Marine Industries Science & Technology Cluster

02/28/2024

Southern Miss is positioning the Mississippi Gulf Coast as a global leader in ocean and maritime technologies.

Our Gulf Blue innovation initiative pools the knowledge of research scientists, federal agencies, industry partners, and entrepreneurs to drive economic growth and the blue economy in the Gulf of Mexico region.

With USM leading the way, the blue economy is poised for extensive growth, keeping Mississippians right here at home and recruiting new talent to our state.

01/25/2024

USM’s RV Point Sur.

Rare footage of a giant squid offers insight into this sea creature's behavior, including how these animals hunt.

01/23/2024

12/01/2023

Mississippi Trustees Support Fire Management Activities at Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge

lindsayrosegger

Fri, 06/30/2023 - 09:20

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Lighting a prescribed fire (Credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

Wildland fire crews from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Gulf Coast Complex Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge Student Conservation Association recently burned 187 acres of mixed forest, shrub and grass lands as part of ongoing fire management activities at the refuge. In fact, slightly more than 600 acres of Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge have been treated with prescribed fire this spring to support the Grand Bay Land Acquisition and Habitat Management project .

This project will restore and enhance marine, coastal, estuarine, and riparian habitats for the benefit of resources injured by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The project includes the acquisition of up to 8,000 acres and management of up to 17,500 acres within the boundaries of the Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, and Grand Bay Savanna Coastal Preserve in Jackson County, Mississippi. To date, the State of Mississippi has acquired approximately 1,530 acres as part of this project, 40 of which were acquired as recently as April 2023, and acquisition is ongoing. Management activities began in 2018 and are expected to continue for the next 10 years.

The primary objective of habitat restoration is to re-establish native vegetation in the target habitats, including coastal marsh, savannas and flatwoods, forested freshwater scrub-shrub, and freshwater marsh.

Prescribed fire is just one restoration measure used by the Mississippi Trustee Implementation Group to implement this project. Other measures include invasive species management, mechanical clearing, and chemical treatment.

Naturally occurring fire historically played an important role in maintaining the natural habitat of the Central Gulf ecosystem’s long-leaf pine and pine savannas, such as those found in Grand Bay. that were once prevalent along the Gulf Coast from Louisiana to Alabama. However, a decrease in naturally occurring fires has caused ecosystem degradation including reduction in the quality of wildlife habitat. Prescribed fire promotes the growth of trees, wildflowers, and other plants, removes unwanted species that threaten native species, and recycles nutrients back to the soil. Re-establishing the natural habitat will increase the health and viability of local, endangered, and threatened species, such as the Mississippi sandhill crane and gopher tortoises, which are found within the Grand Bay

We also send updates out via email. If you haven't already, please take the opportunity to sign up for e-mail updates today to receive the latest news from all the Deepwater Horizon Trustees .

MississippiNews from Gulf Spill Restoration

Wildland fire crews from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Gulf Coast Complex Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge Student Conservation Association recently burned 187 acres of mixed forest, shrub and grass lands as part of ongoing fire management activities at the refuge.

12/01/2023

Information from 2023 Trustee Council Annual Meeting Webinar Now Available

lindsayrosegger

Tue, 07/18/2023 - 10:56

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Recreational angler fishing (Credit: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission)

Outreach materials are now available from the June 20 Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Trustee Council’s annual meeting webinar. This virtual event, the Trustees’ eighth annual public meeting, provided an update on our work since our last meeting in June 2022 . It also included a 2-minute highlight video which is available to view here .

You can view all the materials presented at the meeting—including the presentations and fact sheets—below.

The Trustees and representatives of the seven Trustee Implementation Groups, responsible for planning and implementing restoration projects for the natural resources injured by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, gave updates on their progress over the last year.

The public meeting also included an opportunity for the public to provide comments to the Trustees after the presentation. This meeting also served as the annual public meeting of the Regionwide Trustee Implementation Group.

