Under the Texas Open Beaches Act, the public has the free and unrestricted right to access Texas beaches. According to the Texas General Land Office, there may be some exceptions to this rule.

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. (AP) - A city on the Mississippi Gulf Coast is moving ahead with plans to build a new sidewalk by a beach, after homeowners lost a legal battle to block the project.

Governments seeking to help their most vulnerable residents prepare for hurricanes and other disasters should create community-based information campaigns ahead of time, according to a Rutgers study of economically disadvantaged New Jerseyans in the areas hardest hit by Superstorm Sandy.

It is hoped that for firms with an interest in the water sector, the Water Campus will be a magnet for innovation and private-sector investment.

Florida - For decades, an extensive canal system dug to make way for development and farms in Collier County has altered historical water flows through the region’s two major watersheds and into its estuaries and bays.

Scientists are predicting a "large to very large" Gulf of Mexico dead zone this year. It may even wind up being the largest on record.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) reported Thursday that it has approved the construction of the Train 4 expansion at the Freeport LNG export facility, located on Quintana Island near Freeport, Texas.

An incredibly well-done bit of writing and multi-media storytelling on the Louisiana coast from Bloomberg.

SANTA ROSA BEACH — The Walton County Commission and its Tourist Development Council continue their aggressive push to provide access to public beaches.

Today, all of the sites under review have seen the return of some greenery and wildlife. But the new growth tells only part of the story.

Red tide isn’t likely to ruin anyone’s weekend, but state measurements taken in the last week have found small concentrations of the algae that cause it off Florida’s Gulf Coast.

The map above shows the plan for using BP oil spill money to rebuild North Breton Island. On the right, the area in green is the 53 acres that would be slightly elevated and widened to provide brown pelican habitat with the $8.6 million from Hess Corp.

Scientists, federal officials and concerned citizens to gather in Baton Rouge

CLEARWATER — Hank Hodde will become Pinellas County’s new Sustainability and Resilience Coordinator in July

The study, published May 10 in the journal Environmental Research Letters, quantified the amount of water flowing in major Texas rivers during heavy rains and found that there is enough room in coastal aquifers to store most of it.

The plan unveiled last week by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to protect the Bolivar Peninsula from storm surge should have been the one proposed in December. But this is a case of better late than never, and Bolivar residents are undoubtedly relieved to see this logical proposal finally coming forward. It would rely on natural sand dunes to absorb the energy of a surge instead of wall running the partial length of the peninsula.

When the Louisiana High School Bass Fishing Association planned a tournament on Bayou Black, they used maps created by Media Bass showing restricted areas.

MILTON — At the April 11 commission regular meeting, the Santa Rosa County Board of County Commissioners proposed amendments to the initial multi-year implementation plan that was accepted by the U.S. Treasury in May 2017.

From the white sand beaches of Clearwater to the festivals in Tampa, the area has reported tourism growth.

History is full of moments when communities facing an existential challenge have two fates.

HOUSTON/GALVESTON - Sand dunes, not 70 miles of levees and gates, would flank flood gates at the mouth of Galveston Bay under a new plan the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is studying to protect the Houston-Galveston region from storm surge.

11th Annual Event Celebrates Seawall Boulevard's Vintage History

USFWS, the Conservation Fund, and the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources expand Alabama's coastal National Wildlife Refuge

The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group released the Open Ocean Monitoring and Adaptive Management Strategy (PDF, 18 pg.), a document describing processes to help us fine-tune our restoration work, and promote effective and efficient use of restoration funding.

PANAMA CITY — Hurricane Michael might not have dominated the headlines during the Florida legislative session, but local lawmakers came away with a big haul.

GULF SHORES, Ala. (WPMI) — The US Fish and Wildlife Service is cracking down on Alabama beachfront condominiums with lighting that's impacting sea turtle nesting and hatching.

Matagorda County stands to receive $901,868.30 that will be disbursed by the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) in FY 2018 energy revenues to the four Gulf oil and gas producing states.

