As a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, President Obama commissioned Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus to develop recommendations for full restoration of the Gulf Coast. As a result of the report, the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force was established through Executive Order 13554 and tasked with defining ecosystem restoration goals, coordinating government policies, proposing additional actions (where necessary), and identifying monitoring, assessment, research and restoration gaps.

The Task Force is chaired by EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, co-chaired by Garrett Graves who also serves as chair of the Louisiana Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and contains representatives from each of the other Gulf States as well as ten other Federal agencies. Many members of the Alliance sit on the Task Force itself or on the variety of Coordination Teams.

To gather information necessary for development of a Gulf-wide restoration plan, the Task Force held more than 40 public meetings Throughout the Gulf to listen to the concerns of the public. The result was the Gulf of Mexico Regional Ecosystem Restoration Strategy that was officially released on December 5, 2011.

To review the Gulf of Mexico Regional Ecosystem Restoration Strategy or learn more about the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, visit www.epa.gov/gulfcoasttaskforce.

To sign up to receive automatic updates on Task Force activities and announcements, please email GulfCoastTaskForce@epa.gov.

Gulf of Mexico Regional Ecosystem Restoration Strategy