- Dedicated to the protection and restoration of bays and estuaries as essential resources for our nation, Restore America’s Estuaries (RAE) is a national 501(c)3 nonprofit organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. Founded in 1995, RAE (www.estuaries.org) leads an alliance of ten community-based conservation organizations (https://www.estuaries.org/member-groups) working to protect and restore the vital resources of our nation’s estuaries. RAE works through these members and local community volunteers to perform on-the-ground conservation and restoration work at the local level, while also working nationally to build support for protection of coastal lands and waters, and raise awareness of the threats they face.
Among RAE’s priorities for the year ahead are:
· Advancing the science behind “blue carbon,” the ability of wetlands to remove CO2 from the atmosphere more effectively than forest ecosystems, to both mitigate climate change and help coastal areas adapt to its’ impending impacts
· Leading National Estuaries Week, a weeklong series of restoration, conservation, and outreach events held the third week of September through which tens of thousands of volunteers restore, protect, and clean up their local coastal areas.
· Encouraging the use of “living shorelines,” shoreline protection options that use natural elements and protect coastal communities against erosion, flooding, and storm surge.
· Promote and conduct our biennial national Summit, scheduled for December 10 – 15 in New Orleans, which will be the largest national gathering of the coastal restoration and management community in 2016
- Through successful restoration projects and community events, Restore America's Estuaries is effectively changeing the course of the future of our nation's estuaries. We are advancing, supporting, and implenting on-the-ground restoration projects across the country; addressing emerging issues including climate change and estuary economics; and uniting the coastal restoration community, key government decision-makers, and citizens behind coastal and estuarine habitat restoration issues. The generous support of Charitees will allow us continue these impactful and far-reaching efforts in order to preserve our nation's estuarine habitats for the enjoyment of future generations to come.