Newswise — Baton Rouge, LA – The Gulf of Mexico Alliance (Alliance) is pleased to announce Freeport-McMoRan Foundation, NOAA, and the Department of the Interior (DOI) as the newest members of the Gulf Star public-private partnership. The announcements come during the 12th annual All Hands meeting of the regional organization held in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Gulf Star is designed to increase the region’s strength by addressing issues that are important to government, academia, not-for-profits, and businesses. The partnership will support projects in the areas of healthy seafood, improved habitat conservation, higher quality water resources, increased natural resource stewardship, and improved strategies for land use planning.
The Alliance is working to secure approximately $5 million through a balanced mix of public and private funding over the next five years. Through this approach, the Gulf Star program can leverage funds on a scale of ten to one.
The Freeport-McMoRan Foundation, NOAA, and DOI join other Gulf Star partners including Shell, the Gulf of Mexico Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, and the states of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, and Florida. Together, these partners are setting a course of strong collaboration to address regional issues in a way a single entity cannot.
“Protecting and restoring the Gulf of Mexico is of great importance. Without a healthy and sustainable coast, there can be no energy production, fisheries, ports or wildlife habitats,” noted Jim Miller, Vice President of Safety and Environmental Affairs for Freeport-McMoRan, Inc. “The Gulf Star program is an opportunity to collaborate to achieve a mutual goal.”
As noted in the opening session at the annual meeting today, a Request for Proposals (RFP) for grants through the Gulf Star Program will be released in August 2016. It will focus on achieving a healthy and resilient region, through the priorities identified in the Gulf of Mexico Alliance’s recently released Governors’ Action Plan III.
More information about the Gulf Star Program, Governors’ Action Plan III, and the Gulf of Mexico Alliance Priority Issues are found at www.gulfofmexicoalliance.org.
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