Events
SAVE THE DATE: 2012 All Hands meeting
June 18, 2012
June 18-21, 2012
Omni Hotel and Conference Center
Corpus Christi, Texas
PARTNER EVENTS
19th Annual Coastal & Ocean CelebrationFebruary 28, 2012
February 28, 20126:00 - 8:00 pm
Hart Senate Office Building
Washington DC
The 2012 Celebration is significant as it will serve as the kick-off event for the 40th anniversary celebration of the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) and the Clean Water Act (CWA).
RSVP by February 22, 2012.SAVE THE DATE: 2012 RAE Conference
October 20, 2012
October 20-24,2012Tampa Convention Center
Tampa, Florida
Restore America’s Estuaries’ 6th National Conference on Coastal and Estuarine Habitat Restoration is the only national conference focused on the goals and practices of coastal and estuarine habitat restoration. Estuaries and coasts are an important part of America’s economy, history, and living culture. The five-day Conference will explore the state-of-the-art in all aspects and scales of restoration, and will be comprised of field sessions, plenary sessions, expert presentations, special evening events, workshops, a poster hall, and the nation’s only Restoration Exposition.
Alliance in Action
News
GOMA Celebrates Change in Leadership
February 3, 2012
Jerome Zeringue has become the new management Chair of the Gulf of Mexico Alliance, taking an active lead on behalf of Governor Bobby Jindal. Zerinque made Alliance history, shifting state leadership for only the second time since the Alliance was established in 2004. Louisiana takes over following a long and active tenure by Dr. Bill Walker and Ms. Trudy Fisher with the State of Mississippi.The state leadership change became official at the Gulf Summit in Houston, Texas. Out-going co-chairs, Dr. Bill Walker and Ms. Trudy Fisher, were recognized for their dedicated service to the five state, Governor-endorsed Alliance and were presented with beautiful crystal awards. Through their leadership the Alliance completed its second regional action plan, established a regional non-profit, successfully negotiated with BP to form the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, and oversaw federal and state appropriated funds to support the priority issues.
As the director for the Louisiana Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration, Jerome Zeringue steps in as the new Chair of the Alliance Management Team. Their role is to act on behalf of the states’ governors to oversee Alliance direction to address the six regional issues identified as priorities by all five Gulf States. Zeringue presided over his first meeting in January 2012 and said, “Thank-you to the State of Mississippi for their outstanding leadership of the Alliance. As the in-coming Chair from Louisiana, I look forward to working with everyone as we continue the good work of the Alliance. No matter the unfortunate circumstances that have led us to this point, we stand here today facing a great opportunity and an even greater challenge. We eagerly accept the challenge of restoring and enhancing the Gulf during this critical time. It is a responsibility we embrace." Zeringue hopes to accomplish several items while Louisiana serves as the chair of the Alliance, namely the completion of objectives in the regional action plan as well as Alliance integration into the regional restoration strategy resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
For more information about the Alliance Management Team, visit http://www.gulfofmexicoalliance.org/about/amt.html. EPA Water Quality Criteria Changes Reflect GOMA Recommendations
January 5, 2012
The Gulf of Mexico Alliance (GOMA) Water Quality team recently announced that USEPA is revising its recreational water quality criteria and some of those changes reflect points raised by Water Quality Team members. In a paper published in the Journal of Water and Health, the Water Quality team outlined a number of concerns regarding existing and proposed methods and criteria.
The Water Quality team made several recommendations including ensuring that criteria formulation uses data that include Gulf of Mexico-specific conditions, that rapid-testing methods be feasible and adequately controlled, and that USEPA maintains investments in water quality research once the new criteria are promulgated in order to assure that outstanding scientific questions are addressed and that scientifically defensible criteria are achieved for the Gulf of Mexico.
The paper was completed by GOMA partners on the Water Quality Team Pathogens Workgroup including Janet Gooch-Moore (NOAA), Kelly D. Goodwin (NOAA), Carol Dorsey (ADPH), R.D. Ellender (USM), Joanna B. Mott (TA&M-CC), Mark Ornelas (ADEQ), Chris Sinigalliano (NOAA), Bob Vincent (FDoH), David Whiting (FDEP) and Steven H. Wolfe (FDEP).
The paper can be accessed http://www.iwaponline.com/jwh/009/jwh0090718.htm.
December 9, 2011
On December 4-8, hundreds of experts and leaders from academic institutions, government, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector came together at the 2nd State of the Gulf of Mexico Summit hosted by the Harte Research Institute.
During her keynote address, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson presented the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force's final strategy for long term ecosystem restoration for the Gulf Coast, following extensive feedback from citizens throughout the region. To view the strategy, visit http://www.epa.gov/gulfcoasttaskforce.
Another unique feature of the Summit was the emphasis on developing an effective “report card” that can be used by resource managers and decision makers in science and business to understand the impacts of our activities. "Bringing these experts together to focus attention on the Gulf of Mexico creates a level of synergy that is critical to developing solutions. We all understand the importance of an economically and environmentally sustainable Gulf of Mexico," said Dr. Larry McKinney, Harte Research Institute's Executive Director. "At the Summit, our goal is to devise a plan to make sure we get there.”
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