2022 in review: Top habitat conservation stories

Tidal wetland restoration in California © NOAA Fisheries

NOAA's Office of Habitat Conservation made significant progress conserving, protecting, and restoring habitat in 2022.

Join us as we look back at some of the year's most popular stories about our work and the importance of habitat for fisheries and communities.

Habitat restoration under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law presents an unprecedented opportunity for NOAA to make an impact for fisheries, endangered species, and coastal communities. One of this year's most-read stories highlighted funding for fish passage under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law:

Nearly $105 Million in Fish Passage Funding Recommended under Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Including Significant Funding for Tribes

This living glass sponge was spotted during a 2018 cruise. This photo reveals the bright colors and textures commonly associated with the living sponge, which is usually found in small patches - photo © NOAA Fisheries, Marine Applied Research and Exploration

Exciting discoveries about deep-sea sponges

Hundreds—even thousands—of feet beyond the reach of sunlight, the deep sea is the largest, yet least known, environment on Earth. Ongoing exploration and research continues to reveal incredible new information about the creatures that live in these habitats. Two of our most popular stories of 2022 highlighted discoveries about deep-sea sponges:

• Researchers Find Massive Rare Sponge Mounds Hiding in the Deep Sea
• Cancer-Fighting Green Sponge Brings More Than Just Good Luck!

Scientists monitor a reef with healthy oysters as part of a restoration effort - photo © Oyster Recovery Partnership

Celebrating habitat throughout the year

Our annual Habitat Month celebration focused on the role of healthy habitat in building resilience. We highlighted stories about how restoring habitat for our nation's fisheries and protected resources can also help coastal communities recover from and adapt to the impacts of climate change. Beyond Habitat Month, we continued sharing stories about the benefits of healthy habitats—like rivers and oyster reefs—through other habitat-related celebrations:

• Celebrating Habitat Month 2022: Healthy Habitat, Resilient Infrastructure
• World Fish Migration Day 2022
• Celebrating Oysters: Oyster Week 2022

The Mattaponi River snakes through King and Queen County, Virginia, part of NOAA's Middle Peninsula Habitat Focus Area - photo © Chesapeake Bay Program

A focus on habitat in Virginia's Middle Peninsula

In 2022, we announced the Middle Peninsula in Virginia as NOAA's newest Habitat Focus Area. We're working with partners in the area at the federal, state, local and tribal levels. NOAA will work to conserve fish habitat and build the region's ability to bounce back in the face of climate change.

• Virginia's Middle Peninsula Is the Newest NOAA Habitat Focus Area
• Virginia's Middle Peninsula: Projects Focus on Oysters, Shorelines, and More

An excavator constructs a containment dike in one of the marsh creation areas of the Upper Barataria marsh creation project - photo © Moffatt & Nichol

More top habitat stories from 2022

Other popular habitat stories from the past year span a diversity of topics—from living shorelines, to mitigating negative impacts on natural resources, to NOAA's largest ever wetland restoration project:

• Living Shorelines Provide Nature-Based Approach to Coastal Protection
• NOAA Releases First Comprehensive Policy on Mitigation to Conserve Natural Resources
• Restoring Habitat to Recover Coho Salmon on the Oregon Coast
• NOAA's Largest Wetland Restoration Project Underway in Louisiana
• Tracking Fish in the Chesapeake Bay Helps Researchers and Resource Managers