Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in Southwest Florida took a heavy hit from Hurricane Charley last summer. Soon the Florida Federation of Flyfishers will embark on a habitat restoration project, funded with a $35,775 cooperative FishAmerica Foundation grant from the American Sportfishing Association and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

In North Florida, similar work—in this case oyster reef restoration—will be made possible in Pensacola and Choctawhatchee bays. The Florida Dept. of Environmental Protection is working on that one with $15,000 in funding from ASA and NOAA.

In the western Everglades, there’ll be oyster restoration by Florida Gulf Coast University, also courtesy of the grant program.

In total for 2005, the FishAmerica Foundation awarded 22 grants totalling more than $785,000, in 12 states.

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