An upcoming project funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to rebuild northern Californian fisheries, will give veterans the chance to train and work on habitat restoration and fisheries monitoring.
The programme will be administered by the California Conservation Corps and California’s Department of Fish and Game. The programme will give veterans paid training and hands-on experience in habitat restoration and fire fighting training over the year.
Eric Schwaab, assistant administrator for fisheries, NOAA, said: “Military veterans have tremendous skills to offer, and by helping to restore fish habitats they will be supporting the important role of commercial and recreational fishing in the economy.”
He added: "Restoration jobs pay dividends twice, first because they put people to work immediately, and then because restoration benefits our fisheries, tourism, and coastal communities for years to come.”
The programme will begin with courses in how to collect data and how to evaluate the effectiveness of coastal and marine habitat restoration. The veterans will then have the chance to monitor restoration sites in Humboldt, Del Norte and Mendocino which were specially designed to increase spawning and rearing habitat for endangered coho salmon.