The 2019 Atlantic hurricane season is almost upon us; the last two hurricane seasons were devastating for Florida. The race is on to recover and build resilience ahead of the next storms.

A $2.5 billion oil export terminal planned for the Mississippi River in Louisiana is one step closer to construction following a preliminary OK from a stage agency building an adjacent river diversion.

Commissioner George P. Bush of the Texas General Land Office -- the lead coastal agency in Texas -- on disaster recovery.

From flooding to commerce to recreation -- the Mississippi River poses all kinds of challenges and opportunities for those who live along its banks.

Texas - On Thursday Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush announced Cameron and Willacy County are among many coast line counties receiving funds from his office for projects helpful to restoring the coast.

Treehouse huggers stay tuned. 12th Circuit Judge Ed Nicholas decided April 29 to move ahead with the owners’ 2013 case to declare a city setback unconstitutional before ruling on an enforcement case seeking to enforce city orders to remove the structure and pay fines.

Walton County has been given until May 6 to verify that it has notified all beach property owners of its intention to seek a declaration of customary use.

MADEIRA BEACH, FLORIDA — Members of the Barrier Islands Governmental Council got a lesson in how fragile Florida’s waters are and how problems can be dealt with.

As the agency courts tankers that can carry 2.2 million barrels of crude each, activists worry that the plan could spoil the habitats of the aquatic species that thrive here.

Seven months after their home base in the Florida Panhandle was demolished by Hurricane Michael, U.S. Geological Survey sea turtle researchers are headed back into the field on May 1, the start of nesting season for Florida's sea turtles.

GlobalNOC to continue as contractor for N-Wave, which transports weather forecasting, severe storm modeling, climate and ocean data

U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary David Bernhardt announced that the Department will disburse nearly $215 million in FY 2018 energy revenues to the four Gulf oil and gas producing states – Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, and their coastal political subdivisions (CPS) – an increase of 14.3 percent over the prior year.

PANAMA CITY — Nearing a self-imposed May deadline to create a comprehensive blueprint, the Bay County Long-Term Recovery Task Force received a 400-page draft report that outlines 320 proposals or concepts for the community’s regeneration from Hurricane Michael.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of Jacksonville awarded a $6.4 million contract to Weeks Marine for what they call “reducing risks to landside infrastructure in the Lee County portion of Gasparilla Island.”

Florida’s new chief science officer didn’t start out as a scientist. Instead he was a surfer dude.

The agency denied that it broke federal laws in granting permssion for dredging to renourish Lido Beach

NEW ORLEANS -- A proposed $2.5 billion, 20-million-barrel crude oil export terminal to be built in Plaquemines Parish adjacent to the state’s planned $1.4 billion Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion “is not inconsistent” with the coastal Master Plan, state coastal officials have decided.

Research has shed new light on what created the algal bloom that swept the Gulf Coast last year.

For a glimpse into the future of Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes, keep an eye on the effort underway to relocate residents of Isle de Jean Charles.

Mississippi authorities are blaming the Bonnet Carré spillway for the dead dolphins and turtles washing up on their shore, though Louisiana officials are contesting those claims, and federal scientists are withholding judgment until they know more.

NextDecade Corporation, which plans to build a liquefied natural gas export terminal at the Port of Brownsville, signed a deal Wednesday with the Brownsville Navigation District committing the company to paying for deepening about half of the Brownsville Ship Channel.

Thank you for voting yes on the bond referendum for the 2020-2021 beach renourishment project. What happens next? There are several moving pieces, including apportionment, engineering and project management, and financing.

MOBILE, Ala. (WPMI) — Residents in one Midtown neighborhood raised concerns after the city put up more than a dozen “for sale” signs on more than a dozen lots last month because they say it's prone to flooding

Collier County officials are exploring the possibility of expanding the county's beaches in an effort to make them more resilient to hurricanes and sea level rise.

Nine years ago—April 20, 2010—crude oil began leaking from the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig into the Gulf of Mexico in what turned out to be the largest marine oil spill in history. A long-term study suggests the oil is still affecting the salt marshes of the Gulf Coast, and reveals the key role that marsh grasses play in the overall recovery of these important coastal wetlands.

