Gulf Coast Task Force Releases Ecosystem Restoration Strategy For Public Review

[The Straight Story]

Gulf Coast Task Force Releases Ecosystem Restoration Strategy For Public Review / Agenda outlines blueprint for reversing decline of Gulf Coast ecosystem

Release date: 10/05/2011

Contact Information: EPA Press Office 202-564-4355


One year ago today, President Obama established the Task Force by executive order, in response to recommendations from a report by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, to continue the Administration’s ongoing commitment to the Gulf region. The group is made up of representatives from the five Gulf States and 11 federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, Council on Environmental Quality, Department of the Interior, Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, Department of Agriculture, Department of Justice, Department of Transportation, Office of Management and Budget, Office of Science and Technology Policy and Domestic Policy Council.

"Even before last year’s oil spill, the Gulf of Mexico endured decades of decline that threatened the environmental and economic health of this region. This strategy is designed to prepare the region for transitioning from a response to the spill into a long-term recovery that supports the vital ecosystem and the people who depend on it," said Administrator Jackson. "The health of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem starts and ends with its people and its communities. The individuals and families who visit the Gulf, who work in the region, who depend on its resources, and especially those who call it home, know its needs and challenges best. They will be integral to creating and executing this long-term strategy."

“The Task Force’s draft strategy identifies fundamental obstacles that have plagued restoration and protection efforts in Louisiana and other states for decades. The report attempts to begin reversing 80 years of mismanagement,” said Garret Graves, Task Force vice-chair and chair of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana. “It identifies critical issues such as changes in river management, the use of dredged sediment, navigation channel bank stabilization, and the need to expedite the snail’s pace process of implementing water resources projects. History has proven that being reactive on disaster mitigation costs exponentially more. This report is an important first step in moving toward a proactive strategy as recognized through the implementation of the state's coastal master plan. There is much work still left to be done and we look forward to continuing to work with Task Force agencies and our fellow Gulf States to finally stabilize our coast and protect the Gulf communities.”

The natural resources of the Gulf’s ecosystem are vital to many of the region’s industries that directly support economic progress and job creation, including tourism and recreation, seafood production and sales, energy production and navigation and commerce. Among the major initiatives with specific actions recommended by the preliminary strategy to protect and restore those natural resources are:

• Stopping the Loss of Wetlands

Stopping the loss of critical wetlands, sand barriers and beaches is a key recommendation of the preliminary strategy. Key habitats for a wide range of fish and other animals are being lost or reduced across the Gulf. The creation of channels and levees from dredging in the Lower Mississippi often can “disconnect” the vast wetland delta from the source of sediments that built the delta over thousands of years. The strategy aims to restore the supply of sediments needed to build up eroding wetlands and to ultimately reconnect these valuable resources to their historic source of sediments, particularly in the Lower Mississippi. To help do this, the strategy recommends placing ecosystem restoration on an equal footing with historic uses such as navigation and flood damage reduction by approaching water resource management decisions in a far more comprehensive manner that will bypass harm to wetlands, barrier islands and beaches. The strategy also recommends implementation of several congressionally authorized projects in the Gulf that are intended to reverse the trend of wetlands loss.

• Reducing the Flow of Nutrients into the Gulf

http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/bd4379a92ceceeac8525735900400c27/eaf8e8605c2218bb8525792000492256!OpenDocument