Gulf of Mexico Program
Large Aquatic Ecosystem (LAE)
EPA
COUNCIL OF LARGE
^AQUATIC
EOeSYSTEMS
The Gulf of Mexico Program was initiated in 1988 by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) as a non-regulatory program. Modeled after the
National Estuary Programs and founded on the threefold principles of
partnership, science-based information, and citizen involvement, the Gulf
Program joined the Great Lakes and Chesapeake Bay Programs as flagships
of the nation's efforts to apply an adaptive management approach to large
coastal freshwater and marine ecosystems. The mission of the Program is to
facilitate collaborative actions to protect, maintain, and restore the health and
productivity of the Gulf of Mexico in ways consistent with the economic
well-being of the Region.
The Program provides a broad geographic focus on the major environmental
issues in the Gulf, and from its inception, was envisioned as a multiagency
partnership endeavor based on the simple premise that no one agency or
institution alone has the technical skills, financial resources, or legislative authority needed to resolve the
environmental or natural resource problems confronting an ecological system the size of the Gulf. The
Program's success comes from its ability to engage many people across the Gulf region for leadership and to
implement projects that move in an environmentally and economically sound direction.
In 2004, as a result of a shared vision for a healthy and resilient Gulf of Mexico coast, the Governors of
Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas formalized the Gulf of Mexico Alliance. Thirteen federal
agencies committed to supporting the Alliance and formed a new Federal Workgroup with EPA's Gulf of Mexico
Program and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration serving as co-leads. The Alliance released
the Governors' Action Plan in 2006 which was intended to be a dynamic starting point to set the stage for a long-
term regional partnership. Developed using input from Gulf citizens and supported by specific state and federal
agency resource commitments, the Action Plan set out projects to deliver significant on-the-ground results.
Challenges
The Gulf of Mexico is a vast and productive body of water that is of tremendous value in ecological, economic,
and social terms. The Gulf's vastness and diversity often mask the fundamental relationships between the living
and the non-living workings of this magnificent ecological system. The physical magnitude of the Gulf is both its
strength and its weakness. Its size and diversity contribute to its productivity, yet they also contribute to a sense
of complacency with regard to day-to-day human activities and their unintended consequences. There are four
major challenges to healthy and resilient communities in the Gulf region: (1) Sustaining the Gulf Economy; (2)
Improving the Gulf Ecology; (3) Mitigating Impacts of Climate Change, and (4) Mitigating Harmful Effects of
Coastal Water Quality.
Priorities
The Gulf of Mexico Alliance identified issues that are regionally significant and can be effectively addressed
through increased collaboration at the local, state, and federal levels. These priorities represent an initial focus
for action through the Alliance and align with the Gulf of Mexico Program priority issues:
• Water Quality for healthy beaches and shellfish beds.
• Habitat conservation and restoration.
• Ecosystems integration and assessment.
• Nutrient reduction and nutrient impacts.
• Coastal community resiliency.
• Environmental education.
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Accomplishments
The Gulf of Mexico Program reflects upon 20 years of collaboration and
environmental accomplishments to the benefit of the Gulf communities.
With the cooperation of its partners, the Program successfully implements
water quality and ecological recovery programs. The Program's
cooperative approach includes:
• Delisting approximately 109 rivers and streams from EPA's list of
polluted waterways.
• Supporting the Gulf States with 543 projects in characterizing some of
the most difficult environmental issues confronting coastal waters and in
implementing a wide variety of demonstration projects and studies that
offer solutions to those problems.
• Protecting over 25,000 acres of coastal marine habitat.
• Designating all six Coastal Education Learning Centers, one in each
Gulf state and in Veracruz, Mexico.
• Assisting the Gulf Alliance to fulfill 99 percent of the 2006 Governors'
Action Plan.
• Commemorating the people and agencies working together to protect
the Gulfs ecosystems through 170 Gulf Guardian Awards.
• Supporting international efforts by implementing integrated binational
(U.S. and Mexico) early-warning detection systems for coastal
community management of harmful algal blooms.
• Supporting the goals and actions identified in the GulfHypoxia Action
Plan.
Future Direction
The Gulf of Mexico Region is experiencing the power of regional
collaboration and partnerships. The results of the first Governors' Action
Plan exceeded initial expectations, identifying specific actions needed to
improve the health of the coastal areas and to improve the quality of life for
the Gulfs citizens. Significant accomplishments have been achieved and
lasting partnerships were established; however, the Gulf coast ecosystems
are still at risk with challenges for years to come. To build on the success
of the partnerships, the Governors' Action Plan II is under development as a
far-reaching, five-year regional blueprint for 2009-2014 to increase the
health of the ecology and economy of the Gulf and address the most
pressing issues affecting the Gulf Region. The Gulf of Mexico Program will
continue to enhance and expand effective working partnerships to identify
and resolve environmental issues in the Gulf ecosystem. We will continue
creating a Gulf that flourishes in all its natural richness and variety, while
embracing the needs and desires of its people.
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The Gulf of Mexico Program Facts
Watershed Size: ~2 million square miles
Waterbody Size: Gulf Region covers ~600,000 square miles
Population: 44.2 million people in 1995 and may increase to an estimated 61.4 million in 2025
EPA Regions: 4 and 6
Director: Bryon Griffith
The Gulf of Mexico
Program was
designated a member
of the US
Environmental
Protection Agency's
Large Aquatic
Ecosystem Council (LAE) in 2008.
The Gulf of Mexico Program joins nine
other geographic-based efforts that
focus on protecting and restoring the
health of critical aquatic ecosystems.
The LAE Council seeks to merge
geographically-based efforts with
national water programs to advance
the health of the Nation's large aquatic
ecosystems and strengthen national
water programs.
LAE Program Websites
Chesapeake Bay Program
www.chesapeakebay.net
Columbia River Basin
www.epa.gov/region10/columbia
Great Lakes
www.epa.gov/glnpo
Gulf of Mexico Program
www.epa.gov/gmpo
Lake Champlain Basin Program
www.lcbp.org
Long Island Sound Study
www.longislandsoundstudy.net
Pacific Islands Office
www.epa.gov/region09/islands
Puget Sound - Georgia Basin
(Under Construction)
San Francisco Bay Delta Estuary
(Under Construction)
South Florida Geographic Initiative
www.epa.gov/Region4/water/southflorida
Office of Wetlands, Oceans,
and Watersheds
www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/
partnerships/large_aquatic.html
October 2008
irfie Aquntie Ecosystems
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