The Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force was established in the fall of 1997 as part of the government's plan to address hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. This is a critical point in the efforts of the Task Force to confront the serious challenge of coastal hypoxia and make further progress. And of course to reassess the Action Plan and work together in a collaborative manner to accelerate the progress. The Task Force will be focusing in on the Ohio River, and other rivers that are all part of the Mississippi River ecosystem and looking very hard at steps we can all take to reduce the problem, to increase the success of the overall Action Plan. Across the country and throughout the world folks are watching how we work in a cooperative and collaborative manner to reduce the environmental, ecological, and economic threat of hypoxia.