Water quality problems from algae and red tide not only cause some buyers to back out of Southwest Florida home purchases; they also appear to dampen sales values, local real estate agents say.

Unique facility will promote and support research about sea turtles and their restoration in the Gulf of Mexico

Some resident members of the South Ponte Vedra and Vilano Beach Preservation Association have been actively working on beach restoration solutions for the north barrier island for 14 years. The County Commission on March 19 addressed three separate agenda items for solving and funding beach restoration and preservation.

City leaders believe Corpus Christi is missing out on hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in taxes from short term rentals on sites like AirBNB. The city has been looking for a way to start collecting those taxes, and a recent Supreme Court ruling may pave the way for that to happen.

There is a dangerous confusion at the core of the current debate over a seemingly “greenwashed” way to handle sewage and other kinds of effluent.

CCA-Louisiana, volunteers continue Floating Islands Restoration Project

The city of Sanibel anticipates having the design plans in the next week or so for a project aimed at addressing beach erosion on the northern end of the island, adjacent to Sanibel-Captiva Road.

Louisiana has lost about a third of its 3.2 million acres of wetlands since 1930, but the state is working hard to turn the tide.

Washington — The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday granted certificate approval to the Driftwood LNG and Port Arthur LNG export terminals, bolstering prospects for two projects in the second wave of US LNG development.

After months spent poring over data, the National Hurricane Center announced that it has upgraded Hurricane Michael to a rare Category 5.

The Greater Lafourche Port Commission (GLPC) took a major step forward in its plans to develop the next generation of Deepwater port facilities at Port Fourchon, thanks to an agreement signed in September by the Edward Wisner Donation Trust granting GLPC a long-term lease of more than 900 acres of property immediately south of the Port, to be known as Fourchon Island.

2018 was the worst year for red tide in more than a decade. A new study reveals what made it so severe.

The Sarasota County Water Quality Summit will bring together local, regional and state experts to discuss water quality issues. Free and open to the public, the summit will be held 1-6:30 p.m. June 5 (Wednesday) in the auditorium at Riverview High School, 1 Ram Way in Sarasota.

nurdle | ˈnərdl | noun (usually nurdles) a very small pellet of plastic which serves as raw material in the manufacture of plastic products.

More than a year and a half after Hurricane Harvey slammed into Texas, killing dozens, the state is still waiting on billions in federal recovery dollars. In the meantime, Texas lawmakers are looking to prepare the state — the most disaster-prone in the nation — for future storms.

"One of the largest projects we have worked on" wrapped up 12 months ahead of schedule thanks to a couple of especially powerful suction dredges.

In the battle of the beachfront treehouse, the march from the treehouse to the courthouse continues

BEAUMONT — Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick updated commissioners’ court Monday on the ongoing coastal reconstruction project. (CNT Note: For you non-Texans, the "County Judge" is the elected Chief Executive of the county, not a judicial position. The "Commissioners Court" is the county's board of county commissioners).

Sitting next to his Pensacola Beach neighbor at a recent Santa Rosa Island Authority meeting, Mark DeNunzio gave beach leaders one example the often inequitable and frequently nonsensical system that determines the amount of taxes and lease fees beach residents pay for their homes.

North Carolina-based Duke Energy said it will build, own and operate a 200 megawatt wind project in Starr County in South Texas, marking the company’s fourth wind generation facility in the county that sits between Laredo and McAllen.

Sea level rise and ground subsidence will render the flood barriers inadequate in just four years

It is telling that the two sides in Walton County’s bitter battle over its beaches don’t even agree about what it was last year that blew apart decades of harmonious relations along one of Florida’s most beautiful coastlines.

Should other people have a say in how you use your backyard? Tammy Alford, president of Florida Coastal Property Rights, doesn’t think so.

Anyone up for some ‘Texas Chicken’? Maybe not anymore as pilots request one-way traffic on busiest shipping hub in North America.

