Impact/Purpose:

The Gulf of Mexico Foundation isa nonprofit corporation based in Corpus Christi, Texas, was founded in 1990 by citizens concerned with the health and productivity of the Gulf of Mexico. The Foundation is currently involved in several activites to protect and restore habitat throughut the Gulf of Mexico. The first example of their efforts was to support and promote the Gulf Ecological Management Sites (GEMS) program, which helped to identify over one hundred unique coast habitat areas throughout the Gulf that were in need of preservation or restoration. This activity led to the Foundation's work with NOAA's Coastal Restoration Program. Through that program the Foundation receives funding to protect and restore essential coastal fisheries habitat throughout the Gulf of Mexico. The Foundation is also involved in a number of educational and outreach activities to raise awareness the the Gulf of Mexico and its unique environmental issues in order to help preserve the unique values of the Gulf of Mexico. With this project the grantee will hold a series ofup to four workshop and five workgroup meetings to bring together State, Federal and other organizations and agencies to develop recommendations for priority coastal conservation and restorations needs as well as suggested solutions to permitting and funding issues that impede the restoration and preservation of Gulf coastal areas. The project team formed through these workshops will also, with the assistance and facilitation capabilites of the grantee, work with potential collaborators to leverage funding, develop and distribute educational outreach efforts and materials and build a strong habitat conservation stewardship ethic within the Gulf States and the Gulf of Mexico watershed.

Description:

From the date of the project award to March 2009, the project team will coordinate the Wetland and Coastal Habitat Conservation and Restoration committee established by the Governors’ Action Plan of the Gulf of Mexico Alliance. A series of workshops will be held in the Gulf States. The resulting output will include descriptions of the habitat issues of the Gulf States, recommendations of “priority” conservation and restoration needs, and suggested solutions to permitting and funding challenges that may exist. The project team will work with potential collaborators to leverage funding, develop and distribute educational outreach efforts and materials, and build a strong habitat conservation stewardship ethic within the Gulf States and the Gulf of Mexico watershed states.

Record Details: