Rocky reef ecosystem restoration at scale will require significant investments in a highly trained workforce with specialized skill sets (e.g. harvesting urchins using SCUBA in remote and rugged conditions, receiving and analyzing marine biological samples to examine the biological and physical oceanic environment, or working at land-based aquaculture facilities to increase capacity for captive rearing production, etc.). Currently, large-scale restoration of these ecosystems is bottlenecked by a lack of trained workforce and the infrastructure required for them to complete the work. This presents an opportunity for simultaneously addressing diverse representation in the restoration workforce as well as workforce capacity gaps.

In October 2024, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced awards funded via its Transformational Habitat Restoration & Coastal Resilience grant program, including $18 million dollars of funding over three years to support the Pacific Coast Ocean Restoration (PCOR) Initiative. The PCOR Initiative is a network of partners aimed at catalyzing, coordinating, and implementing restoration efforts to recover critical rocky reef and kelp forest habitats and associated species in California. As part of the PCOR Initiative, The Nature Conservancy, Mendocino College, Noyo Harbor District, and City of Fort Bragg are partnering to develop both the physical infrastructure and curriculum framework to establish a pilot program to advance an inclusive and skilled marine restoration workforce in Mendocino County, California. NOAA’s award to The Nature Conservancy includes funding for Mendocino College to develop a certificate program focused on marine ecosystem restoration in partnership with Noyo Harbor District and the City of Fort Bragg. We look forward to sharing more details as this partnership launches.