A rare baleen whale found in the Gulf of Mexico has gained protection under the Endangered Species Act. The Gulf of Mexico Bryde’s whale is a subspecies of the Bryde’s whale and one of the most endangered whales in the world, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

A slate of $132 million in projects intended to offset environmental impacts of the Deepwater Horizon disaster on the Alabama coast has received federal approval, Gov. Kay Ivey’s office announced Friday.

FLORIDA - Sarasota finished work that began last November and added 40 to 80 feet of sand to critically eroded areas.

Scientists use satellite data to map the Houston-Galveston area impacted by Hurricane Harvey

The Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority met in special session Monday and moved to accelerate widening of the Houston Ship Channel, the nation’s busiest waterway. “The Houston Ship Channel is open for business for all and will continue to be,” said Chairman Ric Campo.

The General Land Office, the lead coastal agency in Texas, is making available $1.8 M in new grant funds for coastal projects. The GLO administers the state Beach Access & Dune Protection Program, Texas Coastal Management Program, the Coastal Erosion Response and Planning Act (CEPRA), the Texas Oil Spill Response Program, Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA) funds, and Post-Hurricane Harvey Community Development Block Grants, and plays an major role in the allocation of RESTORE Act revenues derived from the BP Horizon Oil Spill,

Coastal Alabama leaders are joining up in opposition over two pieces of legislation that would remove cities from enforcing plastics.

View the condition of Mexico beach six months after the major storm demolished the area.

The soundside area of Navarre Beach is more accessible to more people now. And it's thanks to a newly completed Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment Early Restoration Program project, which was touted as a community-wide effort and celebrated by commissioners and Navarre area residents Tuesday afternoon.

Continuing the series on Pensacola Beach ownership and access, Abigail Megginson explores the double taxation claims on the beach and how that issue could potentially affect development and public access.

SARASOTA COUNTY — Residents on Manasota Key who fear their homes could be washed away by the Gulf of Mexico will finally get the protection they desperately need for their properties.

Red snapper are without question the poster-children of coastal fishing in Alabama, generating tens of millions in charter fees, lots more in fish market and restaurant sales, and drawing thousands of anglers to the coast to pump up resort and motel income.

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. — Thousands flock to Florida every year to relax on the sunshine state's beaches, and apparently even alligators can't resist them!

The Padre Island National Seashore is the longest in the national parks system with more than 130,000 acres.

FLORIDA - It’s time for Destin and Okaloosa County to act on Holiday Isle beach access.

The Port of Corpus Christi is seeking an opinion from the Texas Attorney General's Office to withhold a copy of a lease for a proposed crude oil terminal on Harbor Island in Port Aransas.

In 1926, community leaders had the foresight to dig a channel from the Gulf of Mexico at Port Aransas all the way to the inner harbor in Corpus Christi. This channel first attracted businesses shipping cotton and grain from local farmers' fields and soon thereafter oil, which came from many of those same fields.

In yet another effort to dedicate more state funding to new highways and bridges, Rep. Tanner Magee, R-Houma, is proposing a bill that would dedicate $50 million a year in BP settlement funds to a few specific infrastructure projects. Among these projects is a new flyover ramp connecting La. 415 in West Baton Rouge Parish across the Intracoastal Waterway to La. 1.

The Naples City Council agreed Wednesday to spend the nearly $26 million it expects to receive from the Collier County sales tax increase on preparing for the next big hurricane and improving safety.

Officials have finally pulled the plug to allow an unusual flood trapped inside a levee system in Mississippi to drain, but it could be weeks before waters fully recede.

Sarasota County is under fire for the massive amount of treated wastewater that has spilled from its Bee Ridge treatment facility into local waterways. Three nonprofits have told the county they plan to sue if it cannot figure out how to stop the spillage.

A $40 million canal stretched across 6,387 feet in the middle of North Beach would change the face of the peninsula for the better, a Dallas developer said.

Closures of State Highway 4 leading to Boca Chica Beach so SpaceX can continue testing its Starship Hopper prototype entered a third week Tuesday.