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Suggested Citation:"1 Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. An Approach for Assessing U.S. Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration: A Gulf Research Program Environmental Monitoring Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26335.
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Chapter 1
Introduction

THE GULF OF MEXICO

The physical location, ecological richness, and economic value of the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) makes it unique among America’s coastal seas. At 582,103 square miles (1,507,639 km2), it is the world’s largest gulf and ninth-largest waterbody, effectively separating North and South America both physically and ecologically (Turner and Rabalais, 2019). The GoM’s bowl-like shape is created in part by the Florida and Yucatan peninsulas that, along with Cuba, segregate it from the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. Its average depth is 5,299 feet (1,615 m), or nearly a mile, which is contrasted by an expansive and shallow coastal zone that makes up 38 percent of its total area (Davis, 2017).

The GoM exists at the interface of tropical and temperate climates, creating a complex and diverse marine ecosystem. This is reflected in its high biological diversity, with a recent inventory noting over 15,000 species (Felder et al., 2009), and in its productivity, generating 633.7 million metric tons of commercial seafood landings in 2019 (NMFS, 2021). This productivity is sustained by extensive habitats along coastal margins, but also via its offshore oceanic ecosystems (Davis, 2017).

The GoM has helped shape the culture and economy of not only the five Gulf states but also the United States as a whole.1 However, these transformations have come with costs, including habitat loss from coastal development, pollution and ecological alteration from oil and gas extraction, ecological alteration from overfishing, and coastal erosion from channelization and dredging. These ecosystem stressors are exacerbated by climate change (Brown et al., 2011; Twilley et al., 2001). For example, oyster reefs that were once dominant across the northern GoM have seen losses from 50 to 99 percent per bay compared with historical abundances (Beck et al., 2011). Over half of GoM wetlands have been lost (Brown et al., 2011), and the remainder are vulnerable to continued relative sea level rise (Osland et al., 2017b). Hypoxia and harmful algal blooms also routinely affect the GoM (e.g., Rabalais and Turner, 2019; Tominack et al., 2020).

THE DEEPWATER HORIZON OIL SPILL AND RESULTING SETTLEMENTS AND AGREEMENTS

On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) drilling rig exploded about 80 km southeast of the Mississippi River Delta, resulting in the tragic loss of 11 lives and culminating in the largest marine oil spill in history. While the actual amount of hydrocarbons released is unknown, the resulting settlement under the

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1 See https://www.epa.gov/gulfofmexico/why-it-important-protect-gulf-mexico.

Suggested Citation:"1 Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. An Approach for Assessing U.S. Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration: A Gulf Research Program Environmental Monitoring Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26335.
×

Clean Water Act recognized a net discharge of 3.19 million barrels of oil.2 A significant amount of the hydrocarbons released ended up in the deep waters of the GoM, along with all of the released methane ( Joye, 2015; McNutt et al., 2012). Oiling occurred in all five Gulf states, impacting over 2,100 km of coastline and at least 3,200 km2 of deep-sea sediments (Nixon et al., 2016; Valentine et al., 2014). The civil litigation resulting from the DWH oil spill led to approximately $20.8 billion3 in civil claims and $4 billion in criminal fines and penalties4—see Appendix A. The settlement and agreement funds specifically related to restoration activities were allocated to three primary funding sources and designated for specific purposes (Diamond et al., 2014; ELI, 2020):

  • The Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) under the Oil Pollution Act (1990) led to the allocation of approximately $8.8 billion, to be overseen by the DWH NRDA Trustee Council.5 The Trustee Council funds evaluation of impacts; restoration planning and implementation; and related activities, including monitoring and adaptive management.
  • The Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act (RESTORE Act), passed by Congress in 2012, dedicated 80 percent of all Clean Water Act civil penalties for both environmental and economic recovery projects, including scientific research (more detail below).6 This funding is divided into five areas or “buckets” with different authorized uses and decision makers for each bucket, totaling approximately $5.33 billion.
  • Approximately $2.54 billion from the criminal agreements with responsible parties led to the establishment of the Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF). These projects must “remedy harm and eliminate or reduce the risk of future harm to Gulf Coast natural resources”7 in the five Gulf states. Half of its funding is allocated to Louisiana for barrier island and river diversion projects.

