Turtle Island Restoration Network is pleased to see that the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council included many of our recommendations in their updated draft plan, available online at www.restorethegulf.gov. We applaud the Council for their commitment to refine and improve science­ driven processes, and encourage their continued support of large-scale projects to help to restore and maintain ecosystem function and sustain ecosystem integrity in the Gulf of Mexico.

Earlier this year, Turtle Island actively participated in a Gulf-wide comment letter to the Council urging several recommendations to the updated Comprehensive Plan. This document guides how more than half of the settlement funding from the Deepwater Horizion Oil Spill is used, and sets the priorities for the Council’s future project lists. The settlement funds are being distributed in Texas via RESTORE.