BOEMRE Awards $976,176 Grant to Mat-Su Borough for High-Quality Aerial Imagery of Coastal Zone
Grant will Fund Project to Assist in Understanding Coastal Management Zone

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) announced today that it has awarded a Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP) grant for $976,176 to Alaska’s Matanuska-Susitna Borough. The borough will use the grant funds to produce very high-resolution, aerial imagery and elevation data of its coastal management zone. 

Created by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, CIAP provides funding to the six Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and gas producing states to conserve and protect the coastal environment. CIAP is an ongoing program with grant funding allocated based on the offshore energy revenues collected by the United States. 

“The first step in protecting the environment is to learn more about it,” said BOEMRE Director Michael R. Bromwich. “With the funds granted through the CIAP program, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough will gain a better understanding of its coastal zone, the challenges it faces, and how best to allocate resources to meet those challenges.” 

Integrated with the borough’s geographic information system, this new, detailed imagery will allow the Borough to assess effects of climate change on area glaciers, streams, landscapes and vegetation; better delineate watershed and subwatershed boundaries; determine existing impacts on wetland areas and other fragile environments; and assess future transportation infrastructure routes. 

Additional funding for this project is being contributed by the Mat-Su Borough ($102,815), the U.S. Geological Survey ($345,000) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ($50,000). Total project funding amounts to $1,473,991, which will allow for the mapping of approximately 2,400 square miles of the coastal management zone. 

CIAP received $250 million in appropriated funds for each of the Fiscal Years 2007-2010, to be disbursed to six eligible OCS oil and gas producing states: Mississippi, Alabama, Alaska, California, Louisiana and Texas.  

Contact: BOEMRE Public Affairs-Alaska