Gulf of Mexico Alliance
Building Partnerships for a Healthier Gulf
April 2021
GOMA Team Mid Year meetings coming to Biloxi this fall
Save the date for the GOMA Team Mid-Year meetings on September 21-23, 2021 in Biloxi, Mississippi! This meeting will be hosted in a hybrid format with options to attend in-person or virtually. Our teams have been working diligently over the last year and we are excited for a sense of "normalcy" as we slowly re-introduce in-person meetings and get started on Governors' Action Plan IV for Healthy and Resilient Coasts. Registration details and Team agendas will be available soon, so stay tuned!
New Gulf Star projects set to make a positive impact across the Gulf
GOMA's Gulf Star Program is a unique public-private partnership that leverages contributions from agencies, businesses, and non-profits without requiring match funds from grant recipients. The new projects for 2021 focus on supporting GOMA Team actions such as coastal resilience, underrepresented and underserved communities, citizen science water and marine debris monitoring, living shorelines, wildlife conservation, and regional data sharing. In total, nearly 50 projects have been funded through the Gulf Star Program since 2016.

The shared impacts from these Gulf Star projects are made possible by the following Gulf Star partners: BHP, Shell, Freeport McMoRan, Hess, Chevron, Clean Gulf Associates, Equinor, Oxy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and the five Gulf states. Learn more about the Gulf Star Program here.
Over 1,200 coastal scientists and managers engage during virtual Gulf of Mexico Conference
GOMA hosted the Gulf of Mexico Conference (GoMCon) virtual preview on April 14, 2021. GoMCon combines the annual GOMA All Hands Meeting, the annual Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and Ecosystem Science Conference, and the triennial State of the Gulf Summit. Bringing these three meetings together in a combined conference emphasizes the important intersections between restoration, scientific research, and management of the coastal environment and economy. The virtual preview was simply a taste of the larger, in-person conference slated for April 2022.

Dr. Jack E. Davis kicked off the event with a keynote address. Dr. Davis is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, “The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea.” “People who have lived beside the Gulf have a profound awareness of their love for it,” he said. “I want Americans to understand the Gulf is a living and giving sea.”

Following the keynote by Davis, three groups of panelists explored restoration and scientific advances since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. They also considered emerging regional challenges including sea-level rise, harmful algal blooms, coastal hydrology, and fisheries management.

The regional experts on these topics were: 
• Greg Gandy, Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority
• Buck Sutter, Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council
• Mike Sharp, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund
• Rachel Sweeney, NOAA Fisheries
• Monty Graham, Florida Institute of Oceanography
• David Yoskowitz, Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies
• Renee Collini, Mississippi State University and Mississippi-Alabama-Florida Sea Grant
• Megan LaPeyre, U.S. Geological Survey
• Steven Murawski, University of South Florida – College of Marine Science
• Scott Hagen, LSU Center for Coastal Resiliency 
• Brian Dzwonkowsi, Dauphin Island Sea Lab

The 2022 GoMCon will take place in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on April 25-28. The Alliance will announce session topics and a call for abstracts on the GoMCon website this August.

This event was hosted by GOMA and sponsored by the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, NOAA RESTORE Science Program, Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Gulf Research Program, Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System, Equinor, Stantec, Hess, Shell, and RESTORE Act Centers of Excellence for Louisiana and Florida.
Embrace the Gulf initiative expands reach with PSA video
The Embrace Gulf 2021 initiative has expanded beyond social media with a new public service announcement video. Our PSA showcases the vitality and sustainability of the Gulf of Mexico. Watch the video now and be on the lookout for a local broadcast in your area. Lately, the PSA has been seen on cable channels such as CNN and SEC Network. Special thanks to Mississippi State University Television Center for partnering with us to produce this video. 

This year’s goal is to turn awareness into action by sharing ways to volunteer, help wildlife, get outside, and more. Actions in May will focus on building resilience to natural disasters, touching on storm preparedness, our Homeowner’s Handbooks, and more just in time for hurricane season which begins June 1st! Be sure to follow along on Facebook and Instagram and help us continue to #EmbraceTheGulf.

Please click the button below to view the PSA.
Partner News
RESTORE Council announces $302 million in funding for Gulf restoration activities
On April 28th, the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council (RESTORE Council) announced $302 million in funding decisions for restoration activities spanning the Gulf Coast states impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. This includes 20 activities designed to address ecosystem needs across the Gulf of Mexico. For the full press release, click here.

EPA GOM Division is accepting 2022 Gulf Guardian Award nominations
The EPA Gulf of Mexico Division partnership is accepting nominations until June 30th, 2021 for the 2022 Gulf Guardian Awards. The ceremony will take place in Baton Rouge, LA in April 2022. For more information on how to complete your nomination as well as award categories please click here.

Paddle the Gulf iNaturalist how-to training recording now available
In case you missed the live training of the iNaturalist app hosted by Paddle the Gulf, you can now watch the recording here. The iNaturalist app can be used to incorporate citizen science into paddling events and other outreach.

Santa Rosa County continues work on coastal resilience through the Resilience to Future Flooding project
Santa Rosa County, Florida, has launched a new web application designed to inform residents of future flood risk and vulnerability. This project was funded by a NOAA Regional Coastal Resilience Grant. For the full press release, please click here.

NOAA and partners begin 3-year coral restoration effort in the Florida Keys
NOAA and other partners have begun planting over 60,000 pieces of nursery-raised coral located off the coast of Key West, Florida. This large effort is the first venture dedicated to the Mission: Iconic Reefs project. To learn more, please visit NOAA's website.
2021 Virtual Events
Selected virtual events include:

The Nature Conservancy's 2021 City Nature Challenge: Houston/Galveston
April 30th- May 3rd, 2021

NOAA's Southeast and Caribbean Regional Collaboration Team 2021 Hurricane Awareness Webinar Series
May 3rd, 2021

FloodWise Communities: Informational Webinar
May 6th, 2021

Scripps Institution of Oceanography OceanVisions 2021 Virtual Summit
May 18th-21st, 2021

GCOOS Spring Virtual Meeting
May 18th, 2021

Texas Waters Webinar: Native American Cultural Connection to Water
May 19th, 2021

GOMA Wednesday Webinar
May 26th, 2021

Find these and other virtual activities on our events page.
1151 Robinson Street, Ocean Springs, MS 39564
For newsletter submissions contact Devany.tyler@gomxa.org
April 2021