WASHINGTON – Maine will receive $2,694,000 in National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration funding to support the continuation of its Coastal Zone Management Program.

“To date, Maine’s Coastal Zone Management Program has helped to channel more than $30 million in federal dollars to projects administered by coastal communities and state agencies in Maine,” said U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins in a joint statement announcing the award. “This funding will ensure that these valuable research projects continue to benefit our state, its residents and the environment.”

The Maine Coastal Zone Management Program first received federal approval in 1978 and works in cooperation with local, state and federal government. The program seeks to balance the conservation of Maine’s coastline with the ever-increasing demands of the communities that surround them. Primary state partners for this program include the Department of Conservation, the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Department of Marine Resources, the Maine Department of Transportation, the Office of the Attorney General, and the regional planning councils.