Through the criminal agreements, the North American Wetlands Conservation Fund, administered through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, also received $100 million for bird habitat and populations.8 In addition to funding restoration, several science programs were also established as part of the DWH settlements and agreements. The RESTORE Act included the establishment of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) RESTORE Science Program (approximately $133 million), which aims to support science for a sustainable GoM ecosystem, with a focus on fisheries.9 The RESTORE Act also allocated funds (approximately $133 million) for establishing Centers of Excellence in each of the five Gulf states, with the goal of supporting science, technology, and monitoring (Diamond et al., 2014). The Gulf Research Program (GRP)10 of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (National Academies), which sponsored this study, was also established directly through the criminal agreements. This $500 million program, with funding that sunsets in 2043, supports activities related to environmental stewardship and protection, offshore energy safety, and human health and resilience.

When used in this report, the “DWH funding entities” are defined as the following:

  • the RESTORE Council state and federal members (states of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas; U.S. Department of Commerce; U.S. Department of the Interior; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; U.S. Department of Agriculture; U.S. Coast Guard; and U.S. Department of the Army);

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2 See https://www.science.org/content/article/after-geoscientists-joust-judge-rules-bp-gulf-spill-totaled-319-million-barrels-oil.

3 See https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/us-and-five-gulf-states-reach-historic-settlement-bp-resolve-civil-lawsuit-over-deepwater.

4 See https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/bp-exploration-and-production-inc-agrees-plead-guilty-felony-manslaughter-environmental.

5 See https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/co-trustees.

6 See https://www.restorethegulf.gov/sites/default/files/RESTORE%20ACT%20July2012.pdf.

7 See https://www.nfwf.org/gulf-environmental-benefit-fund/faqs.

8 See https://www.fws.gov/southeast/infographic/north-american-wetlands-conservation-fund-deepwater-horizon-oil-spill.

9 See https://restoreactscienceprogram.noaa.gov/about/faqs.

10 See https://www.nationalacademies.org/gulf/about.

Suggested Citation:"1 Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. An Approach for Assessing U.S. Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration: A Gulf Research Program Environmental Monitoring Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26335.
×
  • the DWH NRDA Trustees (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the five Gulf states);
  • the NFWF Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund;
  • the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service North American Wetlands Conservation Fund;
  • the Centers of Excellence;
  • the NOAA RESTORE Science Program; and
  • the Gulf Research Program.

DWH RESTORATION ACTIVITIES

As of March 2020, of the approximately $16.7 billion set aside for economic and environmental restoration-related activities, just under 30 percent ($4.65 billion) had been allocated to projects across the three funding sources (ELI, 2020)—see Appendix A. The three primary restoration entities share similar goals and objectives for restoration across a broad swath of natural resources and make efforts to coordinate their work; this is especially true of the RESTORE Council and DWH NRDA Trustees, which have significant overlap in membership. An example of their coordinated efforts is the DWH NRDA Trustees’ guidance provided in the Monitoring and Adaptive Management Manual V.1 (DWH NRDA Trustees, 2017a), which indicates that the trustees intend to share lessons learned in restoration projects with other DWH-funded programs (section 2.6.2). Another example is the RESTORE Council’s efforts in coordination, collaboration, and connection among GoM restoration activities, illustrated by activities such as facilitating the Council Monitoring and Assessment Workgroup (RESTORE Council, 2016). Additionally, the RESTORE Council Monitoring and Assessment Program funded the Gulf-wide Monitoring Community of Practice, which is coordinated by the Gulf of Mexico Alliance (GOMA) and formed with the aim of improving coordination, accessibility, and comparability of monitoring information; this effort ended in 2021 but the work will be continued by GOMA’s new Gulf-wide Monitoring effort in 2022 in accordance with its new Governors’ Action Plan IV.11

Both the DWH NRDA Trustee Council and the RESTORE Council acknowledge the interconnected nature of the GoM’s natural resources and the need to think comprehensively about restoration at scales beyond the project level (DWH NRDA Trustees, 2016; RESTORE Council, 2016). For example, the DWH Final Programmatic Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan and Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PDARP/PEIS) (DWH NRDA Trustees, 2016) contains the results of the injury assessments conducted and lays out a plan for recovery of injured resources. The DWH NRDA Trustees note that, because of the links among resources and habitats across GoM ecosystems, the injuries incurred as a result of the spill cannot be fully articulated for any single species or habitat and instead constitute “an ecosystem-level injury”12 and that the DWH NRDA Trustees’ approach to restoration needs to be integrated to best address injuries (DWH NRDA Trustees, 2016). Currently, monitoring efforts exist primarily at the project scale, although there is recognition that data collected at larger scales is needed (Brown et al., 2011; DWH NRDA Trustees, 2016; RESTORE Council, 2019).