Public Meeting Presentation

Trustee Council Annual Meeting Presentation Slides (PDF, 52 pages)

Trustee Council Annual Meeting Transcript of Remarks and Public Comment (PDF, 85 pages)

Trustee Council Fact Sheets

Trustee Council Factsheet (PDF, 5 pages) Vietnamese translation (PDF, 5 pages)

Website and Data Factsheet (PDF, 2 pages) Vietnamese translation (PDF, 2 pages)

Restoration Area Fact Sheets

Alabama Trustee Implementation Group Factsheet (PDF, 3 pages) Vietnamese translation (PDF, 3 pages)

Florida Trustee Implementation Group Factsheet (PDF, 3 pages) Vietnamese translation (PDF, 3 pages)

Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group Factsheet (PDF, 3 pages) Vietnamese translation (PDF, 3 pages)

Mississippi Trustee Implementation Group Factsheet (PDF, 3 pages) Vietnamese translation (PDF, 3 pages)

Texas Trustee Implementation Group Factsheet (PDF, 3 pages) Vietnamese translation (PDF, 3 pages)

Regionwide Trustee Implementation Group Factsheet (PDF, 2 pages) Vietnamese translation (PDF, 2 pages)

Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group Factsheet (PDF, 3 pages) Vietnamese translation (PDF, 3 pages)

Trustee Council

RegionwideNews from Gulf Spill Restoration

Outreach materials are now available from the June 20 Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Trustee Council’s annual meeting webinar. This virtual event, the Trustees’ eighth annual public meeting, provided an update on our work since our last meeting in June 2022.

12/01/2023

Monitoring and Adaptive Management Activity Approved to Evaluate Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Restoration

lindsayrosegger

Fri, 07/14/2023 - 13:11

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The project will result in an initial evaluation of Open Ocean marine mammal and sea turtle restoration to date. (Photo: NOAA)

The Open Ocean Trustees have approved a new Monitoring and Adaptive Management (MAM) Activity (PDF, 15 pages) that will develop a framework to evaluate the cumulative outcomes of marine mammal and sea turtle restoration in the Open Ocean Restoration Area.

For both resources, a problem-solving method referred to as Structured Decision Making (SDM), with expert elicitation techniques will be used to quantify the benefits of Open Ocean restoration actions. The project will start by compiling existing data on marine mammal and sea turtle restoration. This data will be used to develop objectives and performance measures to form the basis of an initial evaluation framework. Experts in SDM analysis will then work with marine mammal and sea turtle experts to examine the available data using data quantification and mathematical modeling, where data are available, and expert elicitation, when data are not sufficient to build out the evaluation framework. Ultimately, the project will result in an initial evaluation of Open Ocean marine mammal and sea turtle restoration to date.

This MAM activity addresses the goals outlined in the Open Ocean Trustees’ MAM Strategy including:

evaluating the outcomes of Open Ocean restoration efforts across multiple projects

identifying and filling data gaps to better evaluate progress toward restoration goals

identifying the benefits of restoration activities to Open Ocean resources across the northern Gulf of Mexico.

Understanding the impact of existing restoration activities will help inform decisions regarding future restoration and monitoring activities.

The MAM activity is anticipated to span three years, and the total estimated budget is about $2 million.

We also send updates out via email. If you haven't already, please take the opportunity to sign up for the e-mail updates today to receive the latest news from all the Deepwater Horizon Trustees .

Open OceanNews from Gulf Spill Restoration

The Open Ocean Trustees have approved a new Monitoring and Adaptive Management (MAM) Activity (PDF, 15 pages) that will develop a framework to evaluate the cumulative o

12/01/2023

Inventory of Northern Gulf of Mexico Deep Seafloor Habitat Data and Maps Now Available

lindsayrosegger

Wed, 07/19/2023 - 13:40

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Mesophotic and deep benthic communities were injured across a large area by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. (Credit: NOAA)

More than 770 square miles, or 2,000 square kilometers, of deep seafloor habitat surrounding the Deepwater Horizon oil well in the Gulf of Mexico were injured by the 2010 spill. Additionally, more than four square miles of the Pinnacles deep-sea reef complex, located at the edge of the continental shelf, were also injured by the spill.

Successful restoration of these low-light, hard-to-reach seafloor habitats, or mesophotic and deep benthic areas, requires detailed knowledge of the habitats and ecological communities there.

A new publication from the Open Ocean Trustees ’ Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities (MDBC) restoration portfolio provides a detailed inventory of seafloor maps, ground-truthing data and predictive habitat modeling data. The compilation of these data resources represents a key milestone in supporting deep-sea restoration efforts near and around the site of the oil spill.

