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January 5, 2006
STENNIS SPACE CENTER,
Miss. – The Gulf of Mexico Program recently announced that the Mobile Bay
National Estuary Program and the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory,
University of Southern Mississippi will receive a first place Gulf
Guardian Award for 2005 in the Partnerships Category, for the
“Alabama-Mississippi Rapid Assessment Team (AMRAT)”. The awards will be
presented at the State of the Gulf Conference 2006 to be held March 28,
2006 at the Harte Research Institute in Corpus Christi, Texas, beginning
at 6 p.m.
The Alabama-Mississippi Rapid Assessment Team is a continuing cooperative
project to search for, and catalogue non-indigenous aquatic species in
Mississippi and Alabama coastal waters. Coordinated and led by the Mobile
Bay National Estuary Program and the Center for Fisheries Research and
Development at USM’s Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, over 100 participants
from more than 22 organizations worked together to complete surveys of the
Alabama and Mississippi coasts in 2003 and 2004. Invasive species pose
ecological, economic and human health threats. These assessments
establish baselines of native and non-native species that can be used to
address environmental management issues. AL and MS members of the Gulf
and South Atlantic Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species established AMRAT
with the goal of conducting the surveys. The surveys conducted in
September 2003 (Mobile Bay) and September 2004 (Mississippi Coast) were
unqualified successes and highly acclaimed by participants, observers and
reviewers.
“The Gulf Guardian Award winners
for 2005 are prime examples of collaborative environmental efforts leading
to neighborhood solutions that transcend political boundaries,” said
Benjamin Grumbles, EPA
Assistant Administrator for Water in
Washington, D.C.
“I commend all of the winners for their innovative
partnerships, common sense ideas, and hard work. Their efforts are making
a difference in protecting and restoring the Gulf of Mexico.”
The Gulf of Mexico Program
initiated the Gulf Guardian awards in 2000 as a way to recognize and honor
the businesses, community groups, individuals, and agencies that are
taking positive steps to keep the Gulf healthy, beautiful and productive.
The Gulf of Mexico Program began in 1988 to protect, restore, and maintain
the health and productivity of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem in
economically sustainable ways. Award entries were received from Alabama,
Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. A first, second, and third
place award are given each year in six categories – individual, business,
youth and education, nonprofit organizations, government, and partnership
efforts.
"I
commend the Alabama-Mississippi Rapid
Assessment Team for this
outstanding achievement in helping to protect and preserve the Gulf
through promoting the importance of maintaining biodiversity within our
coastal habitats," said Jimmy Palmer, EPA Regional Administrator in
Atlanta, Ga. "The Gulf
of Mexico is a beautiful, expansive natural resource from which we all
derive both economical and recreational benefits."
Gulf of Mexico Program
Office Director Bryon O. Griffith said, “This year’s Gulf Guardian Award
winners encapsulate the essence of the Gulf of Mexico Program and our
efforts to attain environmental solutions in concert with economic
growth.” “Environmental successes are exponential when you bring the
resources of many to the table, as the 2005 winners have so successfully
demonstrated.”
For a list of all the Gulf Guardian Award winners for 2005, visit the Gulf
of Mexico Program web site at http://www.epa.gov/gmpo and click on the
Gulf Guardian Award button.
The Gulf of Mexico Program is underwritten by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency and is a non-regulatory, inclusive consortium of state
and federal government agencies and representatives of the business and
agricultural community, fishing industry, scientists, environmentalists,
and community leaders from all five Gulf States. The Gulf Program seeks to
improve the environmental health of the Gulf in concert with economic
development.
Editor’s Note:
For more information about the Gulf Guardian Awards and the Gulf of Mexico
Program, call the Gulf of Mexico Program Office at 228-688-3726. For
more information about the MS-AL Rapid Assessment Team project, call David
Yeager of the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program at 251-431-6409, or
Harriet Perry of the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory at 228-872-4218.
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