On April 21, 2022, RESTORE Council Executive Director, Mary Walker announced the update to the Comprehensive Plan for Restoring the Gulf Coast’s Ecosystem and Economy. Gulf Coast stakeholders are invited to review and comment on the draft plan update during a formal comment period which ends at 11:59 MT on June 6, 2022. To learn more about the Council’s investments, and how to comment on the draft 2022 Comprehensive Plan Update, visit www.restorethegulf.gov.
Toby Baker, Executive Directors of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and Governor Abbott’s appointee to the RESTORE Council, released several videos highlighting the use of RESTORE funds in Texas. The videos demonstrate how RESTORE funds have been used to benefit the Texas coast.
“The release of the Council’s 2022 Comprehensive Plan provides a unique opportunity for the public to provide input on how future RESTORE funds will be spent, not just in Texas, but the entire Gulf Coast,” said Baker.
Since this plan will be used as a framework for future funding decisions by the RESTORE Council, Baker “encourages everyone to review the plan and provide comments to ensure that the interests of the Texas coast are appropriately identified and addressed. “
The RESTORE Act, passed in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, calls for the RESTORE Council to develop a comprehensive plan for use of a portion of the Deepwater Horizon settlement funds to restore the ecosystem and economies of the Gulf Coast. This plan communicates the Council’s goals and objectives for restoration, and it guides future investments in restoration activities.
The videos feature three RESTORE-funded projects in Texas, including two land acquisitions and one project done in conjunction with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and The Nature Conservancy.
RESTORE funds provided approximately 1,998 acres of land to be added to a 105,000-acre corridor of conservation lands that includes the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), Boca Chica State Park and the Lower Rio Grande Valley NWR. This corridor also connects over 2 million acres of private ranchland located north of Laguna Atascosa NWR with the 1.3 million acres in the Rio Bravo Protected Area in Mexico.
RESTORE funds purchased 69 acres as part of the overall Bayou Greenways project. This project is an initiative to acquire land to act as riparian buffer corridors along major waterways, (bayous and creeks) running primarily through Harris County and the City of Houston.
This RESTORE funded project focuses on recruiting, training, employing and helping to inspire hundreds of young adults to produce habitat restoration benefits. It provides technical and non-technical training, professional development, work experience, and paid positions in restoration, conservation, resilience, and response fields.
The videos can also be accessed at the Texas RESTORE website.
Learn more about
Keala J. Hughes
Director of External Affairs & Tribal Relations
(504) 717-7235