Report: NOAA Coastal Management and Habitat Restoration Investments

Investing in America: The Estimated Socioeconomic Impacts and Ecosystem Services Benefits of NOAA Coastal Management and Habitat Restoration Investments

A collage depicting individuals engaged in various water-related work activities.
Table of Contents

A Preliminary Analysis of Select Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act Grant-Funded Awards

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) represent transformational investments, including about $6.3 billion for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to stimulate economic development, reduce climate risk, and protect and restore habitat. To begin to understand the value of this funding—and to inform future policy and grant-making decisions—NOAA evaluated eight coastal management and conservation funding opportunities in the National Ocean Service and National Marine Fisheries Service. In 2022 and 2023, NOAA made 173 awards representing $717 million in federal support, mostly from the BIL. Because these awards are in the early stages of implementation, our methods focused on using available grant award information to estimate the value of what we are calling the “3 Es”:

  1. The estimated economic impact of these awards in coastal communities, the Great Lakes, and U.S. territories.
  2. A preliminary analysis of the extent of equitable engagement and potential benefits flowing to underserved, Tribal, and Indigenous communities.
  3. The expected ecosystem services benefits of habitat improvements.

This evaluation does not include the long-term economic benefits associated with reducing climate risk exposure or the benefits of natural hazards preparedness. As the maps and analysis below illustrate and quantify, these investments reach across coastal communities, the Great Lakes, and U.S. territories, and are expected to grow economies, create jobs, and improve valuable habitat for underserved communities, Tribes, and Indigenous communities.

A map of the contiguous United States, Alaska, Hawai'i, American Samoa, the CNMI, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands with dots representing award locations. Awards are mostly located along the coasts.
This slide presents a map of U.S. states and territories, with approximate award locations, coded by each of the eight programs included in the analysis. Award locations are mostly along the coastlines (including Great Lakes) of the states and territories. Awards from the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund are concentrated in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, and Northern California. The other seven programs (Coastal Habitat Restoration and Resilience Grants for Underserve Communities, Coastal Zone Management Habitat Protection and Restoration, Marine Debris Removal, National Estuarine Research Reserves Habitat Protection and Restoration, Restoring Fish Passage Through Barrier Removal, Restoring Tribal Priority Fish Passage Through Barrier Removal, and Transformational Habitat Restoration and Coastal Resilience Grants) are spread through the states and U.S. territories. Transformational Habitat Restoration and Coastal Resilience Grants and Coastal Habitat Restoration and Resilience Grants for Underserved Communities have the most award locations. Some states, such as Washington, Oregon, California, Massachusetts, Florida, and Alabama have many awards near each other, and points overlap slightly. Other coastal and Great Lake states and territories have more spread out award locations.

Summary

Based upon a preliminary assessment of economic growth and job creation, the direct spending from these awards will generate about 2.4 times the economic activity for every federal dollar spent—in addition to creating 13.6 jobs for every million dollars spent. In the long term, these investments will create healthier ecosystems that will reap sustainable dividends for years to come; help reduce climate risk; and build resilience in underserved, Tribal, and Indigenous communities.

Economic Impact

Estimated changes to economic growth and job creation that these historic investments will bring to the areas where project activity is occurring.

Coastal and habitat restoration awards supported through the eight funding opportunities are expected to stimulate significant economic activity across coastal America, including the Great Lakes, and U.S. territories. Using input-output modeling, we estimated the preliminary value that these investments will have on the flow of economic activity and jobs in the economies around the award sites.

Map of the contiguous United States, Alaska, Hawai'i, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands displaying estimated gross output by state, which ranges from $19 million or lower to $206 million. The highest estimated impacts are in Washington, Florida and California.
The top part of this slide presents the key findings of the economic analysis: over 7,800 jobs and $553 million in labor income, 13.6 jobs created for every $1 million in NOAA grant investment, $1.4 billion in economic output in the local economies across coastal states including the Great Lakes, as well as Tribal Nations and U.S. territories and $2.40 worth to total economic activity generated for every $1 spent by BIL/IRA projects. The rest of the slide shows the estimated gross output by state of the contiguous U.S., Alaska, Hawai’i, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Washington has the highest estimated gross output between $150 to $206 million. California and Florida each have estimated gross output between $115 to $149 million. Alabama, North Carolina, Oregon, and Puerto Rico estimated gross output falls between $75 to $114 million. Connecticut, Hawai’i, Louisiana, Massachusetts and Texas have estimated gross output between $45 to $74 million. Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina, Virginia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands each have an estimated gross output between $20 to $44 million. Estimated gross output for Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Minnesota, New York, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin is under $19 million.

Equitable Engagement and Expected Benefits

How these awards are anticipated to engage and provide benefits to underserved, Tribal, and Indigenous communities.

Our preliminary analysis shows that the Administration’s equity and environmental justice objectives are expected to be advanced through these awards, with 59 percent of projects planning on engaging Tribal or Indigenous communities. Half of the awards are committed to protecting, restoring, or enhancing culturally significant ecosystems, and over 40 percent provide important resilience benefits to vulnerable populations, including weather and climate risk reduction activities.

Expected Equity Benefits breakdown
50 percent of awards will protect, restore or enhance culturally significant ecosystems. 41 percent of awards will provide important community co-benefits, such as risk reduction efforts to mitigate flooding, excessive heat, and other climate risks. 38 percent of awards will result in economic benefits - especially job creation - for underserved, Tribal, or Indigenous communities. 59 percent of awards plan on engaging Tribal or Indigenous groups and 55 percent of the projects' underserved community members and/or Tribal/Indigenous representatives are expected to be directly involved in project planning and/or implementation.

Ecosystem Services Benefits

The value that society would place on the expected improvements to habitats that will enhance the function of ecosystems.

These awards will improve the function of habitats, resulting in ecosystem services that are valued by society. Coral reefs, mangroves, salt marshes, and dunes provide protection to homes and businesses along the shore. Beaches provide a space for recreation. Wetlands provide a nursery for fish species to grow before migrating to ocean waters, supporting recreational and commercial fisheries. These and other benefits are distributed across the habitats covered by the awards. Using economic valuation methods, we estimated the value that society would place on the expected award outcomes.

Doughnut chart showing the distribution of $725 million of total annualized benefits by habitat type. The majority of funding is directed towards wetlands ($314.7 million) followed by mangroves ($124.8 million).
Through the anticipated restoration of coastal habitat, removal of derelict vessels and marine debris, and removal of fish passage barriers, ecosystem improvements are expected to result in $725 million in annualized benefits. Wetlands $314.7 million, mangroves $124.8 million, lakes and ponds $78.2 million, forest $74.2 million, floodplains $56.4 million, beaches and dunes $32.3 million, submerged aquatic vegetation $22.7 million, rivers and streams $16.6 million, coral reefs $2.7 million, grasslands $2.3 million, and oyster reefs $0.1 million. 
First published