Coral Disease And Health Consortium: Finding Solutions   Cheryl M. Woodley1, Deborah L. Santavy2, William H. Walker3, Andrew W. Bruckner4, Dorothy W. Howard5, and Shawn M. McLaughlin5     1NOAA NOS Center for Coastal Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research, Marine Biotechnology Program, Charleston, SC 29412; 2US EPA, Gulf Ecology Div., Gulf Breeze, FL 32561; 3DOI, US Geological Survey, Reston, VA; 4NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Protected Resources, Silver Spring, MD 20910; 5NOAA NOS Center for Coastal Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research/Cooperative Oxford Laboratory, Oxford, MD 21654     The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Department of Interior (DOI) developed the framework for a Coral Disease and Health Consortium (CDHC) for the United States Coral Reef Task Force (USCRTF) through an interagency effort. The USCRTF was established by Executive Order in June of 1998 to help preserve and protect the biodiversity, health, heritage, and social and economic value of U.S. coral reef ecosystems. The purpose of the CDHC is to organize and coordinate the scientific resources of the U.S. and its territories to document the condition of coral reef ecosystems, determine causes of declines in coral reef health, and provide technical information and assistance to managers and scientists regarding coral reef health. These objectives will be achieved by integrating three functional disciplines, specifically Clinical Pathology, Health Assessment, and Risk Assessment and Management. Development of the CDHC framework already has fostered national and international partnerships in coral disease research, education, and outreach activities.  For example, NOAA has developed waterproof coral disease identification cards for improved disease monitoring.  NOAA has also partnered with the World Conservation Monitoring Center to create the first global coral disease database. In addition, a new video production will highlight examples of coral bleaching and disease, research on the effects of stress on corals, and standardization of histological methodologies.  The CDHC aims to significantly enhance current assessments of coral ecosystem health, improve the effectiveness of management decisions by providing early warning of disease and disease outbreaks, identify putative causative factors and possible prevention and mitigation strategies, and offer managers viable risk management options. NOAA, EPA, and DOI will partner with non-governmental organizations, private industry, and academia to preserve and protect the health of coral reef ecosystems.