Canaveral National Seashore (CANA) includes approximately 57,000 acres of coastal, estuarine and upland habitats along the east coast of central Florida. Major plant communities include pine flatwoods, hammock, beach dune, freshwater wetlands, beach dune, coastal strand, salt marsh and mangrove shrublands. Development within the boundary is largely restricted to public beach access facilities on the northern and southern ends of the park. The majority of Mosquito Lagoon and associated islands as well as the adjacent open waters of the Atlantic Ocean are included within the CANA boundary. Coastal uplands and wetlands within CANA support a wide variety of listed species. Beaches represent nationally important nesting habitat for marine turtles with more than 16,000 nests within CANA in 2023. Beach dune and coastal strand habitats also support populations of terrestrial species including southeastern beach mouse, gopher tortoise and eastern indigo snake. Salt marsh and mangrove habitats are utilized by organisms including Atlantic salt marsh snake, wading birds, eastern black rail and diamondback terrapin. CANA also protects a wide range of cultural resources that reflect human history in the area from 2000 BC to the early 20th century.
In September 2022, Hurricane Ian impacted CANA, resulting in tidal flooding, substantial coastal erosion, widespread vegetation damage and structural modifications to coastal habitats. Subsequently, Hurricane Nicole also made landfall within CANA, compounding the effects of the Hurricane Ian. In addition to direct effects of the storms on natural resources, elevation loss within beach dune communities facilitated regular tidal flooding for several months. While impacts to resources have been generally characterized, detailed information on the majority of species and habitats within the Seashore has not been collected. The trajectory of the natural system, including plant communities and associated species, following these storms is not clearly understood.
NPS natural resource managers are seeking proposals for studies and/or surveys of natural and cultural resources that lead to a better understanding of short and long term effects of the 2022 hurricane season on those resources. Successful proposals will seek to improve the understanding of natural resources that became and/or remain vulnerable to post storm conditions that are coupled with the development of implementable management recommendations/actions.
Deadline: April 15, 2024
The following topics are suggested focal areas. Proposals covering topics outside of these areas are also encouraged, provided the work will evaluate the effects of hurricanes on natural and/or cultural resources within Canaveral National Seashore. Proposals for all focal areas should demonstrate an expected link to implementable management actions.
- Studies of direct and indirect storm effects on the life history of species of management concern
- Studies of physical and structural changes to coastal plant communities and adjacent coastal wetlands
- Studies of non-native species status and trends in storm impacted areas
This funding opportunity is limited to non-federal partners of any of the 3 regional Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units - CESU Gulf Coast, Piedmont-South Atlantic Coast and South Florida-Caribbean.