Our Ocean Biodiversity Program has awarded 10 new engagement grants through the 2026 Ocean Biodiversity Program Engagement Grants Request for Proposals (RFP). Each project will mobilize existing biodiversity knowledge to inform more equitable and sustainable ocean and coastal decisions in three U.S. regions: Chesapeake Bay, Mobile Bay, and Puget Sound.
These projects will showcase engagement approaches across the kinds of decisions communities, managers, and practitioners face, from habitat restoration and fisheries management to working waterfronts and water quality. Together, they will test how engagement and better use of biodiversity knowledge can help communities and decision-makers tackle hard problems like cumulative impacts and land-sea pressures, and they’ll offer lessons other regions can use.
We launched the program in late 2025 with listening sessions, a written Request for Information, and other conversations to understand community needs and build relationships in each region. We released the RFP in March 2026 and selected these 10 projects through a rigorous review process.
Awarded Projects
Translating Biodiversity Knowledge into Restoration Decisions in Hampton Roads, Virginia
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Where and how restoration investments are sited in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia is crucial to the health of the Chesapeake Bay. This project will translate existing biodiversity knowledge into planning and restoration decisions as part of a process to update the Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP) for Hampton Roads.
Enhancing Indigenous Knowledge to Advance Indigenous Land Tenure and Biodiversity in Virginia
Indigenous Conservation Council
Virginia’s federally recognized Tribes are now formal partners in several state-level conservation planning efforts, but Indigenous Knowledge does not yet meaningfully shape state goals, policies, or how coastal biodiversity is defined. This project will bring Tribal leaders, knowledge keepers, and communities together with state partners and the scientific community to braid Indigenous Science into conservation planning, identify community-informed biodiversity indicators, and produce a State of the Science report with recommendations for Tribal partnerships in conservation.
Translating Science to Improve Chesapeake Bay Restoration and Biodiversity Outcomes in Virginia
Thriving Coasts Consulting, LLC
The Chesapeake Bay Trust’s Pooled Monitoring Initiative Restoration Research Program (PMI-RRP) represents a rich body of restoration science for the Bay, but it remains underutilized in Virginia. This project will mobilize this resource to co-develop decision-ready syntheses with restoration decision-makers to inform decisions across jurisdictions in Virginia, including stormwater management, stream restoration, nutrient reduction, and more.
Establishing a Biodiversity Management Council for Mobile Bay, Alabama
University of South Alabama
To improve decisions across jurisdictions, Mobile Bay needs more durable coordination among state and federal agencies and coastal communities. This project will launch a cross-sector Biodiversity Management Council to translate existing ecological, fisheries, economic, and community knowledge into decision-ready biodiversity indicators that inform fisheries management, working waterfront decisions, and habitat restoration.
Shared Priorities for More Effective Oyster Restoration in Mobile Bay, Alabama
Mobile Baykeeper and Dauphin Island Sea Lab
Because oyster restoration in Mobile Bay advances through multiple projects and funding streams, relevant knowledge is dispersed across sectors. This project will convene a wide range of partners (e.g., academic researchers, commercial oyster growers, state managers, NGOs) to synthesize that knowledge and develop recommendations on how restoration projects should be designed, implemented, and monitored.
Engaging Tribes in Interpreting Biodiversity Data from Nearshore Habitats in Puget Sound
Puget Sound Restoration Fund and Reef Check Foundation
Tribes lead conservation efforts in nearshore habitats, including kelp restoration and management of culturally important species such as salmon, abalone, and oysters. This project will engage Tribes across Puget Sound in accessing and interpreting biodiversity data critical to conserving and restoring declining kelp forests and other nearshore habitats.
Aligning Regulatory Frameworks with the Ecosystem Benefits of Regenerative Aquaculture in Puget Sound
Maritime Blue and Pacific Shellfish Institute
Low-trophic aquaculture (LTA) can provide quantifiable benefits to marine ecosystems and communities. This project will convene shellfish and kelp growers, scientists, Indigenous knowledge holders, and state and federal regulators to integrate data on LTA’s ecosystem benefits into the regulatory frameworks that govern it, supporting the regeneration of coastal biodiversity in Puget Sound.
Optimizing Olympia Oyster Restoration to Support Biodiversity in Puget Sound
University of Washington
Efforts to rebuild native Olympia oyster populations in Puget Sound have been underway for 25 years, yet the oysters occupy only about 5 percent of their historic extent. This project will support the formation of a Regional Oyster Restoration and Coordination Working Group to evaluate different substrates and substrate preparations for restoring oysters and enhancing biodiversity throughout Puget Sound.
Integrating Biodiversity Information to Promote Coastal Resilience on Vashon and Maury Islands in Puget Sound
Vashon-Maury Island Nature Center
Islands provide significant shoreline habitat for biodiversity in Puget Sound, but they often fall under multiple jurisdictions. This project will engage a diverse set of stakeholders and communities to integrate existing biodiversity information into three multi-jurisdictional shoreline planning processes on Vashon and Maury Islands.
Mobilizing Knowledge for Biodiversity Protection and Restoration in Puget Sound
Long Live the Kings
To better invest limited resources in ecosystem recovery, Puget Sound resource managers need a fuller understanding of the land-sea interface, including how upstream pressures cascade across the watershed. This project will use the Puget Sound Integrated Modeling Framework (PSIMF) to help decision-makers explore how different management actions affect habitat health, species diversity, and human communities across the Puget Sound basin.
Learning from These Projects
Going forward, our program will work to support our grantees through strategic outreach and engagement. We also aim to build a Learning Platform that helps projects expand their impact and build momentum for change through knowledge exchange within regions, between regions, and with regional and national decision-makers.
If you or anyone in your community would like to learn more, please reach out. You may also join our Ocean Biodiversity email distribution list.
About the Ocean Biodiversity Program
We envision a future where ocean biodiversity is managed as both a national asset and a community foundation with decisions grounded in knowledge, equity, and culture. Click here to learn more.