Open Ocean Trustees Seek Public Comment on Draft Restoration Plan 4

The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group has released its Draft Restoration Plan 4 and Environmental Assessment: Fish and Water Column Invertebrates and Sea Turtles (PDF, 295 pages) for public comment through December 16, 2024. The draft plan is available for review online and in libraries and other repositories. A list of repositories is provided at the link below.

Draft Restoration Plan 4 and Environmental Assessment
Following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the Trustee Council created the Gulf Spill Restoration project portal to accept restoration project ideas from the public. In June 2023, the Open Ocean Trustees invited public input to identify opportunities for restoration in the Open Ocean Restoration Area for the Fish and Water Column Invertebrates and Sea Turtles Restoration Types.

Of the 87 project ideas received by the August 2023 deadline, the Trustees narrowed the list to seven fish and water column invertebrate alternatives, five sea turtle alternatives, and two Restoration Type-specific “no action” alternatives, which have all been evaluated in this draft restoration plan. Based on our evaluation, the Trustees are proposing ten preferred alternatives for implementation.

The total estimated cost for the preferred alternatives is approximately $210 million.

The draft restoration plan and proposed projects are consistent with the Trustee Council's Programmatic Restoration Plan, and include a variety of restoration techniques. The preferred alternatives would:

Address and reduce diverse sources of fish mortality, such as bycatch, depredation, disruption of spawning aggregation, interactions with marine debris and invasive species, and negative effects from changes in water quality
Conduct training, outreach, and education with commercial fishers and recreational anglers to encourage the adoption of fishing gear and techniques that help reduce fish bycatch and post-release mortality
Collect critical fishery data to inform restoration progress and future restoration needs
Collaborate with commercial fisheries to voluntarily adopt gear and practices that help reduce sea turtle bycatch
Protect sea turtle nesting habitat through acquisition and long-term habitat conservation
Collect information and conduct outreach to help reduce recreational vessel strikes to sea turtles
Enhance Gulf-wide sea turtle stranding and salvage network activities
Additional information on the proposed projects is available in the draft restoration plan and factsheets, linked below.

Public Comment and Webinars
The 45-day public review and comment period for the draft restoration plan is from October 30 through December 16, 2024. After the public comment period concludes, the Trustees will review, consider, and address comments prior to the release of the Final Restoration Plan 4 and Environmental Assessment.

Public comments can be submitted online or through the mail:

Online: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/OOTIGRP4 
By mail:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Gulf Restoration Office
1875 Century Blvd.
Atlanta, GA 30345
Public comments can also be submitted during any of the public webinars. To register for a webinar, please use one of the links below:

Thursday, November 14, 2024 from 1 – 2 pm ET. Register at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7244601192809206361 
Wednesday, November 20, 2024 from 5 – 6 pm ET. Register at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7473782296991218265
After registering, participants will receive a confirmation email with information on how to join.

The webinars will consist of a formal presentation with information about the draft restoration plan. There will also be an opportunity for questions and answers and public comment during the webinars. At any time during the public comment period, comments may be submitted online or by mail, as described above. The webinar presentation will be posted on the Gulf Spill Restoration website. Vietnamese- and Spanish-translated versions of the webinar script will also be available on the website.

Please contact us at gulfspill.restoration@noaa.gov by November 8, 2024 if you have any questions or need any special assistance in order to participate in the webinar.