$21 million approved for Alabama Gulf conservation projects

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley says the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation has approved of spending more than $21 million on projects to restore areas of Alabama’s Gulf Coast.

Bentley said in a statement Tuesday that the money will be used to launch five projects focused on natural resources that were affected by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill.

Officials say the projects include fisheries and ecosystem monitoring, a project to bolster the state’s artificial reef program and strategic land acquisition.

Bentley says the Alabama Department of Natural Resources, the department of conservation and federal agencies developed the five programs.

Officials say more than $356 million from the Gulf Fund will be used to fund conservation projects in Alabama over a five-year period.

Republished with permission of The Associated Press.