Deepwater Horizon Project Tracker
U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, Greenville, SCFor IMMEDIATE RELEASE (April 21, 2015)
The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (Endowment) announced today the release of a new interactive website that allows visitors to see where Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill restoration projects are taking place. The largest environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico began April 20, 2010 – five years ago—taking 11 lives when it occurred.
“The restoration work following the 2010 oil spill will result in unprecedented investment in the Gulf’s environment and economy,” noted Carlton Owen, the Endowment’s President and CEO. “The Deepwater Horizon Project Tracker (DWH Project Tracker) will help maximize the effectiveness of project planning,implementation, and evaluation. The Tracker will make it easy to see who is doing what, and where.”
The Endowment’s interest in the Gulf and the tracking tool is rooted in the importance of forests andforestry to the Gulf’s restoration and resiliency and in the opportunity to focus a proven team on the project.
“Forests comprise more than one-half of the land cover in the Gulf’s coastal communities,” said Endowment lead, Senior Vice President Peter Stangel. “Forests play a critical role for water quality, wildlifehabitat, storm and flood resiliency, and in providing family-supporting jobs in rural areas,” he continued.
“We also had a unique opportunity to focus a talented and seasoned team of partners on creation of the DWH Project Tracker,” Stangel noted. “The Endowment led creation of the National Conservation Easement Database, the only comprehensive system for tracking and managing information on conservation easements—a vital land conservation vehicle. We knew this same team could create a valuable database for projects in the Gulf at a fraction of the cost and time required for others to do so.”
The DWH Project Tracker is being developed through a partnership that includes The Trust for Public Land, Ducks Unlimited, and the Gulf of Mexico Alliance. The Endowment and the Knobloch Family Foundation are providing the initial financial support for the project.
The objective of the DWH Project Tracker is to be the most complete picture of the location, type, and scope of projects funded as a result of the oil spill. Funding and subsequent programs related to oil spill penalties are complicated and confusing. Current and user friendly, the DWH Project Tracker breaks out environmental, economic, and science/research projects. It displays the “metadata,” or the who, what,when, where, and why of a project. Each project snapshot includes a brief description, contact, and link to access more technical information.
DEEPWATER HORIZON PROJECT TRACKER
New Tool Allows Easy Tracking of Oil Spill Restoration Projects
The DWH Project Tracker development team works with the groups funding restoration and recovery projects related to the oil spill to ensure accuracy of information in the system. It includes an interactive tool that can help organizations effectively plan projects, enhance collaboration with other organizations, and track and assess programs. Currently, the DWH Project Tracker contains funded projects from the following: Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA); National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF); North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA); Louisiana Berms to Barriers, MOEX, and the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI). As additional restoration or recovery projects are awarded, they will be added to the DWH Project Tracker. It is expected to be a long-lasting resource for the Gulf of Mexico region.
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For more information contact:
Peter Stangel, 404-915-2763, peter@runslikeclock.work
The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (the Endowment) is a not-for-profit public charity working collaboratively with partners in the public and private sectors to advance systemic,transformative, and sustainable change for the health and vitality of the nation’s working forests andforest-reliant communities – www.usendowment.org
The Trust for Public Land: Andrew duMoulin 617-371-0557 Andrew.duMoulin@tpl.orgDucks Unlimited: Andi Cooper 601-206-5463 acooper@ducks.org
Gulf of Mexico Alliance: Laura Bowie 228-215-1246 Laura.Bowie@gomxa.org
Lee Yokel 251-861-2141 ext.7507 Lee.Yokel@gomxa.org
