BATON ROUGE, LA, Mar. 9, 2009 -- The Governor's Gulf of Mexico Alliance, a partnership among the five states bordering the Gulf to improve water quality and habitat, is seeking public input regarding a draft of its second plan to reduce nutrient input, improve community resiliency, restore coastal wetlands and expand environmental education.
>> Read the Draft Action Plan II
>> Provide comments online
The Gulf of Mexico Alliance was initiated in 2004 with the goal of significantly increasing regional collaboration among Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Alabama and Florida to enhance the ecological and economic health of the Gulf region with the support of a host of federal agencies. The Alliance established six primary subjects to explore and advance:
• Water Quality for Healthy Beaches and Shellfish Beds
• Wetland and Coastal Conservation and Restoration
• Environmental Education
• Identification and Characterization of Gulf Habitats
• Reducing Nutrient Inputs to Coastal Ecosystems
• Coastal Community Resiliency
The first action of the Alliance was to release the Governors' Action Plan for Healthy and Resilient Coasts, which challenged this new partnership to make tangible, short-term progress between March 2006 and March 2009.
The Alliance established focused teams of regional stakeholders, called Priority Issue Teams, to advance actions in the Governors' Action Plan. It also formalized the alliance between the states and the federal partners. With most of the original 73 Action Blueprint Steps complete, the Alliance began work on a second regional collaboration blueprint, Draft Action Plan II.
Public comments regarding the draft plan are being sought through Mar. 13, 2009.
>> More information on the Governor's Gulf of Mexico Alliance
The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority's mandate is to develop, implement and enforce a comprehensive coastal protection and restoration master plan. For the first time in Louisiana's history, this single state authority will integrate coastal restoration and hurricane protection by marshalling the expertise and resources of the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Transportation and Development, and other state agencies, to speak with one clear voice for the future of Louisiana's coast. Working with federal, state and local political subdivisions, including levee districts, the CPRA will work to establish a safe and sustainable coast that will protect our communities, the nation's critical energy infrastructure, and our bountiful natural resources for generations to come. The CPRA of Louisiana was established by Act 8 of the 1st Extraordinary Session of 2005.
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