May 13, 2011 -- Mr. Eric C. Schwaab, Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chaired the meeting. Council members or representatives in attendance were Ms. Tamara McCandless, Chief, Branch of Habitat Restoration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS); Mr. Paul Cough, Director, Oceans and Coastal Protection Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); and Mr. Arnab Raychaudhuri, Special Assistant, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works). Subsequent to a review of the status of previously funded projects, the estuary habitat restoration project solicitation process was reviewed and the twelve proposals the work group recommended for Council consideration were described. The Council members stated that in the future project summaries should describe how the projects address climate change and resiliency. Funds are available for nine projects. The Council agreed to recommend the three additional projects to Army with the intent that these might be funded if funds became available.
Click here to link to the list of projects in priority order. Michele Dionne from the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve gave a presentation on the use of Reserve sites as reference marshes and evaluation of the success of salt marsh restoration projects. The goal is to determine which monitoring techniques might be most useful for certain types of restoration projects. Ms. Jennie Wallace provided a brief update on the National Ocean Policy and Strategic Action plan. The Council then discussed the proposed revised ERA strategy at some length. The focus was on the role of the Estuary Habitat Restoration Council and the Council favored a self-defined role to enhance coordination of restoration monitoring and tracking.
May 26, 2010 -- Ms. Patricia A. Montanio, Director, Office of Habitat Conservation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) chaired the meeting. Council members or representatives in attendance were Mr. Dallas Miner, National Team Leader, Coastal Program, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS); Mr. Paul Cough, Director, Oceans and Coastal Protection Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); and Mr. Arnab Raychaudhuri, Special Assistant, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works). Discussion of the merits of establishing a Vice Chair position that would automatically convert to Chair at the expiration of the current Chair’s term resulted in a decision not to establish that position at this time. The estuary habitat restoration project solicitation process was reviewed and the ten proposals the work group recommended for Council consideration were described. There is $2.5 million available for funding projects, $1.5 million from NOAA and $1.0 million from the US Army Corps of Engineers. Six of the projects are recommended for funding within the funds currently available. The Council agreed to recommend the four additional projects to Army with the intent that these might be funded if funds became available. Click here to link to the list of projects in priority order. The plans for the stakeholder input regarding the Estuary Habit Restoration Strategy was discussed and the Council approved the proposed plan. It also directed the work group to provide an additional forum for provision of comments and the work group will do so.
October 6, 2009 -- Mr. Terrance Salt, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) chaired the meeting. Council members or representatives in attendance were Mr. Bryan Arroyo, Assistant Director for Fisheries and Habitat Conservation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS); Ms. Patricia A. Montanio, Director, Office of Habitat Conservation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); Ms. Suzanne Schwartz, Acting Director, Office of Wetlands and Watersheds, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); and Ms. Ann Mills, Deputy Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and the Environment, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Ms. Jo-Ellen Darcy, Assistant Secretary of the Army also attended to express support for the Council and its activities. For the majority of the Council members this was their first meeting so various members of the interagency work group presented material on the history of the Estuary Restoration Act (ERA), its amendments, the program’s funding history, the Council Procedures, and the role of the Interagency Work Group. Ms. Darcy led the election of a new Council Chair. NOAA was elected to Council Chair for a period of three years. The Council members discussed the merits of electing a Vice-Chair. Council will review proposed revisions to the Council Procedures later and will post the final revised procedures on the ERA Web site. The estuary habitat restoration project solicitation process was reviewed and the five proposals the work group recommended for Council consideration were described. The Council agreed to recommend the five proposed projects to Army for funding consideration. NOAA funded a sixth project from the solicitation using its fiscal year 2009 ERA funds and the council approved the project’s inclusion in the official ERA project list. Revision of the Estuary Habit Restoration Strategy was discussed and the Council directed the work group to host a public listening session/workshop to solicit input regarding the proposed revisions. Click here to link to the list of projects in priority order.
January 29, 2008 -- Mr. George S. Dunlop, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) chaired the meeting. Council members or representatives in attendance were Mr. Timothy R. E. Keeney, Deputy Assistant Secretary Department of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere; Ms. Yenie L. Tran, Special Assistant to the USDA Under Secretary for Natural Resources and the Environment, Department of Agriculture; Mr. Gary Frazer, Assistant Director for Fisheries and Habitat Conservation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS); and Ms. Suzanne Schwartz, representing Mr. Benjamin Grumbles, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Ms. Jan Rasgus, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), briefly discussed the Water Resources Development Act of 2007, including the process for preparation of implementation guidance. Ms. Ellen Cummings and Ms. Susan Mangin (FWS) discussed the amendments to the Estuary Restoration Act of 2000 and the proposed process for future solicitations of project proposals recognizing that some projects may be funded by agencies represented on the Council other than USACE were discussed. Ms. Ellen Cummings, (USACE) presented a brief status report on the thirteen projects that were previously approved for funding. One project has been terminated and one has been completed. Another project is ready to start construction in the near future. The Fiscal Year 2008 appropriation for the program was zero; however, the work group recommended three projects for funding consideration. After considerable discussion the Council only recommended one project for Army to consider funding. The recommended project was the Half Moon Reef Restoration Project in Texas. Mr. Jeff Benoit, President of Restore America’s Estuaries discussed his organizations support of the program and concerns about the lack of progress. Mr. Jason Albritton, The Nature Conservancy, made a brief statement in support of the program. Mr. Colianni, EPA, described the interagency work group’s plan to revise the Strategy that was published in 2000 and the Council generally concurred in the work group’s plan. Ms. Jenni Wallace, NOAA, reported on efforts by the work group to develop symposium on coastal restoration in the face of climate change at the Society of Wetland Scientists meeting in May.