ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- An initiative to conserve a million acres of salt marsh from Northeast Florida to North Carolina is in motion, following approval Tuesday from the Southeast Regional Partnership for Planning and Sustainability (SERPPAS).

A coalition of groups representing anglers, hunters, birders, boaters, local officials and conservationists pushed for the plan along with The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Cameron Jaggard, outreach coordinator for Pew's Conserving Marine Life in the U.S. project, noted protecting coastlines from flooding, erosion, and storm surge, and preserving habitats are all part of the bigger picture of the conservation plan.

"Salt marsh provides shelter, food and nursery grounds for more than 75% of commercial recreational fish species in the country," Jaggard explained. "And that includes blue crab, redfish and flounder, as well as valuable waterfowl, and imperiled bird species, including black duck and Eastern black rail."

NOAA estimates 80,000 acres of wetlands are lost every year from development and rising sea levels. Jaggard confirmed the plan's development will begin immediately, with a draft conservation plan expected for 2022.

Meg Palmsten, research oceanographer for the U.S. Geological Survey and chair of the SERPPAS Coastal Resilience and Regional Adaptation Working Group, hopes to dive deeper for solutions to coastal hazards.

"Something I'm most interested in dissipating wave energy, and providing space for storm surge to reside when there's a storm that's pushing water up into our estuaries," Palmsten remarked. "And so it's a natural place to sort of act as a buffer between the dynamic ocean and the land where we live."

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, salt marshes absorb flooded waters and wave energy during storms. This creates an up to 20% decrease in property damage in adjacent communities.

Jaggard noted the plan will try to protect Southeast coastal communities and military bases.

"A comprehensive conservation plan could help communities, and the military, better prepare for the future through coordinated, forward thinking transportation, targeted restoration projects and conservation of adjacent open lands," Jaggard outlined.

He added the plan will be modeled after America's Longleaf Restoration Initiative, which already has increased the trees' population by 40% in the last 10 years.

West Virginia environmental groups are suing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, arguing the agency failed to consider residents' health when it gave the stamp of approval for the creation of four valley fills on a thousand-acre surface mine in Raleigh County.

Vernon Halton, executive director of the nonprofit Coal River Mountain Watch says the region experienced severe flooding in the 1990s and early 2000s, and says more valley fills, which involve dumping rocks, minerals and waste into nearby waterways, will put their lives at risk.

"It's going to permanently endanger the people whose homes are in the valleys below, he explained."

According to Environment America, valley fills permanently bury headwater streams and reduce water quality. More than 2,000 miles of headwater streams have been buried due to mountaintop removal.

Haltom added that communities continue to grapple with health challenges unparalleled outside of the coalfields.

"Higher rates of cancer, higher rates of heart disease, higher rates of birth defects, higher rates of other diseases, and most of them can be linked to the airborne dust that people are forced to breathe," he continued.

Research has shown breathing in toxic dust promotes the growth of lung cancer cells in people living in communities near mountaintop removal. Coal is mined in 22 of West Virginia's 55 counties, according to federal data.

A Knoxville environmental group is raising concerns over federal budget cuts and their effects on jobs at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge.

The Trump Administration briefly laid off workers at the complex but called them back the next day.

Tanvi Kardile, coordinator for the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, warned the cuts, including layoffs at the Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration, are troubling. She advocated shifting jobs from weapons production to environmental cleanup, citing ongoing efforts to address groundwater contamination, though she pointed out cost overruns and major concerns remain unaddressed.

"One of these cuts we feel should be the uranium processing facility, which is being constructed to replace, all these old, deteriorating buildings at Y-12," Kardile explained. "The budget for that keeps skyrocketing.
And this is one of the largest construction projects in Tennessee history."

Kardile emphasized the uranium processing facility is estimated to cost $10.3 billion and will not be complete in 2031. Initially, the project was expected to cost $6.5 billion and be finished by this year.

Kardile added her group is hesitant about Trump's statement expressing his intention to initiate nuclear arms reduction negotiations with China and Russia. The future of the U.S. nuclear weapons program remains uncertain as a result.

"Who knows if reduction talks will happen or how successful they'll be, especially with some other energy initiatives that he supports, such as discrediting climate change, promoting fossil fuels and drilling," Kardile outlined. "It doesn't seem like the administration will take many initiatives to protect the environment."

Kardile argued it is crucial for Tennesseans to push for greater accountability from the Department of Energy on the rising cost of Y-12 and collaborate with lawmakers to find the best path to allocate their tax dollars and protect public health.

Ohio is seeing a growing number of solar energy projects, including the first utility-scale installation in Dayton, which will help power a key water treatment facility.

Cities across the state are also working together to expand clean energy access. The five-megawatt solar array in Dayton will be built on a brownfield site, which is also a repurposing project for land that had been burned and has limited use because of contamination.

Robert McCracken, energy manager for the neighboring city of Cincinnati, said it is amazing to be able to produce energy to help with energy resiliency anywhere in Ohio.

"There is a lot of great work happening in the sustainable energy field throughout the state of Ohio," McCracken observed. "That's happening in large cities and small towns."

It is expected to provide 38% of the Miami Water Treatment Plant's electrical power needs and cut consumer energy bills by keeping water rates low. The City of Dayton serves as the principal water source for an estimated 1.5 million people in southwest Ohio.

McCracken pointed out local governments across Ohio recognize the importance of clean energy and are working collaboratively on solutions.

"It's become ever more important for all of those cities throughout Ohio ... to be working together to figure out how we all can advance the projects that we're working on that can benefit residents and businesses in each of our local communities," McCracken contended.

The project supports Dayton's climate emergency commitment to cutting carbon emissions at city facilities through renewable energy. McCracken emphasized Ohio cities remain dedicated to sustainable solutions, benefiting the environment and local communities.


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