Conservation Organizations Respond to RESTORE Council Release of Gulf Coast Restoration Project Proposals

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACTS: Elizabeth Van Cleve, Environmental Defense Fund, 202.553.2543, evancleve@edf.org
Emily Guidry Schatzel, National Wildlife Federation, 225.253.9781, schatzele@nwf.org
Lauren Bourg, National Audubon Society, 504.264.6862, lbourg@audubon.org

Conservation Organizations Respond to RESTORE Council Release of Gulf Coast Restoration Project Proposals
Council should select projects that provide maximum benefit to Gulf Coast ecosystem

(New Orleans—December 1, 2014) Today, the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council (Council) released its list of project and program proposals to be considered for funding with select penalty money from the 2010 Gulf oil disaster. Council members, representing each of the five Gulf states and six federal agencies, were allowed to submit up to five proposals each for consideration by the Council. National and local conservation organizations committed to Mississippi River Delta and Gulf Coast restoration – Environmental Defense Fund, National Wildlife Federation, National Audubon Society, Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation and the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana – issued the following statement:

“Now the focus shifts to the decision-making processes of the RESTORE Council.

“As laid out in the RESTORE Act, this is the only portion of RESTORE funds that is specifically required to be spent without regard for state borders and instead for the good of the Gulf. That makes it essential for the Council to ultimately select restoration projects that provide the maximum benefit to the entire Gulf Coast ecosystem. Projects that work together – providing complementary benefits and sustaining one another – will produce the most robust restoration possible with available funds. To achieve that, we encourage the Council to conduct a comprehensive science-based evaluation, including a ranking of the proposals, using the best science available when selecting projects for funding.

“While this round of funding is only a fraction of the total resources that will become available for Gulf Coast restoration, it is imperative that any projects selected work in tandem to provide the biggest bang for our buck. More than four years after the oil disaster, the wildlife, communities and unique habitats of the Mississippi River Delta and Gulf Coast cannot wait any longer for restoration to begin and deserve nothing less than our best efforts, efficient spending of available funding and science-based project selection. This is the RESTORE Council’s best chance to get it right from the start.”

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The Restore the Mississippi River Delta coalition is working to protect people, wildlife and jobs by reconnecting the river with its wetlands. As our region faces the crisis of threatening land loss, we offer science-based solutions through a comprehensive approach to restoration. Composed of conservation, policy, science and outreach experts from Environmental Defense Fund, National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana and Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, we are located in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Washington, D.C.; and around the United States. See more at www.mississippiriverdelta.org.