Downtown Baton Rouge, La., was the setting for this year's Gulf Of Mexico Alliance All Hands Meeting from June 15-17. It was only fitting that the host hotel was only a stone's throw from the Mississippi River. The Gulf of Mexico Alliance (GOMA) has this summer meeting every year in one of its five gulf states: Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. GOMA is a partnership of the five gulf states, federal agencies, academic organizations, businesses and other non-governmental organizations. The mission of GOMA is to enhance the environmental and economic health of the Gulf of Mexico through increased regional collaboration.
The alliance has been in existence since 2004 and was started in response to the U.S. Oceans Action Plan that came from the U.S. State Department that same year. The group works to create action plans that are given to the governors of the five states for implementation within their states. While we were at the meeting we had the first opportunity to see the Governors Action Plan III that was printed just a few days before the meeting. It details the areas of focus to be acted on to improve the environment, human well-being and the economy of the gulf region. More than 90 percent of the action items from Governors Action Plan II were acted upon. As you can imagine, this is a large working group with many moving parts.
If you are a volunteer working with GOMA, you will work in one or more of the following Priority Issue Teams: Water Resources, Habitat Restoration, Coastal Resilience, Education & Engagement, Data and Monitoring and Wildlife & Fisheries. I have the pleasure of working with the Water Resources Team. That team consists of water regulators and health department personnel from each of the gulf states as well as many federal and NGO staff members. Each person on the Water Resources Team brings a unique skill set with them, it may be shellfish production, harmful algal blooms, wildlife or advanced modeling techniques. It's actually a bit overwhelming to work amongst so many incredible scientists. Our work this year was to identify and prioritize actions that will be used to achieve the goals listed in Governors Action Plan III. The plan lists the actions identified by each team but not the "who and how" that it will take achieve then. That's what we spent most of the three days during the meeting working on. There were plenty of discussions, small group break-out sessions and flip charts used during the week as we identified people and processes needed to make the goals happen. Working together during this meeting gives the team members a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction in knowing that your time and effort can make a difference in the vitality of the Gulf of Mexico. There's another aspect of attending this meeting that goes beyond aquatic health and coastal resilience: the like-minded people you meet and the relationships that build over time.
I have only been a part of this organization for just over a year now but through attending meetings, I now have a working relationship with water authorities in most of my states as well as staff members of several federal branches such as NOAA, USGS, NFWF and EPA. There are actually several members of GOMA that live and work right in my hometown of Mobile. This has allowed me to get involved in even more water related activities right in my own backyard. Now, there are golf courses in the area who are active participants in the planning and programs within our local watersheds. This is a very important aspect in our outreach efforts to demonstrate that the game of golf is a great partner in the environmental sustainability of our communities.
