Wes Hickman (202 224-5972) or Kevin Bishop (864 250-1417)

WASHINGTON- U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today announced the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources will receive six grants totaling $733,000.

• $345,515 to assess the potential environmental impacts of red tides, pfiesteria, and other toxic algae in the coastal zone of South Carolina estuaries;
• $103,242 to assess the levels of genetic variation within and among populations of tomtate and French grunt in the Western Atlantic;

$94,760 to provide continued funding for data entry personnel and limited administrative costs to maintain Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program (ACCSP) compliance. The ACCSP is a cooperative state-federal program to design, implement, and conduct marine fisheries statistics data collection programs and to integrate those data into a single data management system that will meet the needs of fishery managers, scientists, and fishermen; $90,000 to estimate the catch-and-release mortality for red drum; $50,123 to involve community members in hands-on oyster restoration through creating and monitoring oyster reefs on the South Carolina coast; $50,000 to implement portions of a recovery plan for populations of loggerhead and other species of turtles in South Carolina waters. “South Carolina’s natural resources are one of our greatest treasures,” said Graham. “These programs will help preserve and protect the natural environments and wildlife in South Carolina for generations to come.” The grants were awarded by the U.S. Department of Commerce. ####