WASHINGTON, DC -- The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee today gave its stamp of approval to legislation which will help Rhode Island purchase land and protect coastal ecosystems from development or conversion. The bipartisan Coastal and Estuarine Land Protection (CELP) Act, cosponsored by U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI), Judd Gregg (R-NH), and Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), will provide federal funding to help local communities nationwide protect coastal areas from development."Our coastal communities are experiencing a tremendous amount of development. This legislation will help preserve open spaces and protect our ecological resources," said Reed, a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science, which oversees federal spending on the program. "Conserving Rhode Island's coastal resources will help protect wildlife habitat, improve flood protection, and increase public access to Narragansett Bay for fishing, boating, and swimming." CELP is a land conservation program which fosters partnerships between non-governmental organizations and federal, state, and local governments to protect undeveloped coastal and estuarine areas that: (1) have significant conservation, recreation, ecological, historical, or aesthetic values; and (2) are threatened by conversion from their natural, undeveloped, or recreational state to other uses. All projects have community support and willing sellers. In Rhode Island, Senator Reed secured funding through this program to preserve Tuniper's Pond in Little Compton, Norman Bird Sanctuary in Middletown, and Rocky Point in Warwick. From 2002 to 2006 Rhode Island has received over $5.5 million in CELP funding."The CELP Act brings together local conservation groups, state agencies, and the federal government to identify and purchase high priority coastal or estuarine lands or conservation easements," noted Reed. "Protecting these critical habitats and water resources preserves Rhode Island's unique beauty and strengthens our quality of life. I am pleased to work with Senators Gregg and Lautenberg to pass this important legislation."According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, coastal and marine waters help support over 28 million jobs, and the value of the ocean economy to the United States is over $115 billion. The commercial and recreational fishing industries alone add over $48 billion to the national economy each year.The CELP Act is supported by The Nature Conservancy, The Trust for Public Land, Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Land Trust Alliance, The Conservation Fund, Restore America's Estuaries, The Ocean Conservancy, National Estuarine Research Reserve Association, Association of National Estuary Programs, and the Coastal States Organization.