The Gulf Coast’s draft 2026 FPL released for public comment

The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council (RESTORE Council) has released the draft of its fourth Funded Priorities List (FPL), which includes over $403 Million in proposed funding for water quality improvement, habitat conservation and restoration, and other ecosystem projects and programs across the Gulf Coast.

This draft 2026 FPL includes 19 ecosystem restoration projects and programs which would build upon over $685 million in restoration activities previously funded by the RESTORE Council.

Some of the proposed activities include:

• Ecosystem restoration in important ecoregions and watersheds, including the Texas Gulf Region, Lower Mississippi/Lake Pontchartrain watershed in Louisiana, Mississippi Sound in Mississippi and Alabama, the Mobile Bay and Mobile/Tensaw Delta Watershed in Alabama, and Pensacola Bay and other coastal watersheds in Florida;
• Large-scale restoration of the Chandeleur Islands in Louisiana, which provide valuable habitat for a wide range of fish and wildlife species, while also serving as a first line of storm defense for coastal communities;
• Restoration of a former barrier headland, a cross-state collaboration project led by Mississippi and Alabama;
• Large-scale programs to address water quality and quantity, habitat restoration, coastal resilience and other ecosystem restoration needs in the Gulf Coast region.

The draft 2026 FPL will be available for a public review and comment period beginning November 20, 2025 and ending at 11:59 pm MST on January 2, 2026.