Rep. Wilson Announces Final Release of More than $1 Million to Florida International University for Environmental Stewardship
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24) is proud to announce that the final $1,031,000 to be awarded to Florida International University through one of her Fiscal Year 2026 Community Project Funding requests will be released this month. This funding milestone marks the culmination of three projects and over $11.5 million in Congressionally directed funding delivered by Congresswoman Wilson to support critical research, restoration, and educational initiatives that protect South Florida’s Everglades and advance innovative technologies. This release by the National Institute of Standards and Technology of the final grant funding this month will put the full resources behind these projects, enabling the critical work to move forward.
“As Congress’s top Democrat on water resources and the environment, protecting our waterways is my critical mission. There is no South Florida if we do not protect the Everglades and Biscayne Bay,” said Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24). “I will also stand with FIU as it delivers critical research and restoration efforts. As a proud steward of the environment, I am proud that this work will positively impact generations of South Floridians.”
Congresswoman Wilson (FL-24) is extremely proud that this funding will create a central data clearinghouse, making complex restoration data readily accessible. This funding also supports training students, engaging our communities, and advancing Everglades research that we will all benefit from.
Today’s funding will support FIU’s Everglades Task Force – Research, Development, Remote Sensing/Geographic Information System Support. The project will support whole-system resilience and assess vulnerabilities. The Everglades Task Force will leverage this funding and existing partnerships to upgrade and modernize carbon-flux measurement towers, deploy cutting-edge remote sensing and geographic information systems, develop a climate technologies and community engagement hub facility, create a central data clearinghouse for data and synthesis across the restoration lifecycle, and conduct research and development on nature-based green-gray solutions and novel methods for restoration and mangrove rehabilitation.
In March, Congresswoman Wilson (FL-24) had the pleasure of joining FIU’s President Jeanette Nunez in the grand opening of FIU’s Coastal Conservation and Restoration Laboratory and the marine robotics research space at the FIU Biscayne Bay Campus. During the visit, Congresswoman Wilson had the opportunity to see firsthand how the grant funding has been put to work, supporting cutting-edge research and strengthening FIU’s capacity to protect our coastlines. In honor of Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson’s tireless commitment to FIU and the environment, FIU named a research robot after her, RV Wilson.
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Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24) is an eighth-term lawmaker from Florida, representing parts of Northern Miami-Dade and Southeast Broward counties. A former state legislator and lifelong educator, she founded the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project, a mentoring and dropout prevention program for boys and young men of color. Congresswoman Wilson is also the founder and chair of the U.S. Commission on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys and the Florida Ports Caucus. This bipartisan task force coordinates federal action to support Florida’s harbors and waterways and is a proud member of the Congressional HBCU Caucus and Congressional Black Caucus. The Florida lawmaker sits on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Education and Labor Committee. She serves as the Ranking Member of the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.