Public Comment Period for Alabama Coastal Area Management Program (ACAMP) 2026-2030 Section 309 Enhancement Strategy
The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR), State Lands Division, Coastal Section is making available for public review and comment the draft Alabama Coastal Area Management Program (ACAMP) 2026-2030 Section 309 Enhancement Strategy. The ACAMP serves as Alabama’s implementation of the Coastal Zone Management Act in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Your input is important in helping to inform development of the final ACAMP 2026-2030 Section 309 Enhancement Strategy to be approved by NOAA. Development of this strategy will allow the ACAMP to receive additional funding through NOAA to address a priority enhancement area over a five-year period.
The public review and comment period opened January 13, 2026, and will close on February 12, 2026.
Comments can be submitted by email to dcnr.coastal@dcnr.alabama.gov through February 12th, 2026. Please sure to use “Draft 309 Strategy” in the subject line of your email when submitting comments. We appreciate your time in assisting the ACAMP in its efforts to secure additional funding to support coastal Alabama.
The Alabama Coastal Management Program (ACAMP) was approved by NOAA in 1979 as part of the National Coastal Zone Management Program. The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR), State Lands Division, Coastal Section is responsible for overall management of ACAMP.
The purpose of ACAMP is to balance economic growth with the need for preservation of Alabama’s coastal resources for future generations. The program promotes wise management of the cultural and natural resources of the state’s coastal areas and fosters efforts to ensure the long-term ecological and economic productivity of coastal Alabama. ACAMP is implemented in the legislatively defined Alabama Coastal Area, which extends from the continuous 10-foot contour seaward to the 3-mile limit in Mobile and Baldwin counties.
ADCNR, State Lands Division, Coastal Section staff work jointly with staff from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) to implement the federally approved program. ADCNR serves as the lead agency responsible for overall management of the program including planning, fiscal management, and education and dissemination of public information. ADEM oversees regulatory, permitting, monitoring, and enforcement responsibilities of the program.
Annual program activities include coastal cleanup, implementation of public access construction projects, planning support for local governments, and providing grant funds to Alabama’s coastal communities and partners. ACAMP’s annual grant program supports projects that protect, enhance, and improve the management of natural, cultural, and historical coastal resources and that increase the sustainability, resiliency and preparedness of coastal communities and economies.
For more information, contact Coastal Section staff at DCNR.Coastal@dcnr.alabama.gov or call (251) 621-1216.
ACAMP’s annual grant program supports projects that protect, enhance, and improve the management of natural, cultural, and historical coastal resources and that increase the sustainability, resiliency and preparedness of coastal communities and economies. The annual Request for Proposals is typically posted in January or February, with projects beginning each October.
Eligible applicants include:
- Coastal units of government including Mobile County, Baldwin County, and municipalities or tribal governments within Mobile and Baldwin counties
- Area-wide agencies, regional planning agencies, conservation districts, and port authorities
- Alabama state agencies whose activities affect or are affected by activities in the coastal area
- Alabama school districts, public colleges, universities and other institutions of higher learning
