NOAA Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program (CELCP)

NOAA Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program (CELCP) is sponsored by NOAA. A program that provides funding to protect and restore coastal and estuarine lands through land acquisition and conservation easements.

Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program | Department Of Natural Resources Division Department of Natural Resources State Parks & Historic Sites Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program The Georgia Coastal Management Program (GCMP) participates in the national Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program (CELCP) as administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

In 2005, the State developed a Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program Plan to compliment existing land protection efforts in the coastal region. The CELCP Plan was revised in September 2011 and again in January 2026. The Plan identifies conservation priorities for land acquisition that tailors the national program to the State’s coastal conservation needs.

Georgia’s CELCP Plan also gives clear guidance for the nomination and selection of land conservation projects within the State’s coastal boundary. In October 2007, the GCMP received $1,149,271 from the NOAA Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program to assist with the acquisition of a 4,100+ acre tract along the Altamaha River in McIntosh County.

The Altamaha Sand Ridges property is a landscape of sand hills and bottom lands, and is home to the long-leaf pine, gopher tortoises, and the globally-imperiled Radford Dicerandra ( Dicerandra radfordiana ) which is found only in the Altamaha River sand ridges. The property was purchased by the state of Georgia on May 20, 2008.

In July 2010, the GCMP received $1,537,425 from the NOAA Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program to assist with the acquisition of a 6,860-acre+ tract along the Altamaha River in Long County. The property stretches for 10-miles adjacent to the lower Altamaha River and floodplain, one of the most valuable ecological corridors in Georgia, and is a landscape of sand hills and bottom lands.

On September 28, 2010, the State of Georgia purchased this property in its entirety from The Nature Conservancy who purchased it from Rayonier.

Both tracts are now operated as part of the State’s Townsend Wildlife Management Area (WMA) and are under the management of the Department of Natural Resources for the purposes of ecological restoration, stream and wetland protection, wildlife habitat, and public access for hunting, fishing, hiking, canoeing, and camping.

Both of these projects are the result of a partnership between the NOAA/CELCP, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Department of Defense (Navy/Marine Corps), The Nature Conservancy, Georgia Land Conservation Partnership, and others.

In August 2024, the GCMP used the CELCP Plan (2011 Revision) to guide the selection of land acquired through NOAA’s CZM Habitat Protection and Restoration Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Competition (NOAA-NOS-OCM-2023-2008054). The GCMP was awarded $1,345,105 for the Lanier Boulevard Flood Resiliency through Acquisition Project.

This project assisted with the acquisition of approximately 4 acres of land planned for development in Brunswick, GA for the City of Brunswick. This land will be used for the implementation of best management practices to increase flood resiliency throughout the surrounding neighborhoods and help protect this coastal city from periodic flooding.

The federal Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program was established in 2002 to protect coastal and estuarine lands considered important for their ecological, conservation, recreational, historical or aesthetic values.

The Program, administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, provides state Coastal Management Programs funds to purchase significant coastal and estuarine lands, or conservation easements on such lands, from willing sellers. Lands or conservation easements acquired with CELCP funds are protected in perpetuity so that they may be enjoyed by future generations.

To guide the State's participation in this program, Georgia developed the Georgia Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program Plan that includes coastal conservation priorities and project areas. More information about the CELCP Program can be found on NOAA's website .

Recreational Saltwater Fishing Commercial Saltwater Fishing Artificial Reefs & Marine Habitat Coastal Boating & Boat Ramps Marine Education & Public Outreach Learn More About Our Division