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Projects

Whooping crane

Following consultation with state and federal resource agencies, NFWF has awarded over $2.3 billion in funding from the Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund since 2013. The projects listed below are designed to protect, restore and enhance natural and living resources across the Gulf Coast.​

Want to learn more? View stories, videos and press releases about the projects awarded grants.

The number of awards from the Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund in the state of Alabama now stands at 47, with a total current value of $356 million.

Dauphin Island East End Beach and Dune Restoration

Phase I (2020)
Phase II (2022)

Lower Fish River Watershed Restoration

Phase I (2020)
Phase II (2022)

Wolf Creek Headwaters Restoration

Phase I (2020)
Phase II (2022)

Alabama Coastal Adaptive Management (2022) 

Deer River Shoreline Stabilization

Phase I (2018)
Phase II (2021)

Fowl River Watershed Restoration: Coastal Spits and Wetlands Project

Phase I (2016)
Phase II (2021)

Restoration of the North Side of Dauphin Island

Phase I (2018)
Phase II (2021)

Dauphin Island Beach Nourishment Engineering & Design (2021)

Bon Secour River Headwater Restoration

Phase I (2018)
Phase II (2020)

Dauphin Island Causeway Shoreline Restoration

Phase I (2018)
Phase II (2020)

Lower Halls Mill Creek Protection (2019)

Blackwater River South Tract Acquisition (2019)

Enhanced Fisheries Monitoring in Alabama’s Marine Waters

Phase I (2014)​​
Phase II (2015)
Phase III (2016)
Phase IV (2018)

Alabama Artificial Reef a​nd Habitat Enhancement

Phase I (2015)
Phase II (2018)

Light​ning Point Acquisition and Restoration Project

Phase I (2016)​
Phase II (2018)

Bon Secour National Wildli​fe Refuge Acquisitions

Phase I (2017)
Phase II (2018)

​Little Dauphin Island Restoration Assessment (2017)​

Dauphin Island Bird Habitat Acquisition and Enhancement Program (2017)

Mobile County Conservati​on Acquisition and Salt Aire Shoreline Restoration

Acquisition (2015)​
Restoration (2017)

Mobile B​ay Shore Habitat Conservation and Acquisition Initiative 

Phase I (2015)
​Phase II (2017)​

Gulf Highlands Conservation Acquisition (2016)

Dauphin Island Conservation Acquisition (2016)

Bon Secour – Oyster Bay Wetland Acquisition Project (2016)

Alabama Coastal Bird Stewardship Program (2016)

Grand Bay Acquisition (2015)​

​​Coastal Habitat Restoration Planning Initiative (2014)

Alabama Marine Mammal Conservation and Recovery Program (2014)

Alabama Barrier Island Restoration Assessment (2014)

Restoration and Enhancement of Oyster Reefs in Alabama (2013)

Fowl River Watershed Restoration (2013)

D’Olive Watershed Restoration (2013)​

The number of awards from the Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund in the state of Florida now stands at 46, with a total current value of nearly $309 million.

Restoring Florida’s Shorebird and Seabird Populations

Phase I (2016)
Phase II (2020)
Phase III (2023 – new)

Apalachicola River Ecosystem Land Acquisition & Management (2021)

Pensacola Bay Living Shoreline Project – White Island Habitat Restoration (2021)

Ladson Tract Conservation Easement (2020)

Marine Mammal Pathobiology Laboratory (2020)

Franklin County Living Shoreline (2020)

Panhandle Dune Restoration (2019)

Apalachicola Bay Oyster Restoration

​Phase I (2013)
Phase II (2019)

​​MK Ranch Hydrologic Restoration (2019)

Apalachicola River Slough Restoration

​​Phase I (2019)

​​​​​St. Ma​rks National Wildlife Refuge Saltmarsh Restoration 

​​​​Phase I (2019)

​​Wulfert Bayous Bird Nesting Habitat Restoration (2019)

Lake Wimico Acquisition and Management (2018)

Pensacola East Bay Oyster Habitat Restoration

Phase I (2015)
Phase II (2018)

Restoration ​of Florida’s Coastal Dune Lakes

Phase I (2014)
Phase II (2018)