STUDY ORIGIN AND RELATED ACTIVITIES

In 2019, GRP initiated a study series to document key challenges and monitor progress toward achieving a safe, healthy, and resilient Gulf of Mexico. A main goal of this series is to help GRP advance its strategic approaches as outlined in its 2020–2024 Strategic Plan: monitoring for progress and change, advancing scientific understanding, bridging knowledge to action, and building partnerships and engaging networks.13

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11 Personal communication from Laura Bowie, Gulf of Mexico Alliance (March 25, 2022).

12 See http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-planning/gulf-plan.

13 See https://www.nationalacademies.org/gulf/about.

Suggested Citation:"1 Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. An Approach for Assessing U.S. Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration: A Gulf Research Program Environmental Monitoring Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26335.
×

These studies focus on topics associated with three GRP primary program areas, respectively: offshore energy safety, health and resilience, and environmental protection and stewardship (this study). It is intended that this first set of studies will comprise the initial volumes of a study series with three reports to be completed approximately every 3 years for the duration of the GRP.

ABOUT THIS REPORT

This report focuses on monitoring and assessment of GoM restoration projects beyond the project scale within the context of long-term environmental change. The need for this study was identified primarily via discussions with stakeholders and representatives from the DWH funding entities during a GRP meeting held in New Orleans in 2019. The study scope was developed based on these conversations, as well as on information provided in publications from Gulf-based entities, nongovernmental organizations, and the National Academies—see Box 1.1 for the formal Statement of Task. Relevant National Academies reports include Effective Monitoring to Evaluate Ecological Restoration in the Gulf of Mexico (NASEM, 2017), Understanding the Long-Term Evolution of the Coupled Natural-Human System: The Future of the U.S. Gulf Coast (NASEM, 2018a), and the Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades report series (NASEM, 2018b).

AUDIENCE

The audience for this report is broad and includes the DWH funding entities and their working groups (such as the RESTORE Council Monitoring and Assessment Workgroup, the DWH NRDA Trustees’ associated Trustee Implementation Groups [TIGs], and the Cross-TIG Monitoring and Adaptive Management Working Group); restoration practitioners, resource managers, and regional program managers affiliated with federal, state, local, and nongovernmental efforts; and representatives of federal agencies, academic institutions, and other entities with an interest in restoration (whether in the Gulf or elsewhere).

Suggested Citation:"1 Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. An Approach for Assessing U.S. Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration: A Gulf Research Program Environmental Monitoring Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26335.
×

STUDY SCOPE AND APPROACH

The Committee on Long-Term Environmental Trends in the Gulf of Mexico was convened to address the tasks outlined in Box 1.1. The committee’s 10 members brought to the study expertise in a variety of fields: coastal ecosystem restoration, including cumulative effects; natural resource management and policy; coastal ecosystem ecology, including wetlands, benthic, and fisheries ecology; water quality; ecosystem modeling; remote sensing and emerging technologies; river science and engineering; environmental economics; and data management and synthesis—see Appendix B for committee member and staff biographies.

In its deliberations, the committee decided that the geographic scope would include restoration efforts in all five Gulf states. Further, the spatial scale considered would focus on restoration efforts at the watershed/landscape scale and larger, and would include restoration efforts initiated before the DWH disaster, as well as those funded by DWH settlement funds, because of their integrated relationship on the landscape. Although coastal ecosystems exist as part of a continuum from the upland watersheds to the deep ocean, the committee focused the study scope on U.S. GoM coastal areas, including estuaries and bays. GoM rivers, particularly the Mississippi River system, are discussed as important driving forces in coastal ecosystems through their delivery of sediment, nutrients, and freshwater. However, noncoastal landscapes and ecosystems, including GoM waters beyond the coast, are not the primary focus of the report.

Definitions of the scales of restoration or background environmental effects vary widely, as noted in NASEM (2017). The committee determined that the geographic scope of the study would include restoration efforts at the estuary/watershed scale and larger and could include not only DWH-funded restoration efforts but also those funded by other sources. Table 1.1 summarizes terms and definitions regarding geographic, resource, and programmatic scales used in this report.

