Dear Southeast Community,
As we near the end of 2025, I want to take a moment to express my gratitude for the Southeast Marine Debris Community. Thank you for your hard work and commitment through the changing tides this year. In the face of shifting priorities and capacities, you have accomplished so much!
Across the region, Marine Debris Action Plans are being updated, funded projects are building upon research efforts, community partners continue to be engaged, new support has been announced for marine debris efforts, and hard work has been recognized. These are only a few highlights from the incredible work being done across North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia—there is so much more!
Please take a moment to pat yourselves on the back, and I look forward to jumping into a new year of projects after this holiday season.
As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out with any marine debris-related questions or topics at caroline.morris@noaa.gov.
Cheers,
Caroline Morris
Southeast Regional Coordinator
NOAA Marine Debris Program
NEW: The North Carolina Coastal Federation Publishes Docks, Piers Building Code Guide
The 2025 hurricane season is the first since North Carolina’s building code reinstated standards for residential docks and piers. In an effort to help local governments and coastal property owners better understand these new building codes, the North Carolina Coastal Federation has compiled a comprehensive guide, the first of its kind in the state.
This work was funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Debris Program. Read the full guide here or by visiting the Coastal Federation’s website, https://www.nccoast.org/resource/resilient-docks-piers-toolkit/.
Divers utilize lift bags to extract ghost traps from the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary that are otherwise inaccessible from the surface. Photo: National Marine Sanctuary Foundation
The William and Mary’s Batten School and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science Announces 13 New Projects Under the Nationwide Trap Removal, Assessment, and Prevention (TRAP) Program
The William and Mary’s Batten School and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, in partnership with the NOAA Marine Debris Program, announced 13 new marine debris removal projects under the Nationwide Trap Removal, Assessment, and Prevention (TRAP) Program. These projects represent an investment of over $1.8 million for removal of derelict fishing traps with funds provided by the NOAA Marine Debris Program. The projects will remove derelict traps in California, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Washington.
Learn more on the William and Mary’s Batten School and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science TRAP Program website.
Seeking Partner Input: South Atlantic Salt Marsh Initiative (SASMI) Project Identification Survey
SASMI is a regional, voluntary, non-regulatory partnership that brings together government partners and community organizations to determine the greatest threats to the salt marsh ecosystem and opportunities to ensure its survival in the four-state region from North Carolina through Brevard County in east-central Florida. SASMI is gathering information about potential salt marsh conservation, protection, and restoration projects along the Georgia Coast through this survey.
If you'd like to be contacted about your project or provide more information, please leave your contact information in the designated field towards the end of the survey. Feel free to reach out directly to creich@gaconservancy.org.
View and fill out the survey here.
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National Estuaries Program Watersheds Grant Program
Restore America’s Estuaries has announced the 2025 funding cycle for the National Estuaries Program (NEP) Watersheds Grants. This year, in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, competitive grants ranging from approximately $200,000-$500,000 will be awarded to organizations, partnerships, and municipalities working to improve clean water, healthy ecosystems, and habitat restoration. This nationally competitive grants program is designed to support projects that address urgent, emerging, and challenging issues threatening the well-being of estuaries within the 28 NEP boundary areas.
More application details and Congressionally-set priorities can be found on the grant program website.
Letter of Intent Deadline: November 21, 2025, at 8:00 p.m. EST.
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Community Collaborative Research Grant Program (CCRG)
The CCRG is a funding opportunity that requires research approaches that couple local knowledge with scientific expertise. The CCRG is supported by NC Water Resources Research Institute (WRRI) and North Carolina Sea Grant, in partnership with the William R. Kenan Jr. Institute for Engineering, Technology and Science (KIETS).
The purpose of the CCRG program is to support work across the state related to water resources, water quality, coastal challenges, flooding, resilience planning, post-storm recovery, invasive species, as well as other topics, through a collaborative research approach that utilizes local ecological knowledge. Funding is available for one year projects, and awards will range between $5,000-$25,000. Learn more here.
Deadline: January 23, 2025
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FY2025 Disaster Supplemental Grant Program | U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA)
The EDA Fiscal Year 2025 Disaster Supplemental Grant Program is making approximately $1.45 billion available to support economic recovery activities in areas that received major disaster declarations because of hurricanes, wildfires, severe storms and flooding, tornadoes, and other natural disasters occurring in calendar years 2023 and 2024. EDA’s Disaster Notice of Funding Opportunity provides funding through three funding pathways:
- Readiness Path – Capacity building and strategic planning projects that set the stage for future investment.
