Restoration in the Gulf
Restoration at Rainey Refuge in Louisiana.
Restoration Ahead
As part of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill NRDA Trustee Council, NOAA is focusing on short-term and long-term restoration projects that will restore the Gulf coast from the Gulf spill. The restoration planning process involves many steps and includes input from scientists, experts, and the public along the way.
While oil releases can harm natural resources in a number of ways, the full impacts may not be readily apparent. The most immediate and visible impacts are typically oiled beaches and dead organisms, such as fish, lobsters, birds, wetland plants, and seagrasses. But other impacts may require time and study to fully assess. For example, nurseries for fish or nesting sites for birds and turtles may be destroyed, and birds and other wildlife may become ill from eating contaminated food.
Some impacts may not show up for weeks, months, or even years and are challenging to assess. Wetlands may slowly be destroyed several months after an incident, coral reefs may continue to erode and become susceptible to disease, and birds may be unable to reproduce.
Over the years, NOAA has been involved with 380 restoration projects in the Gulf. NOAA’s restoration scientists and specialists in the Gulf states have been providing technical assistance, coordination, and funding for restoration to many local organizations.
Restoration can take many years and is a result of many hardworking people. NOAA will be in the Gulf until all of these steps are completed and restoration has been fully implemented.
Learn more about how you can help to restore the Gulf.
