The deadline for citizens to weigh-in on a new round of projects proposed as part of early restoration efforts in the wake of the BP drilling disaster is just around the corner. The good news is that a majority of this funding, which is part of the early restoration Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA), is being dedicated to restoring the marine and coastal environment, including a much-needed project to protect bluefin tuna by helping longline fishermen transition to more sustainable fishing gear and a project focused on restoring sea turtle populations.
Join us in thanking the NRDA trustees for these efforts to protect our coasts and marine life!
It’s exciting that this round of funding will include projects truly focused on restoration, but as we celebrate this significant step forward, we also need to make sure that the NRDA trustees are giving the public all the information they need to truly assess how these proposed projects will impact the Gulf’s environment and communities. In some cases, most notably with proposed living shorelines projects in Mississippi, we just don’t have enough information.
Click here to thank the trustees for proposing some great restoration projects and encourage them to provide the public with the greatest amount of information possible.
With record reports of dolphin deaths, low fish and shrimp counts, dying deep-sea coral reefs, and other marine species under extreme stress, this dedicated spending on the Gulf’s coastal and marine environment is welcome and long overdue. Projects like the long-line gear transition program not only help protect and sustain critical open-ocean species like bluefin tuna, they also support those who make a living on the Gulf’s waters. We need your help to encourage the NRDA Trustees to continue funding real restoration projects with sound planning processes and adequate public input.
Take action to support NRDA Trustees in funding and implementing restoration projects that will protect, restore and sustain natural resources.