Eliminating Light Pollution at Sea Turtle Nesting Beaches

Phase I (2013)
Phase II (2015)
Phase III (2018)

Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge Acquisitions (2018)

Long Term Sea Turtle Predation Management (2018)

Southwest Florida Wading Bird Nesting Island Enhancement (2018)

Assessment for Recovery of Gulf of Mexico Fisheries

Phase I (2013)
Phase II (2014)
Phase III (2015)
Phase IV (2016)
Phase V (2017)

Recovery and Resilience of Oyster Reefs in the Big Bend of Florida (2016)

Enhancement of Sea Turtle Stranding Response Capacity in Florida (2016)

Water Quality Improvements to Enhance Fisheries Habitat in the Lower Choctawhatchee River Basin (2015)

Increased Capacity for Marine Mammal Response and Analysis (2015)

Florida Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund Restoration Strategy (2015)

Oyster Reef Habitat Restoration in Saint Andrew Bay (2014)

Florida Shorebird Conservation Initiative (2014)

Destin Harbor, Joe’s Bayou and Indian Bayou Water Quality Improvement (2014)

Boggy Bayou Watershed Water Quality Improvement (2014)

Benthic Habitat Mapping, Characterization and Assessment (2014)

Bayou Chico Restoration (2014)

Restoration and Management of Escribano Point Coastal Habitat

​Phase I (2013)
Phase II (2014)

Government Street Regional Stormwater Pond at Corrine Jones Park (2013)

Comprehensive Panhandle Coastal Bird Conservation (2013)

The number of awards from the Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund in the state of Louisiana now stands at 14, with a total current value of over $1.27 billion.

Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion: Construction (2023)

Terrebonne Basin Barrier Island and Beach Nourishment Construction (2018)

Mississippi River Mid-Basin Sediment Diversion Program Management (2016)

Mid-Breton Sediment Diversion: Engineering and Design (2016)

Adaptive Management: Louisiana River Diversions and Barrier Islands

Phase I (2014)
Phase II (2016)

Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion: Engineering and Design

​Phase I (2013)
Phase II (2016)

Increase Atchafalaya Flow to Terrebonne: Planning, Engineering and Design

​Planning (2013)
Engineering and Design (2016)

Camin​ada Beach and Dune Increment Engineering, Design and Construction

​​Engineering and Design (2013)
Construction (2014) ​

Lower Mississippi River Sediment Diversions: Planning (2013)

East Timbalier Island: Engineering and Design (2013)

The number of awards from the Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund in the state of Mississippi now stands at 35, with a total current value of more than $211 million. 

Grand Batture Habitat Restoration - Phase I (2024 - new)

Wolf River Headwaters Acquisition (2022)

Habitat Restoration: Federal Lands Program

Phase I (2015)
Phase II (2022)

West Hancock County Nearshore Habitat Restoration – Engineering & Design (2021)

Point Cadet Nearshore Habitat Restoration – Engineering & Design (2021)

Bellefontaine Nearshore Habitat Restoration – Engineering & Design (2021)

Artificial Reef and Habitat Enhancement

Barrier Island Reefs (2021)
Katrina Key (2021)

Inshore Artificial Reef Assessment and Petit Bois Reef Planning  Phase I (2021)

Migratory Bird Habitat Creation in the Lower Mississippi River Valley (2020)

Reef Fish Assessment for Mississippi Coastal and Nearshore Gulf Waters 

​​Phase I (2014)
Phase II (2017)
Phases III and IV (2 projects, 2019)

Oyster Restoration and Management 

​​Phase I (2015)
Phase II (2019)

​​Enhancement of St. Louis Bay Oyster Reef (2019)

Invasive Species Management on Coastal State Land 

​Phase I (2014)
Phase II (2019)

​Mississippi Offshore Artificial Reef and Habitat Enhancement (2019)

Pascagoula River Corridor Acquisitions (2017)

Coastal Headwaters Protection Due Diligence (2017)​

Utilization of Dredge Material for Marsh Restoration in Coastal Mississippi

Phase I (2014)
Phase II (2017)