The inventory report (PDF, 89 pages) is available for download on the Gulf Spill Restoration website, as well as in the NOAA Institutional Repository ’s collection of Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities publications.

Compiling the inventory involved gathering existing datasets for the northern Gulf of Mexico from 1980 through 2021 and integrating them with new data into a comprehensive collection.

The inventory includes:

693 seafloor mapping footprints

13,722 seafloor mapping tracklines

20 seafloor mapping derived products

737 seafloor mapping raster images

57 ground-truthing datasets, comprising 43 feature layers of ground-truthing surveys

12 predictive habitat modeling datasets, which included 198 model prediction layers

The associated dataset has been archived with NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) and is publicly available to download.

This collection makes several data resources available and provides critical information to guide efforts to map priority areas of the northern Gulf of Mexico seafloor that remain unmapped or poorly characterized. For example, the data are being used by the MDBC projects to guide field work and operations to document the abundance and locations of mesophotic deep benthic habitat for restoration. New information will be added to the inventory as data are collected.

The data is also supporting work by the Mapping, Ground-Truthing, and Predictive Habitat Modeling (MGM) project to develop habitat models to predict where mesophotic and deep benthic communities exist in the northern Gulf and create high resolution maps to inform restoration efforts now and in the future.

Background

Mesophotic and deep benthic communities were injured across a large area by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Due to the extent of the injury and the complexity of the habitats, these Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities activities were developed with significant input from the ocean management and scientific community . Four long-term restoration projects were developed, which complement each other and advance the ability to manage, protect, and restore these important Gulf of Mexico ecosystems.

Additional Resources

Comprehensive Inventory of Seafloor Mapping, Ground-Truthing, and Predictive Habitat Modeling Datasets to Support Deepwater Horizon Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities (PDF, 89 pages)

StoryMap: 2022 Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities Expeditions

We also send updates out via email. If you haven't already, please take the opportunity to sign up for e-mail updates today to receive the latest news from all the Deepwater Horizon Trustees .

Open OceanNews from Gulf Spill Restoration

More than 770 square miles, or 2,000 square kilometers, of deep seafloor habitat surrounding the Deepwater Horizon oil well in the Gulf of Mexico were injured by the 2010 spill. Additionally, more than four square miles of the Pinnacles deep-sea reef complex, located at the edge of the continental s...

12/01/2023

Louisiana Stranding Network Successfully Relocates Trapped Mother Dolphin & Calf

lindsayrosegger

Mon, 07/24/2023 - 12:53

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A mother & dolphin calf trapped in a tidal pond system near Grand Isle, Louisiana for over a year were recently tagged and relocated to open water. The pair became trapped after Hurricane Ida. (Credit: NOAA Fisheries- Permit #24359)

Confined to a tidal pond system near Grand Isle, Louisiana for more than a year, a mother dolphin and her calf were successfully relocated to open water in mid-June by Louisiana Marine Mammal Stranding Network and partners.

The rescue is just one example of an enhanced capacity to respond to marine mammal strandings in Louisiana funded by the Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group through the settlement with BP after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The rescue and relocation was led by the Louisiana Marine Mammal Stranding Coordinator, Lauren Noble, and Audubon Nature Institute’s Coastal Wildlife Network; the work was coordinated by NOAA Fisheries. National Marine Mammal Foundation, SeaWorld Orlando, Institute for Marine Mammal Studies, Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Mississippi State University, the South Carolina Aquarium, and the Grand Isle Police Department also participated in the effort.

Presumed to have been stranded due to storm surge and flooding after Hurricane Ida in September 2021, mother and baby had no way to return to open water. Fortunately, the animals had access to ample food and proper water salinities during their time in the pond system.

Monitored every month by the Coastal Wildlife Network, the pair were relocated after experts determined the younger dolphin was old enough to be safely moved. Such strandings of marine mammals and sea turtles are common after large storms and flooding events, requiring rescue by trained responders to return them to their natural habitat.

Louisiana Enhanced Marine Mammal Stranding Network

Additional support and coordination for the stranding network in Louisiana improves the ability to report and respond to such strandings, care for stranded animals to improve survival rates, and collect samples that provide valuable data to help improve conservation and restoration efforts for marine mammals. These samples can improve diagnoses of illness and death in marine mammals in Louisiana, which will increase our understanding of natural and human-based threats to these animals in Louisiana waters.

