News — BATON ROUGE, La. — April 27, 2022 — More than 800 coastal scientists, managers, and professionals from federal and state agencies, academia, non-profits and industry have come together this week in Baton Rouge to network, collaborate and discuss coastal research and management in the Gulf of Mexico as part of the first-ever in-person Gulf of Mexico Conference (#GOMCON).

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards welcomed guests to the state Tuesday, during the opening plenary.

“The work that you are doing is incredibly important," said Gov. John Bel Edwards in his welcoming remarks Tuesday. “There is nowhere else that is more threatened by climate impacts and more in need of coastal resilience plans than Louisiana. Some of the Gulf’s best and brightest have gathered this week to come up with ways to improve this beautiful place we all call home and I’m looking forward to seeing the ideas that come out of the Gulf of Mexico Conference.”

The Gulf of Mexico Alliance is hosting this event in partnership with the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative and Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies.

“We are honored to have Gov. Edwards joining us today and welcoming our participants from across the Gulf region,” said Laura Bowie, executive director for the Gulf of Mexico Alliance. “We are excited to be in Louisiana, a state that provides many successful examples of work related to our conference including coastal resilience, climate issues, and restoration.”

Highlights from the event include: an opening keynote and panel discussions on increasing collaboration to address common challenges across the Gulf of Mexico; a tools café with resources for coastal management and resilience; and more than 360 topical presentations on addressing challenges facing the Gulf of Mexico. Presentation themes include: resilience, climate impacts, citizen science, community outreach, habitat management and restoration, living marine resources, sediment management, water quality, and emerging issues. 

Learn more at . Keep up with all things Gulf of Mexico Alliance and #GOMCON by signing up for the Alliance newsletter and following us on , , or .

Thanks to our many sponsors that have stepped up to help make this event a success: the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative; Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Gulf Research Program; NOAA RESTORE Science Program; Equinor; Shell; the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System; Stantec; Esri; Hess; The Pew Charitable Trusts; Visit Baton Rouge; Bureau of Ocean Energy Management; the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Center for Natural Resource Economics and Policy; the RESTORE Act Centers of Excellence for Texas, Louisiana, and Florida; and WSP USA.

About the Gulf of Mexico Alliance

The Gulf of Mexico Alliance is a regional partnership focused on enhancing the environmental and economic health of the Gulf of Mexico through increased collaboration. Led by the five Gulf states, our network includes over 150 participating organizations from state and federal agencies, tribal governments, communities, academia, non-governmental organizations, and industry. Priority issues addressed by the Alliance include coastal community resilience; data and monitoring; education; habitat; water resources; wildlife and fisheries; and marine debris.

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