Help Us Prevent a Coastal Catastrophe

The federal budget proposal from the Trump administration will be disastrous for the coastal environment and ocean dependent economy in the United States. Funding cuts across a swath of public service agencies would kill jobs, harm the economy, and make even going to the beach a risky activity. 
 
Documents outlining the 2018 federal budget show that the plan is to cut every single federal program that helps to protect, manage, and improve our coastal and estuarine areas —  and your quality of life. If carried out, these programs — which protect the environment and millions of jobs — will be eliminated or have their funding cut so severely they will be rendered ineffective.
 
You can help turn this around!
 
How? Here are two ways.
 
1) Please contact your elected federal officials and tell them you oppose this assault on environmental protection.  
 
Find your Representatives and Senators, along with their office numbers, here.
 
It is best to call both the local district and Washington DC offices.
 
2) Please help support the American Littoral Society so we can continue to protect the coast for you and future generations, and are able to speak out on behalf of the coast and you on issues like this.

READ MORE for a guide for calling your elected official and additional information on this issue. 

A GUIDE FOR MAKING THE CALLS

Start by letting them know your name and that you are a constituent. Then inform them why you are calling and what issue you are calling about. Sometimes you will be able to speak directly to your senator or representative, but more often you will speak to a staff person in the member's office. This person keeps track of how many people called and their positions on issues, and provides a summary to the member. Be assured that your call does count, even if you are not able to speak directly to your senator or representative.

Sample script:

Hi, my name is _______ and I’m a constituent of Representative _______/ Senator _________. I’m calling because I’m concerned about President Donald Trump proposing severe funding cuts or elimination of programs that protect our local coastal resources, economy and quality of life. I specifically oppose cutting NOAA’s Estuarine Research Reserves, Community-based Habitat Restoration, and Coastal Management Programs. I also oppose cutting the EPA National Estuary Program and US Fish and Wildlife Servicce Coastal Program. I’m calling to see if Rep. _________ / Senator ___________ plans to publicly oppose Trump’s effort to cut funding for or eliminate these programs. As a constituent of Rep. ______/ Sen. ________ I expect him/her to support these critical programs. Thanks for your time.

WHY THIS BUDGET WILL BE CATASTROPHIC FOR THE COAST

Bottom line: The ocean is place of vibrant life and wonder. It speaks to our spirit, provides a home for amazing marine life — from whales to horseshoe crabs — and is the place we play and restore ourselves. The U.S. ocean and coastal economy contributes $359 billion annually to the nation's economy and supports 3 million jobs. Coastal wetlands — which the Littoral Society, with help from federal agencies, works to protect and restore — provide an estimated $23.2 billion per year in storm protection.
 
Those are big numbers. But anyone who lived on the coast during Hurricane Sandy or feels secure their beach isn’t contaminated with bacteria knows those figures don’t capture the personal impact of these budget cuts. 
 
These proposed cuts will jeopardize important federal programs such as water quality testing on beaches and pollution cleanups. They would also affect hundreds of thousands local, state and private sector jobs — many tied directly to coastal tourism. 
 
The spending changes would also have ripple effects, since numerous environmental protection duties will be handed to the states at the same time as money to carry out those responsibilities is cut. In New Jersey alone, 33 percent of the budget for the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) comes from the federal government. Other states similarly depend on a state-federal partnership.
 
Moreover, grants for environmental research and partnership projects are also on the chopping block. Such funding has played a major role in Littoral Society efforts to protect drinking water in southern New Jersey, slow beach erosion in the Delaware Bay, and address a flooding and pollution problem in a coastal lake on the Jersey shore.

PROGRAMS AND FUNDING CRITICAL FOR THE COAST

• NOAA Community-based Restoration Program — NOAA’s Community-based Restoration Program is the nation’s premier coastal habitat restoration program that provides funds for public-private partnerships to restore community-driven priorities. 
• NOAA National Estuarine Research Reserves — The National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) is a unique network of 29 sites established through a partnership between NOAA and coastal states and territories for long-term research, education, and coastal stewardship.
• NOAA’s Regional Coastal Resiliency Grant Program – this program provides competitive funding to ensure our states and communities are prepared to face changing ocean conditions, from acidification to sea level rise, changing economic conditions, from recession to emerging ocean uses, as well as major catastrophes, from tsunamis to marine debris clogging waterways.  
• NOAA’s National Sea Grant Program – New Jersey Sea Grant and each of the other 32 state programs work side-by-side with local citizens and decision-makers to respond to the many challenges their communities face. Each Sea Grant program also supports 
• coastal and water dependent industries to develop and thrive, which grows and supports the coastal economy that is essential to our entire Nation’s economic well-being.
• Coastal Zone Management Program — The program is a voluntary partnership between the federal government and U.S. coastal and Great Lakes states and territories that provides the basis for protecting, restoring, and responsibly developing our nation’s diverse coastal communities and resources.
• US Fish and Wildlife Service Coastal Program — The Coastal Program is a voluntary, incentive-based program that provides technical and financial assistance to coastal communities and landowners to protect and restore fish and wildlife habitat on public and private lands. The Coastal Program leverages private and local funding at a ratio of 8-to-1. Just $1 million in additional funds means over $8 million in leverage and increased impact. These voluntary projects help prevent species from being listed and prevents more costly recovery of species after they have been listed.
• EPA National Estuary Program — The National Estuary Program (NEP) is an EPA locally-based program to protect and restore the water quality and ecological health of 28 estuaries that Congress has determined to be of “national significance.”
• Coastal Zone Management Program — The program is a voluntary partnership between the federal government and U.S. coastal and Great Lakes states and territories that provides the basis for protecting, restoring, and responsibly developing our nation’s diverse coastal communities and resources.
• EPA Beach Grants Program that provides annual assistance to coastal states and territories to help pay for beach water quality monitoring and public notification programs. More than half of coastal states depend solely on this federal grant to pay for their beach water testing programs. Without this grant, all testing could stop.

Help us demand that these important programs be protected by calling your senators and House members now. Debate on the President's 2018 budget will begin soon. 

Please stand with us as the American Littoral Society stands against a budget that would harm the coast we have worked so long and hard to preserve and protect.