The awarded states, communities, organizations and programs include:

City & Borough of Yakutat, Alaska

Located on the northeastern corner of the Gulf of Alaska inside Tongass National Forest near the Canadian border, Yakutat features a variety of remote, flat, and sandy beaches that characterize this part of Alaska, often called “The Lost Coast.” The city and borough’s location on the Gulf of Alaska, combined with the geography of the area, positions Yakutat’s shores as a natural collection point for large quantities of marine debris carried by powerful ocean currents and weather patterns. City officials; tribes; other local, state, and federal organizations and agencies; and individuals regularly work together to remove this marine debris. However, the community’s remote location and lack of roads and rail make large-scale disposal challenging.

Yakutat plans to remove seven abandoned and derelict vessels (ADVs) across three locations to make way for an extensive harbor expansion and upgrade project, creating local jobs and supporting a seafood industry that ships products worldwide.



Metlakatla Indian Community, Alaska

The Metlakatla Indian Community (MIC) Annette Islands Reserve (AIR) lies in the southernmost portion of the Alexander Archipelago in southeast Alaska. AIR encompasses 86,313 acres of land and 46,019 acres of water – 136 square miles – and is only accessible by small aircraft or boat.

MIC’s funding will remove 27 ADVs located in Port Chester in Nicholas Passage as well as in the tribal community of Metlakatla, the state’s only Native American reservation. Removing the ADVs will improve marine habitats, make the area more attractive to tourists, and open valuable space at the docks for vessels used for commercial, recreational, and subsistence purposes.



Sitka Conservation Society, Alaska

The Lisianski Inlet on the northwest part of Chichagof Island is located within the Tongass National Forest of southeast Alaska and is adjacent to the City of Pelican. The spectacular body of water is roughly 24 miles long and is surrounded by snow-capped mountains and dense temperate rainforests.

The Sitka Conservation Society’s plans include removing at least seven ADVs located on state-managed tidelands and shorelands as well as tidelands, harbor facilities, and land owned and managed by Pelican. The project will benefit the habitats used for commercial, sport, and subsistence fishing, as well as attract more global visitors for small-boat tourism.



Port Authority of Guam Harbor, Guam

Guam, the westernmost territory of the U.S., possesses the Micronesian region’s only deepwater seaport. Jose D. Leon Guerrero Commercial Port is a commerce lifeline, especially for the large U.S. military presence on this largest island in the Mariana Islands Archipelago in the Pacific Ocean.

The Port Authority of Guam anticipates removing 13 ADVs from its waterways as part of a larger plan to modernize the port. Eliminating this wreckage will help the local fishing and ecotourism industries. It will also pave the way for establishing rules and regulations for commercial and private vessel owners to create a more responsible boating environment.



Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government, Louisiana

The Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary is located in the Terrebonne Basin, 55 miles west of New Orleans and bordered by the Gulf of America to the south. This biologically rich and productive ecosystem encompasses 4.1 million acres of upland forests, swamps, marshes, bayous, bays, and barrier islands and contains some of the world’s most diverse and fertile habitats.

The Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government has an ambitious plan to remove more than 150 ADVs. Clearing these waterways improves access for commercial and recreational fishing, boating, and tourism activities like swamp tours and bird watching.



State of Maine, Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry, Bureau of Parks & Lands

Maine’s natural resources agencies are collaborating to complete removals along the state’s 3,500-mile coastline. Specifically, these projects will take place in the Mid-coast (home to most of the state’s commercial fishing fleet), Central (Penobscot River, the largest river system in New England), and Downeast (Roque Bluffs State Park) regions.

Together, the agencies will remove five of Maine’s largest ADVs and other wreckage. One project, located in the Penobscot River near Bangor, sits 14 miles downstream of the Penobscot Nation’s Indian Island Reservation. The river continues to be central to the cultural and spiritual identity for these earliest inhabitants of Eastern Maine. In addition, because the state’s economy is largely defined by its fishing and lobstering industries, the removals will help make navigation safer for the fishing fleet.



North Carolina Coastal Federation, North Carolina

North Carolina has more than 10,000 linear miles of estuarine shorelines and 2.4 million acres of marine and estuarine waters. The nonprofit North Carolina Coastal Federation is composed of federal and state agencies, local governments, universities, fishing communities, businesses, and volunteers. It has a 42-year track record of successfully protecting and restoring coastal habitats and water quality. It acquires land and conservation easements; restores wetlands, riparian shorelines, and oyster reefs; installs stormwater reduction measures; and removes marine debris, including ADVs.

The Federation will remove at least 12 abandoned ADVs in Hyde, Carteret, and Onslow counties. It plans to target publicly owned working harbors and waterfronts/commercial fishing communities burdened with concentrations of large, old, and unused commercial fishing vessels. Removing these boats will help support North Carolina’s commercial fishing communities, which are principal contributors to the state’s economy.



Oregon Department of State Lands, Oregon

Oregon’s 23 public ports provide recreational, commercial, and economic services to residents and businesses in Oregon and beyond. They are a key component in sustaining Oregon’s economy and quality of life, supporting thousands of family wage jobs. One out of six Oregon jobs is directly or indirectly tied to cargo, recreation, industrial, commercial, or other activities at Oregon’s ports.

The funds will allow removal of more than 40 ADVs from mooring facilities located on rivers and bays along the entire length of Oregon’s 362-mile coastline as well as on the Columbia River, which forms much of the northern border between Oregon and Washington. The ADVs inhibit the ports’ ability to provide mandated services to their communities and the state. Removal will benefit those who depend on waterways for navigation, fishing, recreation, commerce, and cultural practices.



Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources, U.S. Virgin Islands

The St. Thomas East End Reserves, or STEER, comprises three main marine reserves and wildlife sanctuaries that hold ecologically and culturally significant coastal, marine, and fisheries resources including 9.6 square kilometers (around 2,400 acres) of mangrove forests, salt ponds, lagoons, reefs, and cays.

The Department of Planning and Natural Resources is the regulating agency of the U.S. Virgin Islands for fishing, moorings, anchoring, cruising, boat registration, coastal zone activities, boating safety and educational outreach, enforcement of regulations, and more. It plans to remove some 39 ADVs to create a better environment for endangered animals as well as those central to the fishing community, and create a safer environment for the boating community and a safe haven for boats during storms.



Makah Indian Tribe of the Makah Indian Reservation, Washington

The Port of Neah Bay is owned and operated by the federally recognized Makah Tribe of Indians. The small coastal seaport on the Makah Indian Reservation is located on the northwestern tip of the Olympic Peninsula. The reservation covers 30,049 acres adjacent to the Strait of Juan de Fuca on its northern boundary, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and Olympic National Forest to the south.

The proposed project builds on the success of previous cleanup projects to remove at least 10 vessels and other marine debris from Makah Marina. In addition to eliminating the threat of pollution posed by hazardous materials, the removals will free up boat slips to be used by the Makah fishing fleet or for fishing tourism, supporting the local economy.