- Implementation Path – Standalone construction and non-construction projects that help communities recover from natural disasters and advance recovery and growth.
- Industry Transformation Path – Coalition-led, multi-project portfolios that transform regional economies through targeted industry development.
Learn more here.
Deadline (Applications for Readiness and Implementation grants): Rolling
Deadline (Applications for Industry Transformation grants): March 3, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. EST
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One SC Fund: Disaster Response
Central Carolina Community Foundation’s One SC Fund is now accepting grant applications from nonprofits to support Hurricane Helene relief, recovery, rebuilding efforts, and debris cleanup.
Grants from the One SC Fund support nonprofit organizations providing relief and recovery assistance in South Carolina after state-declared disasters. In coordination with the South Carolina Office of Resilience, an agency of the Governor’s Cabinet, resources received by the fund are directed to communities most in need.
Organizations may request up to $50,000. Collaborative applications may be considered at a higher amount. Learn more here.
Deadline: Rolling
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The Nature Conservancy's Living Shorelines Community Assistance Program | South Carolina Office of Resilience
Through this multi-year grant program, The Nature Conservancy is offering private landowners and communities the opportunity to protect their properties and community spaces from shoreline erosion through the implementation of living shorelines.
The South Carolina Office of Resilience is partnering with The Nature Conservancy on this project, and will be collecting applications through this website.
Deadline: Prescreening form now open; application due dates to be announced.
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Supporters of Tyson’s Ancestral Restrictions on the Deeds to Lead Atlantic Beach, SC Dunes Clean-Up and Cultural Exhibition
Sunday, November 23
Beach Clean-Up: 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. EST at Atlantic Beach dunes, 32nd Ave access
Art Exhibition: 11:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. EST at 3108 Seaview Street, Atlantic Beach, SC 29582
Supporters of Tyson’s Ancestral Restrictions on the Deeds will host a Beach Clean-Up followed by a cultural art exhibition, celebrating both environmental stewardship and the Gullah Geechee heritage of the South Carolina coast.
The event aims to raise awareness of the lasting environmental and cultural effects of coastal overdevelopment. Learn more here.
State of the South Atlantic Salt Marsh Virtual Workshop
Wednesday, December 3, at 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. EST
This virtual workshop is being presented through a collaboration between the South Atlantic Salt Marsh Initiative (SASMI) and the Sea Grant programs in the South Atlantic.
Purpose: To convene salt marsh scientists and local conservation and restoration experts working in the South Atlantic to discuss the latest research related to salt marsh sustainability within the context of sea level rise and other environmental change, and to inform priorities and actions of the SASMI.
Among the topics to be discussed are:
- Regional scale assessments
- Assessing marsh health at the state level
- Evaluations of long-term field data
- The future of the South Atlantic Salt Marsh: threats beyond sea level rise
Please register for the workshop here.
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Webinar: Bridging Water Quality Human Dimensions Research and Practice
Tuesday, December 2, at 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. EST
This free webinar is hosted by the National Estuarine Research Reserve System Science Collaborative. The "Bridging Human Dimensions Research and Practice to Address Water Quality Concerns in the Great Bay Watershed" project team will provide an overview of the approach used to build stronger connections across social science research and its applications to outreach, education, technical assistance, and engagement in the Great Bay Watershed in New Hampshire.
The presenters will provide highlights of key takeaways on how to use findings and theoretical frameworks from social science research, and discuss proposed next steps that were inspired by this transfer grant with the goal of learning from and facilitating connection across those working on related topics in other watersheds.
Learn more and register here.
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National Environmental Health Association: Environmental Health Scholarships
Applications are open for the National Environmental Health Association Scholarships designed to support undergraduate and graduate students pursuing degrees in environmental health. Scholarships offer up to $3,750 in financial support, recognition from a national leader in environmental health, and a chance to advance your career and community impact.
U.S.-based undergrad juniors/seniors or graduate students in environmental health fields are eligible to apply. Learn more here.
Deadline: January 31, 2026
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North Carolina Association of Floodplain Managers: Berry Williams Scholarship 2026
North Carolina Association of Floodplain Managers has announced their scholarship program for 2026. The scholarship program will consist of two awards, one of $3,000 and one of $2,000, and is open to undergraduate students. Applicant must be a current full-time student enrolled in a two- or four-year degree program at a college or university within the State of North Carolina, and within a program related to the disciplines of floodplain management (water resources, engineering, planning and zoning, resiliency, coastal management, environmental sciences, hazard mitigation, emergency management, geography/GIS, surveying, etc.) Learn more here.
Deadline: February 15, 2026
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