National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

After the Deepwater Horizon oil spill criminal charges were brought against BP and Transocean. The resulting plea agreements with these companies directed a total of $2.544 billion to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) to fund projects benefiting the natural resources of the Gulf Coast that were impacted by the spill. NFWF established the Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund (GEBF) to receive payments from the responsible parties and to distribute funds to state and local organizations to implement projects.

The purpose of the Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund is to support projects that remedy harm to natural resources (habitats, species) where there has been injury to, or destruction of, loss of, or loss of use of those resources resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Consistent with the terms of the plea agreements, funding priorities include, but are not limited to, projects that contribute significantly to the following natural resource outcomes:

• Restore and maintain the ecological functions of landscape-scale coastal habitats, including barrier islands, beaches and coastal marshes, and ensure their viability and resilience against existing and future threats, such as sea level rise;
• Restore and maintain the ecological integrity of priority coastal bays and estuaries; and
• Replenish and protect living resources including oysters, red snapper and other reef fish, Gulf Coast bird populations, sea turtles and marine mammals.