© 2024 WFSU Public Media
WFSU News · Tallahassee · Panama City · Thomasville
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

$6 Million Earmarked For Cleanup, Education In Apalachicola

boat on Apalachicola Bay
Jessica Palombo
/
WFSU News

Officials are expecting to kick off a new Apalachicola Bay restoration project this fall, paid for with a $6 million federal grant. The money will be distributed through the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. DEO spokeswoman Jessica Sims says the dollars will help fund several restoration and education projects in the area.

“That money will go toward a variety of projects including oyster habitat restoration that will be done by hand and barge, depending on water depth. It will also go toward the monitoring of the wild Apalachicola oyster population to determine the success of those restoration efforts,” Sims says.

And Sims says about $500,000 dollars will be used to give oyster industry workers new skills. She says the training will help oystermen who are now out of work get jobs in areas like car repair and welding. She expects projects to get underway this fall.

Follow @Regan_McCarthy

Regan McCarthy is the Assistant News Director for WFSU Public Media. Before coming to Tallahassee, Regan graduated with honors from Indiana University’s Ernie Pyle School of Journalism. She worked for several years for NPR member station WFIU in Bloomington, Ind., where she covered local and state government and produced feature and community stories.

Phone: (850) 645-6090 | rmccarthy@fsu.edu

Find complete bio, contact info, and more stories here.