Newswise — Over 800 coastal researchers and managers will get the chance to explore more than 25 regional tools on display April 26 at the Gulf of Mexico Conference (#GOMCON) in Baton Rouge, La.
The Tools Café gives participants a unique opportunity to access some of the newest and best tools for coastal resilience, data management, and conservation while learning about these resources directly from developers who created each tool.
“We want to assist stakeholders in finding the resources that help them do their important work even better,” said Laura Bowie, Gulf of Mexico Alliance executive director. “One of the major goals of the Alliance, and of the Gulf of Mexico Conference, is to encourage collaboration across the Gulf, and these tools help researchers and managers do just that.”
Tool developers from universities, state and federal agencies, and nonprofits from across the Gulf will all be present at the café.
Some tool highlights include:
- The brand-new Northern Gulf Sediment Availability and Allocation Program Tool, which increases stakeholder access to sediment resource data for better restoration project planning.
- The Gulf of Mexico Open Data Platform, a website developed by the Gulf of Mexico Alliance to make it easier for users to discover, explore, and access data from the Gulf of Mexico region.
- The Deepwater Horizon Project Tracker, which provides comprehensive information for tracking all restoration, research and recovery projects resulting from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
- The Texas Litter Database, where over 70 types of litter data can be uploaded, searched, graphed, mapped and downloaded, facilitating research, education, and advocacy efforts across the State.
- The Adapting Stormwater Management for Coastal Floods tool that coastal communities across the country can use to understand, assess, analyze and act in the face of coastal flood risk.
GOMCON is April 25-28 at Raising Cane’s River Center in Baton Rouge, La., and will include: an opening keynote and panel discussions on increasing collaboration across sectors to address common challenges across the Gulf of Mexico; a scheduled visit from Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards and Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser; and more than 360 topical presentations on addressing challenges facing the Gulf of Mexico. Presentation themes include: resilience, climate impacts, citizen science, community outreach, habitat management and restoration, living marine resources, sediment management, water quality, and emerging issues.
The Gulf of Mexico Alliance is hosting this event in partnership with the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative and Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies.
Learn more or register for #GOMCON at GulfofMexicoAlliance.org/GoMCon. Keep up with all things Gulf of Mexico Alliance and #GOMCON by signing up for the Alliance newsletter and following us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
Thanks to our many sponsors that have stepped up to help make this event a success: the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative; Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Gulf Research Program; NOAA RESTORE Science Program; Equinor; Shell; the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System; Stantec; Esri; Hess; The Pew Charitable Trusts; Visit Baton Rouge; Bureau of Ocean Energy Management; the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Center for Natural Resource Economics and Policy; the RESTORE Act Centers of Excellence for Texas, Louisiana, and Florida; and WSP USA.
Event details:
- What: Gulf of Mexico Conference (#GOMCON)
- When: April 25-28, 2022
- Where: Raising Cane’s River Center, 275 S. River Road, Baton Rouge, LA
About the Gulf of Mexico Alliance
The Gulf of Mexico Alliance is a regional partnership focused on enhancing the environmental and economic health of the Gulf of Mexico through increased collaboration. Led by the five Gulf states, our network includes over 150 participating organizations from state and federal agencies, tribal governments, communities, academia, non-governmental organizations, and industry. Priority issues addressed by the Alliance include coastal community resilience; data and monitoring; education; habitat; water resources; wildlife and fisheries; and marine debris.
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