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The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Visitor Center is seen in Kihei. NOAA/Dayna McLaughlin photo

NOAA will put $17 million toward improving the climate resilience of the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Visitor Center in Kihei, whose beachfront location makes it susceptible to sand inundation and climate change impacts like upland flooding and powerful storms.

Funding will be used to mitigate these threats, increase resilience in the facility and ensure greater safety for staff, visitors and critical sanctuary assets, according to a NOAA news release Tuesday. The funds, which are coming from the Inflation Reduction Act, will also support construction of a boathouse for the sanctuary’s 38-foot boat Kohola that is used for large whale research and entanglement response.

“NOAA’s national marine sanctuaries’ facilities are a gateway to our greatest underwater treasures — and key to maintaining them,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said in a news release. “This investment, part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, will help make NOAA’s facilities at the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary more resistant to the effects of climate change.”

The Kihei visitor center opened in 1996 and was one of the first in the National Marine Sanctuary system. Since its opening, the facility has primarily been staffed by dedicated volunteers. The center has had a few updates to interior exhibits over the years, with a recent grand reopening in January. It now features new exhibits, interactive displays and weekly public programs.

Designated in 1992, the 1,370-square-mile Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary is managed through a partnership between NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Aquatic Resources. The sanctuary works to protect humpback whales and their habitat through research, education, conservation and stewardship.

The sanctuary is part of America’s National Marine Sanctuary system, a network of underwater parks encompassing more than 620,000 square miles of marine and Great Lakes waters. The network includes a system of 15 national marine sanctuaries and Papahanaumokuakea and Rose Atoll marine national monuments.

A total of $3.3 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act is going toward NOAA’s efforts to help the public build resilience to weather and climate events; improve supercomputing capacity and research on weather, oceans and climate; strengthen NOAA’s hurricane hunter aircraft and fleet; and replace aging NOAA facilities. For more information on NOAA’s use of funding under the Inflation Reduction Act, visit www.noaa.gov/inflation-reduction-act.

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