The mission of the U.S. Department of the Interior's (Department) Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration Program (Restoration Program) is to restore natural resources injured as a result of oil spills or hazardous substance releases into the environment.  In partnership with other affected state, Tribal, and Federal trustee agencies, damage assessments provide the basis for determining the restoration needs that address the public's loss and use of these resources.

Every action the Restoration Program takes is done with the goal of restoring
injured natural resources.  Damage assessments are the first step toward resource restoration and are not done for the sake of science.  They are a key milestone toward the ultimate goal, which is restoration of natural resources for the
American public.

The Restoration Program's Web site is designed to provide you with a guide to information about the Department's Restoration Program--the organizational makeup; the laws, regulations, authorizing statutes, and Department guidance and policies that govern the program; damage assessment cases and restoration projects; budget overviews; and coming in the near future, an informational library containing helpful tools and links to other sources of information surrounding the field of natural resource damage assessment and restoration.

For more information and a quick overview of the Restoration Program, please refer to the "Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)" page, which can be found via the link at the top of this page.