NOAA awards Inflation Reduction Act funding to support new marine discovery center in Port Angeles

Community Announcement

January 3, 2025

NOAA has awarded an additional $15 million from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to support construction of a new visitor center in collaboration with Feiro Marine Life Center in Port Angeles, Washington.

The additional funding will cover partial costs for building a new $30 million interpretive center and provide a community venue for public education about Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary habitats and wildlife, as well as watersheds and Indigenous cultures of the area. It will strengthen ties between NOAA, Port Angeles and the entire Olympic Peninsula. The new facility will enable both the sanctuary and Feiro Marine Life Center — a sanctuary partner for more than 20 years — to improve and expand upon collaborative educational programs.

This project is expected to positively impact the economic development of Port Angeles and the North Olympic Peninsula, outside of the collective educational impacts this facility will provide. This $15 million is in addition to an existing $3 million IRA project grant awarded to Feiro Marine Life Center in 2024. NOAA has now invested a total of $18 million from the Inflation Reduction Act, in collaboration with the Feiro Marine Life Center, to construct the facility.