The public is advised to report all stranded or out-of-habitat marine mammals and sea turtles (live or dead) to the Louisiana Stranding Hotline at 877-942-5343.

When reporting strandings, the public should be prepared to give:

Exact location and/or GPS coordinates

Photographs of the animal

Nature of the report (type of animal/live or dead/size, etc.)

Recommendations when reporting a live stranded animal include:

Put human safety above animal safety. If conditions are dangerous, do not attempt to approach the animal

Don't push an animal on shore back into the water

Keep crowds away and noise levels down to avoid causing stress to the animal

If the animal returns to the water on its own, don't attempt to interact with it

Leave all entanglements (fishing line, ropes, etc.) that may be present on the animal

We also send updates out via email. If you haven't already, please take the opportunity to sign up for e-mail updates today to receive the latest news from all the Deepwater Horizon Trustees.

LouisianaNews from Gulf Spill Restoration

Confined to a tidal pond system near Grand Isle, Louisiana for more than a year, a mother dolphin and her calf were successfully relocated to open water in mid-June by Louisiana Marine Mammal Stranding Network and partners.

12/01/2023

Big Eyes, Looking Out for Birds and Marine Mammals

lindsayrosegger

Thu, 07/27/2023 - 13:37

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The marine mammal observers will spend most of their time looking through “big eyes”--giant binoculars-- searching for animals. (Credit: NOAA Fisheries, Permit #14450)

Setting sail from Mississippi in June into the Gulf of Mexico, a team of scientists are scanning the horizon with their “big eyes” binoculars for the next several months, on the lookout for birds and marine mammals that can best be seen from sea.

Covering thousands of miles on two surveys between June 22 and August 17, the team will gather hard-to-collect data on the populations of seabirds and marine mammals in the Gulf that were impacted by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA’s Southeast Fisheries Science Center are conducting these surveys using $2.3 million in BP settlement funds approved by the Deepwater Horizon Open Ocean Trustees.

LEARN MORE: Follow the cruise activities in a day-by-day blog series

posted from the ship while the surveys are underway.

The survey project will address critical data gaps that allow for more informed planning, implementation and evaluation of restoration efforts for seabirds and marine mammals. In particular, data will be used to update habitat models, distribution maps, and estimates of numbers of animals. This information will provide insights into how abundance and distribution of seabirds and marine mammals may change over time in response to changes in the environment.

Two observer teams will conduct visual surveys, one team for marine mammals and another for seabirds. The marine mammal observers will spend most of their time looking through “big eyes”--giant binoculars-- searching for animals. Once they spot a marine mammal, they will identify the species, determine the group size, and take photos.

An acoustic team will also be listening for and recording marine mammal vocalizations using a towed array of hydrophones to augment the visual observations.

The seabird observers have the important and challenging goal of gathering data about the distribution and abundance of offshore seabird species, including shearwaters, storm-petrels and bo***es. Of the top 20 bird species injured by the spill, 15 were seabirds; these species account for 80 percent of the total injury to birds. Vessel-based surveys are a critical source of data for the injured seabird species that are found in the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Additional Resources

Open Ocean Trustees Release Plan for At-Sea Surveys of Gulf Seabirds and Marine Mammals (August 2022)

Vessel Surveys for Abundance and Distribution of Marine Mammals and Seabirds (PDF, 20 pages)

Project page

Project Blog Series (Southeast Fisheries Science Center)

We also send updates out via email. If you haven't already, please take the opportunity to sign up for email updates today to receive the latest news from all the Deepwater Horizon Trustees.

Open OceanNews from Gulf Spill Restoration

Setting sail from Mississippi in June into the Gulf of Mexico, a team of scientists are scanning the horizon with their “big eyes” binoculars for the next several months, on the lookout for birds and marine mammals that can best be seen from sea.

12/01/2023

Florida Trustees Initiate Planning for Third Post-Settlement Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment

lindsayrosegger

Mon, 08/07/2023 - 09:50

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Restoration approaches include: reducing pollution, hydrologic degradation, and nutrient loads. (Credit: City of Pensacola)

The Florida Trustee Implementation Group is drafting its third post-settlement restoration plan and environmental assessment to address natural resource injuries caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. We began this restoration planning effort in November 2022 by requesting project ideas from the public. We greatly appreciate your input in response to the request for project ideas .

