Okaloosa County BOCC — November 16, 2013 — reading text

Packet Pg. 556  INITIAL COMPREHENSIVE PLAN  The NAWCF received $100 million from the BP criminal plea agreement for wetlands restoration, conservation, and projects benefiting migratory birds. The Council will work with its partners to advance common goals, avoid duplication, and maximize the benefits to the Gulf Coast region. GULF COAST ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION COUNCIL 10 Packet Pg. 557  INITIAL COMPREHENSIVE PLAN IV. COUNCIL-SELECTED RESTORATION COMPONENT The Council-Selected Restoration Component will be used for ecosystem restoration in the Gulf Coast region. The Council defines ecosystem restoration as: All activities, projects, methods, and procedures appropriate to enhance the health and resilience of the Gulf Coast ecosystem, as measured in terms of the physical, biological, or chemical properties of the ecosystem, or the services it provides, and to strengthen its ability to support the diverse economies, communities, and cultures of the region. It includes activity that initiates or accelerates the recovery of an ecosystem with respect to its health, integrity, and sustainability. It also includes protecting and conserving ecosystems so they can continue to reduce impacts from tropical storms and other disasters, support robust economies, and assist in mitigating and adapting to the impacts of climate change (per Executive Order 13554). The Council will use the Goals, Objectives, and Evaluation Criteria in Sections III and IV of this Plan to guide its ecosystem restoration funding decisions. The Goals provide the Council’s desired long-term outcomes for Gulf Coast restoration; the Objectives outline the broad types of activities that are expected to achieve the Goals and will be refined over time to be more specific and measureable as more information is known about the ultimate amount and availability of funding. Objectives The Council will select and fund projects and programs that restore and protect the natural resources, ecosystems, water quality, fisheries, marine and wildlife habitats, beaches, and coastal wetlands of the Gulf Coast region. Projects and programs not within the scope of these Objectives for ecosystem restoration will not be funded under the Council-Selected Restoration Component. The Objectives are not listed in any particular order, and the Council does not anticipate that restoration efforts funded under the Council-Selected Restoration Component will be equally distributed among the Objectives. Restoration projects and programs may achieve multiple Objectives simultaneously. The list of example projects and programs is meant to be descriptive rather than limiting. 1. Restore, Enhance, and Protect Habitats – Restore, enhance and protect the extent, functionality, resiliency, and sustainability of coastal, freshwater, estuarine, wildlife, and marine habitats. These include barrier islands, beaches, dunes, coastal wetlands, coastal forests, pine savannahs, coastal prairies, submerged aquatic vegetation, oyster reefs, and shallow and deepwater corals. GULF COAST ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION COUNCIL 11 Packet Pg. 558  INITIAL COMPREHENSIVE PLAN The types of projects and programs that could be implemented under this Objective include the restoration, enhancement, creation, and protection of important coastal, freshwater, estuarine, and marine habitats, and removal of invasive species. Protection and conservation projects may be implemented through active management, acquisition, voluntary management agreements, protected area management, perpetual management, conservation easements, and other conservation activities. 2. Restore, Improve, and Protect Water Resources – Restore, improve, and protect the Gulf Coast region’s fresh, estuarine, and marine water resources by reducing or treating nutrient and pollutant loading; and improving the management of freshwater flows, discharges to and withdrawals from critical systems. The types of water resource management projects and programs that could be implemented include implementation of watershed best management practices; improved agricultural and silvicultural management practices; enhanced stormwater and/or wastewater management; improved quality and quantity of freshwater flows, discharges, and withdrawals; sediment runoff management; and other foundational water quality concerns. 3. Protect and Restore Living Coastal and Marine Resources – Restore and protect healthy, diverse, and sustainable living coastal and marine resources including finfish, shellfish, birds, mammals, reptiles, coral, and deep benthic communities. The types of projects and programs that could be implemented under this Objective may address recovery of threatened and endangered species, overfishing and bycatch, improved fisheries assessments, sustainable resource management of commercially and recreationally important activities (such as fishing, hunting, and wildlife watching), increased resource stocks, invasive and nuisance species management and removal, enforcement, and other protective measures. 