Celebrating Decades of Science-Driven Innovation in Response and Restoration

Prepare • Respond • Restore • Recover

Responding to, Protecting, and Restoring Our Nation's Coasts

Tracing its operational roots back 50 years, NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) safeguards coastal communities, economies, and ecosystems from oil and chemical spills, marine debris, and natural disasters. We deliver innovative, science-driven solutions across every stage of our services in preparedness, response, restoration, and recovery.

Follow OR&R on Facebook and X throughout the year as we share stories of our evolving work to protect and restore our ocean and coasts.

Feature Spotlight

A person wearing a jacket and an orange beanie stands on a dock in the sun holding two retrieved crab trap debris items.

Two Decades Towards A Marine Debris-Free Future

Congress established the NOAA Marine Debris Program in 2006 as the Federal Government’s lead to reduce and prevent the adverse impacts of marine debris. Director Jason Philibotte reflects on 20 years of the program’s progress envisioning the global ocean and its coasts free from the impact of marine debris.

Detailed section of an Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) map of Clinton Harbor and Long Island Sound, displaying color-coded shoreline sensitivity rankings and icons for coastal fish, birds, and marine mammals.

From Paper to Pixels: How NOAA Maps Revolutionized Oil Spill Response

For over 40 years, NOAA’s Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps have guided emergency responders in protecting vulnerable shorelines. Discover how these critical maps evolved from heavy paper atlases into real-time, interactive digital geodatabases, pinpointing sensitive ecosystems before crisis hits to ensure rapid, targeted action.

Large amounts of vessel and property damage around a flooded marina.

When Disaster Brings Debris

Severe incidents can turn every day littered items into marine debris hazards. Understanding these realities, the NOAA Marine Debris Program works with communities to prepare for natural and human-made disasters, coordinates with response agencies during events, and supports disaster debris removal.

A large group of people smiling at the camera.

Local Action Plan Partnerships Tackle a National Marine Debris Problem

Over the last two decades, NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration has worked with local communities to create 16 marine debris action plans—collaborative road maps for stakeholders across a state or region to address marine debris.

A person stands on a rocky and sandy shoreline facing away from the ocean on a sunny day.

Surveying Debris on Our Shores

From Alaska to the Caribbean, scientists are surveying hundreds of shorelines to better understand marine debris across the United States and its territories for NOAA’s Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project. With the first year of field surveys well underway and a second year planned, here is an update on how you can follow along.

Overhead imagery of a site of interest. Blue dots overlaid on the image represent visits to the site. Dots appear to be clustered in the circular parking lot and in the middle next to the monument itself.

Using Smartphone Data to Measure Recreation Impacts After Environmental Disasters

How do we measure the lost value of a closed beach or park after an oil spill or hazardous release? Explore how modern mobility data from smartphones helps scientists model human recreation use to ensure fair environmental restoration.

A hand wearing a NOAA Marine Debris Program glove reaching to grab plastic water bottles during a cleanup.

20 Years of the NOAA Marine Debris Program

As the NOAA Marine Debris Program celebrates its 20th anniversary, it is highlighting two decades of impact, including 364 supported projects, the removal of more than 100 million pounds of marine debris, and responses to 28 disasters.

Two Coast Guard pilots on a vessel launch an uncrewed aircraft system.

Eyes in the Sky: How Drones and ERMA® Are Transforming Oil Spill Response

See how unmanned aircraft systems integrate with NOAA’s ERMA® mapping platform to rapidly collect and deliver environmental data right after a disaster.