The Florida Trustees’ Draft Restoration Plan 3/Environmental Assessment: Water Quality will address water quality using a range of approaches to enhance ecosystem services and recreational use along the Florida Gulf coast by reducing pollutants, nutrients, and pathogens discharged to coastal watersheds and improving hydrology. These restoration approaches include: reducing pollution and hydrologic degradation; reducing nutrient loads; creating, restoring, and enhancing coastal wetlands; and protecting and conserving marine, coastal, estuarine, and riparian habitats.

Additional information about the Water Quality Restoration Type can be found in Water Quality Type Restoration section, Chapter 5 of the Trustee Council Programmatic Damage Assessment and Restoration and Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement and in Chapter 5 Appendices (Sections 5.5.5, 5.D.1.1, 5.D.1.7, and 5.D.2).

We propose to use a portion of the Florida Trustees’ Water Quality Restoration Type allocation for the projects included in the Final Restoration Plan 3 and Environmental Assessment: Water Quality.

The Florida Trustees have approved two previous post-settlement restoration plans.

Final Restoration Plan 1 and Environmental Assessment: Habitat Projects on Federally Managed Lands; Nutrient Reduction; Water Quality; and Provide and Enhance Recreational Opportunities

Final Restoration Plan 2 and Environmental Assessment: Habitat Projects on Federally Managed Lands; Sea Turtles; Marine Mammals; Birds; and Provide and Enhance Recreational Opportunities

The Draft Restoration Plan 3 and Environmental Assessment will be drafted consistent with the Final Programmatic Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan. We expect to release the draft in early 2024. We will provide an opportunity for the public to review and provide input on the proposed restoration plan, including specific projects. After the public comment period ends, we will review, consider, and incorporate public comments before releasing a final restoration plan.

We also send updates out via email. If you haven't already, please take the opportunity to sign up for e-mail updates today to receive the latest news from all the Deepwater Horizon Trustees.

FloridaNews from Gulf Spill Restoration

The Florida Trustee Implementation Group is drafting its third post-settlement restoration plan and environmental assessment to address natural resource injuries caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. We began this restoration planning effort in November 2022 by requesting project ideas fr...

12/01/2023

Louisiana Breaks Ground on Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion

lindsayrosegger

Fri, 08/25/2023 - 10:02

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The sediment diversion will reconnect the Mississippi River to Louisiana's Barataria Basin estuary (Credit: Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority)

Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA ) broke ground on August 10, 2023 on the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion project at Mississippi River Mile 60.7 in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. Representatives of many state and federal agencies, non-profits, and the surrounding communities attended the kick-off of this important restoration and land-building project.

As part of the Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group , the agencies charged with restoring Louisiana’s natural resources after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, CPRA is leading the construction and eventual operation of the Mid-Barataria sediment diversion.

When operational, the sediment diversion will reconnect the Mississippi River to Louisiana's Barataria Basin estuary to restore wetlands and contribute to the broader restoration of its ecosystem. Over 50 years, the sediment carried by the project is projected to restore over 13,000 acres of wetland habitat. These restored wetlands will increase protection for nearby communities and infrastructure, reduce impacts from storms, support healthier Gulf fisheries, and benefit many species important to the region’s economy and environment.

The 2010 oil spill and response activities killed swaths of wetland plants that help stabilize coastal areas. Without this shoreline protection, the existing trend of coastal land loss was accelerated by the spill, especially in the state’s Barataria Basin estuary. The species, fisheries, and communities that rely on estuarine habitats face serious challenges due to the continued loss of wetlands, increasing estuarine salinities, as well as sea level rise and land subsidence.

Approved for funding in February 2023, five months after the final plan was released, this first-of-its-kind project represents one of the largest and most innovative coastal habitat restoration efforts ever undertaken. The Louisiana Trustees approved the allocation of $2.26 billion from Natural Resource Damage Assessment funds from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement towards the total project cost of $2.92 billion. The project plan and budget include funds for a suite of monitoring, and mitigation measures to offset impacts, to the extent practicable.

Project Features and Mitigation

Next steps for the project construction include site preparation activities and the temporary relocation of Highway 23 in the fall of 2023.

Project features include a controlled gate structure through the river levee, a manmade channel, and an outfall structure in the basin. Construction is anticipated to take approximately five years and is projected to produce an economic impact of nearly $1.5 billion in sales and approximately 12,400 jobs in the region.