4. Restore and Enhance Natural Processes and Shorelines – Restore and enhance ecosystem resilience, sustainability, and natural defenses through the restoration of natural coastal, estuarine, and riverine processes, and/or the restoration of natural shorelines. The types of projects and programs that could be implemented under this Objective may include: removal of barriers to improve freshwater inflow and fish passage; improved sediment management (e.g., through increased beneficial use, dedicated dredging, and sediment capture structures); restoration of coastal wetlands, restoration of eroded shorelines; river diversions (also known as river re-introduction projects) and other types GULF COAST ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION COUNCIL 12 Packet Pg. 559  INITIAL COMPREHENSIVE PLAN of hydrologic restoration; natural ridge restoration; implementation of living shoreline techniques; and other restoration techniques that address natural processes and shorelines. 5. Promote Community Resilience – Build and sustain Gulf Coast communities’ capacity to adapt to short‐ and long‐term natural and man‐made hazards, particularly increased flood risks associated with sea-level rise and environmental stressors. Promote ecosystem restoration that enhances community resilience through the re-establishment of non-structural, natural buffers against storms and flooding. The types of projects and programs that could be implemented under this Objective may address: capacity for local governments, businesses, and community-based organizations to adapt; risk assessments; natural resource planning and natural resource recovery planning with locally-driven solutions; long-term land use planning as it relates to the management and sustainability of coastal resources; acquisition and/or preservation of undeveloped lands in coastal high-hazard areas (e.g., as buffers against storm surge and sea level rise); non-structural storm and surge protection; design of incentive-based mitigation programs; engagement with and among local communities; and other measures that build community resiliency through ecosystem restoration. Projects and programs that promote community resilience should be tied to ecosystem restoration or protection. 6. Promote Natural Resource Stewardship and Environmental Education – Promote and enhance natural resource stewardship through environmental education efforts that include formal and informal educational opportunities, professional development and training, communication, and actions for all ages. The types of projects and programs that could be implemented under this Objective may include: environmental stewardship and education programs tied to Gulf Coast resources that encourage and coordinate the use of existing environmental education and outreach networks and institutions; establish a more effective relationship between research and education communities; and provide meaningful hands-on ecosystem education that includes local, cultural, environmental and economic values with the belief that education will encourage action toward a healthier Gulf Coast. Projects and programs which promote natural resource stewardship and environmental education should be tied to ecosystem restoration or protection. 7. Improve Science-Based Decision-Making Processes – Improve science-based decision- making processes used by the Council. The types of projects and programs that could be implemented under this Objective may GULF COAST ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION COUNCIL 13 Packet Pg. 560  INITIAL COMPREHENSIVE PLAN implement or improve: science-based adaptive management and project-level and regional ecosystem monitoring, including the coordination and interoperability of ecosystem monitoring programs; regional database and expert systems used to warehouse ecosystem data; improved ecosystem restoration outcome and impact measurement and reporting; and development of local and regional ecosystem models to apply the monitoring information gained and address the critical uncertainties related to restoration to adaptively manage and inform Council decision-making processes related to ecosystem investments. Evaluation Criteria The RESTORE Act directs the Council to use the best available science and give highest priority to ecosystem projects and programs that meet one or more of the following four Priority Criteria. The Council will use these criteria to evaluate proposals and select the best projects and programs to achieve comprehensive ecosystem restoration. Prior to evaluating particular projects and programs for funding, the Council will develop a proposal solicitation and evaluation process that ensures proponents submit information sufficient to effectively evaluate projects and programs based on the Priority Criteria. The process will include additional detail regarding the manner in which the Council will apply the Priority Criteria. 1. Projects that are projected to make the greatest contribution to restoring and protecting the natural resources, ecosystems, fisheries, marine and wildlife habitats, beaches, and coastal wetlands of the Gulf Coast region, without regard to geographic location within the Gulf Coast region. 2. Large-scale projects and programs that are projected to substantially contribute to restoring and protecting the natural resources, ecosystems, fisheries, marine and wildlife habitats, beaches, and coastal wetlands of the Gulf Coast ecosystem. 3. Projects contained in existing Gulf Coast State comprehensive plans for the restoration and protection of natural resources, ecosystems, fisheries, marine and wildlife habitats, beaches, and coastal wetlands of the Gulf Coast region. 4. Projects that restore long-term resiliency of the natural resources, ecosystems, fisheries, marine