Coastal Estuarine Land Conservation Program

The Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program (CELCP) was established by Congress in 2002 "for the purpose of protecting important coastal and estuarine areas that have significant conservation, recreation, ecological, historical, or aesthetic values, or that are threatened by conversion from their natural or recreational state to other uses," giving priority to lands that can be effectively managed and protected and that have significant ecological value. Congress directed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to administer this program and to establish guidelines that would make CELCP project selection an objective and nationally competitive process. To meet this directive, NOAA developed CELCP guidelines that require states wanting to participate in this voluntary program to first prepare a Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Plan (CELC Plan). NOAA is expected at some future date to require approval of a CELC Plan for a state to be eligible to nominate grant applications to NOAA under the CELCP.

To take full advantage of CELCP land acquisition funding, and to help guide selection of state priority projects for nomination to NOAA, CZM drafted a state CELC Plan on behalf of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA), with close cooperation with the EEA Director of Land Policy and Division of Conservation Services. The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also participated extensively in developing the plan, and several major non-governmental land conservation organizations also reviewed and commented on the state's plan. The CELC Plan used many existing statewide planning efforts, such as the Statewide Land Conservation Plan, the BioMap Report, and the Living Waters Report as building blocks, while adding new information and screening strategies. CZM originally submitted the Massachusetts CELC Plan to NOAA in March 2006, and received comments from NOAA in August 2007. CZM addressed NOAA's comments and resubmitted the plan for approval on October 15, 2007, and the plan was formally approved by NOAA's Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management on February 8, 2008. A copy of the final approved Massachusetts CELC Plan is available below. This plan is expected to be in place for approximately five years, and will help guide the state's selection of priority coastal and estuarine land conservation projects during this time. Also available below is the geo-spacial data used to develop the CELC Plan's Map of potential "project areas." Municipalities are encouraged to download these GIS coverages and use them to help identify where potential CELCP priority project areas are located within their towns.

Current CELCP News and Information
CZM was notified by NOAA in May 2007 that the Center Hill Beach Conservation Project located in the Town of Plymouth will receive approximately $2,250,000 in Federal Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 Federal CELCP Funding. This project was identified as a state priority project and nominated to NOAA for consideration in its national ranking process in December 2005. The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, CZM, and the Town of Plymouth are currently working together to provide NOAA the necessary paperwork and support information to secure the funds. This is the first Massachusetts CELCP Project to receive funding through NOAA's competitive process. CZM wishes to thank the entire Massachusetts Congressional Delegation, especially Congressman Bill Delahunt, for their assistance in securing funding for this specific project, and for their broad overall support of the CELCP funding.

In June 2007 NOAA released its Priority List of Projects Eligible for Funding in FY08 under the CELCP. This list included 44 projects considered to be ready and eligible for funding in FY08. The list is in priority order based on a national competitive ranking process of all the state priority projects previously submitted in October 2006. Both of the Massachusetts priority projects were included on the list. The Apponagansett Bay/Weinshel Farm Conservation Project located in Dartmouth was ranked 16^th and the Herring River Land Acquisition and Restoration Project located in Wellfleet was ranked 41st. Unfortunately, the CELCP was only funded at $8 million in FY08, and this level of funding was not adequate to allow either Massachusetts project to receive funding.

In July 2008 CZM nominated the Great Neck Conservation Partnership Project to NOAA for possible FY 2009 CELCP funding. The project is one of 53 proposals nominated from 27 states and territories requesting more than $77 million in CELCP funding. However, CELCP funding for FY 2009 is only projected to be around $15 million, so competition for the limited funds is high. The Great Neck Conservation Partnership Project is seeking $2.3 million to help purchase a conservation restriction on approximately 95 acres located on the Wareham shoreline. The full $8.26 million project will lead to the long-term protection of more than 260 acres that have many of the ecological, conservation, recreational, historic, and aesthetic values important to the CELCP. CZM worked closely with the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), and other project partners, including Mass Audubon, the Wareham Land Trust, the town of Wareham, and the Coalition for Buzzards Bay, to help craft the CELCP nomination application. CZM is expecting to hear back from NOAA later in the Fall of 2008.

• Massachusetts Coastal and Estuary Land Conservation Plan - This is the final plan approved by NOAA in February 2008 (PDF, 1.2 MB)
• Previous CELCP RFR (PDF, 411 KB)
• CELC Plan Geo-Spatial Data (Maps)