M​ississippi Coastal Restoration Plan

​Phase I (2014)
Phase II (2017)​

Mississippi Coastal Bird Stewardship Program

​Phase I (2013)
Phase II (2016)

Acquisitions of Priority Tracts for Coastal Habitat Connectivity – Phase I (2016)

Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Conservation, Recovery, and Monitoring (2016)​

Habitat Restoration and Conservation in Turkey Creek (2015)

Design Challenge for Improvement of Water Quality from Beach Outfalls (2015)​

Mississippi Coastal Preserves Program (2013)

Coastal Streams and Habitat Initiative (2013)​​

The number of awards from the Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund in the state of Texas now stands at 60, with a total value of $203.5 million.

Hydrological Restoration of Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge Wetlands

Phase I (2017)
Phase II (2020)

Powderhorn Lake and Matagorda Bay Shoreline Conservation - Phase I (2020)

Carancahua Bay Habitat Preservation and Enhancement

Phase I (2017)
Phase II (2020)

Bahia Grande Habitat Restoration

Phase I (2015)
Phase II (2020)

Adaptive Management for the Texas Coast (2020)

Swan Lake Marsh Restoration (2019)

Chocolate Bay Wetland Habitat Acquisition (2019)

Matagorda Peninsula Acquisition (2019)

Mad Island Marsh Shoreline Protection (2019)

Enhancement of Buffalo Lake Marsh Complex (2019)

Mission River Land Acquisition (2019)

Nueces Delta Shoreline Erosion Protection (2019)

​​Dollar Bay-Moses Lake Shoreline Enhancement and Restoration

​​Phase I (2014)
Phase II (2016)
Phase III (2019)

East Matagorda Bay Land Conservation (2018)

Greens Lake Protection and M​arsh Restoration

Engineering & Design (2014)
Construction (2018)

South Padre Island Land Acquisitions

Phase I (2017)
Phase II (2018)

Port Aransas Nature Preserve Debris Removal (2018)

Bahia Grande Coastal Corridor Acquisitions

Phase I (2015)
Phase II (2017)
Phase III (2018)

Salt Bayou Beach Ridge Restoration

Engineering and Design (2017)
Construction (2018)

G​alveston Island State Park Marsh Restoration & Protection

​Phase I (2013)
Phase II (2015)
Phase III (2017)

Follets Island land Acquisition and Conservation Program

​Phase I (2016)
Phase II (2017)

Restoring Colonial Waterbirds on the Texas Coast (2017)

Beach-nesting and Wintering Bird Protection and Habitat Stewardship (2017)

Restoration of JD Murphree WMA Water Management Infrastructure (2017)

Repair ARK Wildlife Rescue Facility (2017)

Sabine Ranch Acquisition (2017)

Hydrologic Restoration of the Salt Bayou Watershed (2016)

Smith Oaks Bird Sanctuary Rookery Island Restoration and Enhancement (2016)

Mad Island Marsh Preserve Shoreline Protection and Coastal Ecosystem Restoration (2016)

Matagorda Wetlands Acquisition and Conservation (2016)

Dagger Island Restoration Project (2016)

Galveston Bay Sustainable Oyster Reef Restoration (2015)

Candy Abshier Wildlife Management Area Shoreline Protection and Marsh Restoration (2015)

Falcon Point Ranch Conservation Easement Acquisition (2015)

Matagorda Bay Rookery Island, Feasibility Study and Alternatives Analysis (2015)

Cow Trap Lake Bird Nesting Island Improvements (2015)

Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge Coastal Marsh Acquisition (2014)

Coastal Heritage Preserve Initiative: Bayside Acquisition and Easement (2014)

Virginia Point Shoreline Protection and Estuarine Restoration (2014)

Oyster Lake Shoreline Protection and Restoration (2014)

Egery Flats Marsh Restoration (2014)

Nueces Bay Rookery Islands Restoration (2014)

Powderhorn Ranch Land Acquisition (2014)

Sea Rim State Park Coastal Dune Restoration (2013)

West Galveston Bay Conservation Corridor Habitat Preservation (2013)

Oyster Reef Restoration in East Bay (2013)​

Gulf Coast Migratory Waterfowl Habitat Enhancement (2013)​