MembersQuick Facts
What is hypoxia?
Hypoxia means low oxygen and is primarily a problem for estuaries and coastal waters. Hypoxic waters have dissolved oxygen concentrations of less than 2-3 ppm. Hypoxia can be caused by a variety of factors, including excess nutrients (i.e., nitrogen and phosphorus) and waterbody stratification (e.g., due to saline or temperature gradients). Nutrients can come from many sources, including fertilizers from agriculture, golf courses, and suburban lawns; erosion of soil full of nutrients; discharges from sewage treatment plants; and deposition of atmospheric nitrogen.
What is the Mississippi-Atchafalaya River Basin (MARB)?
The Mississippi-Atchafalaya River Basin (MARB), which encompasses both the Mississippi and the Atchafalaya River Basins, is the third largest in the world, after the Amazon and Congo basins. Parts or all of 31 states plus two Canadian provinces drain into the Mississippi River, totaling 41% of the contiguous United States and 15% of North America.
What is the Task Force and who are its members?
The Task Force includes federal and state agencies. Federal agencies include those with responsibilities over activities in the Mississippi River and its basin, the Louisiana coastline, and the Gulf of Mexico. Mississippi River or major tributary states also have representation on the Task Force.
- View a list of Task Force members
- A more detailed summary of the history of the Task Force and the reassessment process and products
What is the Task Force doing about hypoxia?
The Task Force recently published several outreach materials that provide an overview of hypoxia, describe a strategy to reduce nutrients, and summarize current and upcoming actions being taken to reduce hypoxia and implement the 2008 Action Plan. These materials include a 2008 Action Plan, 2008 Annual Operating Plan, trifold, and fact sheet.
The trifold highlights several success stories of progress the Task Force and its member agencies have made through actions and programs that achieve direct reductions in nutrients throughout the MARB. Additional success stories are summarized under Task Force Success.
The Task Force holds public meetings one to two times a year. Upcoming meeting information and summaries of past meetings are available here.
What products has the Task Force published recently?
2008 Action Plan
The 2008 Action Plan (released June 16, 2008) describes a national strategy to reduce, mitigate, and control hypoxia in the Northern Gulf of Mexico and improve water quality in the Mississippi River Basin.
Annual Operating Plans
Annual Operating Plans are a compilation of actions that state and federal members of the Task Force have planned to undertake to implement the 2008 Gulf Hypoxia Action Plan.
- Download the 2009 Annual Operating Plan (PDF) (62 pp, 561K)
- Download the 2008 Annual Operating Plan (PDF) (41 pp, 362K)
Trifold
The trifold briefly describes actions being taken in the Mississippi River Basin to move forward on reducing hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico.
- Two-page (foldable) trifold (PDF) (2 pp, 1MB)
- Six-page 508 compliant version of trifold (PDF) (6 pp, 662K)
Fact Sheet
The fact sheet provides an overview of hypoxia and explains why it still occurs in the Gulf of Mexico.
- Download a copy of the Fact Sheet (PDF) (2 pp, 661K)