Another major component of the project includes investments in mitigation measures for communities and natural resources, such as fisheries that may be impacted by project operations. Mitigation and stewardship measures were developed through outreach and feedback gathered from residents and stakeholders over the last several years. Elevation surveys of residences and infrastructure in communities south of the project identified for mitigation are already underway.

To support near-term needs, CPRA already identified avenues and partnerships for $10 million of the mitigation funding for implementation of some fisheries stewardship measures. These measures were prioritized based on the ability to meet current, urgent needs and expand effectiveness with near-term implementation. CPRA and its partners will continue working with the fishing industries and other stakeholders to best implement the stewardship measures outlined in the project’s mitigation plan. This is an ongoing process that will occur throughout construction and continue into the operations period of the project.

Additional Resources

Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion Mitigation Plan (CPRA)

Louisiana Trustees Approve Funding for Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion Project (February 1, 2023)

Louisiana Trustees Release Final Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion Restoration Plan (Sept. 21, 2022)

Final Phase II Restoration Plan #3.2: Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion Restoration Plan (PDF, 1,123 pages)

Executive Summary (English , PDF, 4 pages; Spanish , PDF, 5 pages; Vietnamese , PDF, 4 pages)

Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion Factsheet (PDF, 3 pages)

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Final Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion Project Environmental Impact Statement

We also send updates out via email. If you haven't already, please take the opportunity to sign up for e-mail updates today to receive the latest news from all the Deepwater Horizon Trustees.

LouisianaNews from Gulf Spill Restoration

Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) broke ground on August 10, 2023 on the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion project at Mississippi River Mile 60.7 in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. Representatives of many state and federal agencies, non-profits, and the surrounding comm...

12/01/2023

Mississippi Trustees Seek Public Comment on Draft Restoration Plan 4

lindsayrosegger

Thu, 08/31/2023 - 08:21

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Water quality testing in Newton County, Mississippi (Credit: Tina Nations)

The Mississippi Trustee Implementation Group has released its Draft Restoration Plan 4 and Environmental Assessment: Restoration of Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats, Nutrient Reduction, and Provide and Enhance Recreational Opportunities (PDF, 377 pages) for public review and comment through October 2, 2023 . The plan proposes seven projects for implementation. These projects have a combined cost of approximately $26 million.

The plan’s proposed restoration activities include:

acquisition of coastal lands from willing sellers in the three coastal counties;

construction of up to three living shoreline bulkhead alternative projects;

construction of an additional breakwater section of the Hancock County Marsh Living Shoreline Project;

implementation of two watershed-scale nutrient reduction projects; and

projects to provide recreational access and educational opportunities.

The draft restoration plan is consistent with the Trustees’ Programmatic Restoration Plan.

We began this restoration planning effort on February 7, 2022, with publication of a Notice of Solicitation requesting the public submit project ideas to the Trustee Implementation Group. On October 11, 2022 we published a Notice of Initiation of Restoration Planning and began writing the draft plan.

How to Submit Public Comments

The 30-day public review and comment period ends on October 2, 2023. We will accept public comments via the following methods:

Via the Web: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?projectID=118527

Via U.S. Mail:

U.S Fish and Wildlife Service Gulf Restoration Office

1875 Century Blvd.

Atlanta, Georgia 30345

Public Webinar Information

The trustees will post a pre-recorded webinar to present an overview of the draft restoration plan and the proposed preferred alternatives. It will be available at https://www.mdeq.ms.gov/restoration/ no later than September 15, 2023.

After the public comment period ends, we will review, consider, and address public comments before releasing a final restoration plan and environmental assessment.

Additional Documents

Draft Restoration Plan 4 and Environmental Assessment: Restoration of Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats, Nutrient Reduction, and Provide and Enhance Recreational Opportunities (PDF, 377 pages)

Executive Summary in Vietnamese (PDF, 3 pages)

Executive Summary in Spanish (PDF, 3 pages)

MississippiNews from Gulf Spill Restoration

The Mississippi Trustee Implementation Group has released its Draft Restoration Plan 4 and Environmental Assessment: Restoration of Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats, Nutrient Reduction, and Provide and Enhance Recreational Opportunities (PDF, 377 pages) for public review and comment through...