Trustees Release Strategic Frameworks for Restoration

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The Regionwide Trustee Implementation Group (TIG) has released four strategic frameworks to assist with restoration planning. They were developed for restoration types allocated across multiple Restoration Areas which are oysters, sea turtles, birds, and marine mammals. They provide broad context and guidance for project selection and implementation.

The impacts to the Gulf were massive and widespread, so restoration needs to be considered at an ecosystem-wide scale. These frameworks will help us consider resources at an ecosystem level, while implementing restoration at a local level. They may be updated as we learn more about the resources and their environment. The frameworks will promote coordination among the TIGs as they look across the region and try to maximize restoration benefits. They will also promote communication with restoration partners—both within and outside the Gulf region—and the public.

The frameworks may help you understand the type of information we are considering as we propose and select preferred restoration projects and develop restoration plans. They are non-decisional, which means that, while they include project concepts, they don’t contain specific projects selected by the TIG. Decisions on project selection are only made during the restoration planning process. We are providing them for informational purposes only; we aren’t asking for public comment.

Developed by the Regionwide TIG, including Trustee scientists and resource experts, each framework includes:

  • A brief summary of the information in the programmatic restoration plan.
  • Biological and ecological information on each resource, including geographic distribution, life history, and key threats.
  • An overview of recent and ongoing conservation, restoration, management, and monitoring activities related to each resource.
  • Considerations TIGs may use for the prioritization, sequencing, and selection of restoration projects.

You can view strategic frameworks for: