Marsh at bon secour
Marsh at Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge
Credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Restoration for the Regionwide Restoration Area would replenish and protect wildlife such as dolphins, sea turtles, birds, and oysters. Wildlife affected by the spill often live and migrate across jurisdictional boundaries—so Regionwide Restoration Area projects will be implemented across these jurisdictional boundaries as well.

The Regionwide Restoration Area is made up of trustees from each Gulf state and all the federal trustees. The Regionwide Restoration Area will be responsible for planning and implementing restoration activities for resources that range throughout the Gulf. It will also promote collaboration and coordination between the individual federal and state trustees. This will ensure that restoration is performed effectively for the entire ecosystem. These projects will provide benefits across large portions of the Gulf.

Together, we will restore natural resources—and the services they provide—that were injured by the spill. We will develop project-specific restoration plans that are consistent with the programmatic restoration plan (see chart below).  As part of the restoration planning process, we will accept restoration project ideas from the public. The public will also have the opportunity to review and comment on any proposed project-specific restoration plans for the Regionwide Restoration Area. Once approved, we will then begin implementation and monitoring of the selected projects.