The committee held four information-gathering meetings in 2020 (August 11–13; September 29–30; November 9–10 and 16; December 14–16) and additional meetings in closed session in 2020–2022 to develop this report. All open- and closed-session meetings were held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The committee members heard presentations from 24 invited speakers, including representatives

TABLE 1.1. Terms and Definitions of Scale as Used in This Report

Spatial Scale Definition
Project Scale Activity, or set of dependent activities, within a specifically defined geographic area.
Estuary/Watershed Scale Defined by connected characteristics of hydrology (e.g., hydrolic unit codes [HUCs]).
Regional Scale Defined by common and/or connected characteristics of geomorphology, ecology, ecological function, and biodiversity. Regional scale can also be defined by political boundaries, such as a state, county, tribal nation, or parish boundary. This scale may include more than one estuary.
Gulf of Mexico Scale Across all five Gulf states in the continental United States (referred to as “Gulf scale” or “Gulf-wide” in this report). This is consistent with the availability of DWH funds for restoration of coastal regions, estuaries, watersheds, and resources.
Resource Scale Managed populations or habitats (e.g., oysters, birds, marshes).
Program Scale Projects supported by a specific funding process, such as DWH NRDA or the RESTORE Council.

SOURCE: Committee on Long-Term Environmental Trends in the Gulf of Mexico.

Suggested Citation:"1 Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. An Approach for Assessing U.S. Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration: A Gulf Research Program Environmental Monitoring Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26335.
×

from state and federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, and academia. Speakers shared their knowledge and expertise in GoM environmental trends, ecological restoration, and natural resource management. For longer-term context, the committee also heard from an expert in restoration efforts following the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Invited speakers are listed in Appendix C.

The report is divided into five chapters. Following this introductory chapter, Chapter 2 summarizes long-term background environmental trends and associated indicators affecting GoM coastal ecosystems and restoration projects (Task 2). Chapter 3 provides an overview of the theory, approaches, and considerations for assessing cumulative effects of multiple restoration projects, including synergistic and antagonistic effects (Tasks 1 and 3). Chapter 4 considers the current scientific progress toward assessing cumulative effects of multiple restoration projects and adaptive management in the GoM (Task 1). Chapter 5 discusses data resources and new observation methods to enable assessment of cumulative effects beyond the project scale; new applications of adaptive management, including program-level strategies; and the need for and approaches to conduct synthesis activities (Task 3). Identification and assessment of existing resources to assess cumulative effects (Task 4) are included throughout the report.

Addressing GoM restoration needs extends far beyond the available funding associated with the three primary DWH restoration entities (NRDA, RESTORE Council, and NFWF)—it is a “multi-generational undertaking” (RESTORE Council, 2016, p. 5). The recommendations in this report are intended to be a starting point for a long-term approach to addressing restoration needs in the context of changing conditions in the GoM, with applicability for and beyond DWH-related expenditures.

Suggested Citation:"1 Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. An Approach for Assessing U.S. Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration: A Gulf Research Program Environmental Monitoring Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26335.
×
Page 11
Suggested Citation:"1 Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. An Approach for Assessing U.S. Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration: A Gulf Research Program Environmental Monitoring Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26335.
×
Page 12
Suggested Citation:"1 Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. An Approach for Assessing U.S. Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration: A Gulf Research Program Environmental Monitoring Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26335.
×
Page 13
Suggested Citation:"1 Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. An Approach for Assessing U.S. Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration: A Gulf Research Program Environmental Monitoring Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26335.
×
Page 14
Suggested Citation:"1 Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. An Approach for Assessing U.S. Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration: A Gulf Research Program Environmental Monitoring Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26335.
×
Page 15
Suggested Citation:"1 Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. An Approach for Assessing U.S. Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration: A Gulf Research Program Environmental Monitoring Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26335.
×
Page 16
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Valued for its ecological richness and economic value, the U.S. Gulf of Mexico is under substantial pressure from human activities. The Deepwater Horizon platform explosion and oil spill significantly damaged Gulf ecosystems and led to the largest ecological restoration investment in history. The unprecedented number and diversity of restoration activities provide valuable information for future restoration efforts, but assessment efforts are hampered by many factors, including the need to evaluate the interaction of multiple stressors and consider long-term environmental trends such as sea level rise, increasing hurricane intensity, and rising water temperatures.

This report offers a comprehensive approach to assess restoration activities beyond the project scale in the face of a changing environment. A main component of this approach is using different types of scientific evidence to develop "multiple lines of evidence" to evaluate restoration efforts at regional scales and beyond, especially for projects that may be mutually reinforcing (synergistic) or in conflict (antagonistic). Because Gulf of Mexico ecosystems cross political boundaries, increased coordination and collaboration is needed, especially to develop standardized data collection, analysis, synthesis, and reporting. With these improvements, program-level adaptive management approaches can be used more effectively to assess restoration strategies against the backdrop of long-term environmental trends.

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