After the 2010 oil spill, the Trustees immediately got to work. Within a month, we started assessing the impacts of oil and oil spill response efforts (such as cleaning beaches and spraying dispersants) on natural resources like wetlands, fish, and birds.
Scientists, economists, and restoration experts came together to collect data, determine the extent and magnitude of injuries, and plan and implement restoration projects.
This work was critical to the development of a programmatic restoration plan for the Gulf of Mexico. We released the final plan in February 2016 as part of a legal settlement with BP for up to $8.8 billion. The plan and settlement resolved BP’s liability for natural resources injuries stemming from the spill.
Restoration in Progress
We are now in the process of implementing the programmatic restoration plan. The plan set the course of restoration for 2016-2031—with room for flexibility as our scientific knowledge and the circumstances of the Gulf change. Implementation groups for each of seven restoration areas have released project-specific restoration plans, with opportunity for public input on each of those plans. These efforts are restoring wildlife, habitat, and marine resources injured by the oil spill, and increasing recreational opportunities in the Gulf.