Task Force Releases Ecosystem Restoration Strategy for Public Review

摘要

If there was any "silver lining" to the Macondo Well spill in April 2010, it's the attention it drew to the needs of one of the nation's most vital ecosystems. As U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa P. Jackson observed, the Gulf of Mexico has "endured decades of decline that threatened the environmental and economic health of this region." Now, the spill has initiated a commitment to the region from the Federal Government in the form of an executive order signed by President Barack Obama on October 5, 2010. Exactly one year later, the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force created by that executive order responded with the release of a comprehensive preliminary strategy for long-term ecosystem restoration. Chaired by EPA Administrator Jackson, it includes, according to an EPA report, "specific steps for on-the-ground action" and represents "the Task Force's commitment to putting Gulf coastal restoration on an equal footing with other national priorities."