvesting, and provide food and habitat for reef-dwelling species of fish and shellfish and the Species they hunt. This project builds on more than $7,000,000 in oyster restoration work approved by the NRDA Regionwide Trustee Implementation Group. Commissioner Blankenship also represents Alabama in this group.

Oyster Growth and Restoration Placement on Reef ($1,369,827)

This project will install up to 15 dense spawning aggregate structures over a five-year period and will include monitoring of these structures. If successful over the long term, this project would lead to the development of new restoration methods that would largely benefit the health of Alabama’s coastal and estuarine ecosystems. Oysters are a keystone ecological species, and successful restoration of oyster reefs through improved survival opportunities would provide habitat for a variety of marine organisms, ensure structural integrity to reduce coastal erosion, and improve water quality.

Two recreational use projects were also approved.

The final restoration plan is the culmination of a year-long review of all projects analyzed in previous restoration plans developed by the Alabama and Regionwide Trustee Implementation Groups, as well as by the Deepwater Horizon Trustees in early phases of coastal restoration efforts.

The projects included in the final plan were selected for their potential to provide restoration benefits to coastal Alabama if continued or expanded. Eleven preferred and non-preferred alternatives were included in the draft Remediation Plan IV and Environmental Impact Assessment, which was released for public review and comment in June 2024. During the public comment period, more than 3,500 comments were submitted in support of the projects included in the plan. The final plan aims to partially compensate the public for damage to natural resources and resource services on the Alabama coast caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

A copy of the full report, “The Final Restoration Plan IV and Environmental Assessment: Wetlands, Coastal and Nearshore Habitats; nutrient reduction; birds; oysters; and Providing and Improving Recreational Opportunities,” can be found at https://gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/media/document/alabama-final-rp4.