Portion of funds from $4.5 billion BP settlement to benefit Gulf Coast fish and wildlife
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Nov. 15, 2012 - BP announced today that it will plead guilty to several criminal charges under a settlement agreement reached with the U.S. Department of Justice over its role in the 2010 disaster involving the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, in which an estimated 200 million gallons of crude oil leaked into the Gulf of Mexico. Under the terms of the settlement, BP will pay approximately $4.5 billion in installments over a five-year period, with nearly $2.4 billion going to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), an independent non-profit conservation group chartered by Congress in 1984.
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New report says addressing Louisiana coastal loss is worth national investment
A recent report by the Mississippi River Delta Science and Engineering Special Team addressed 10 fundamental questions about saving the Mississippi River Delta, including how to reverse coastal marsh loss, what impacts could result from restoration efforts and the economic blow to Louisiana and the nation if this important coastal ecosystem is lost.
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Oil and water in a vanishing paradise
Gulf Coast press briefing to be held in Washington next week.
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Visit the New Gulf Coast Public Policy Page
In order to raise awareness about this critical region, Ducks Unlimited has launched a new Gulf Coast Public Policy section on its website.
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Gulf Coast Joint Venture
The Gulf Coast Joint Venture (GCJV) is a partnership between Ducks Unlimited, federal and state agencies, other non-profit organizations and private landowners dedicated to the conservation of priority bird habitat along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coast.
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Vanishing Paradise Partnership
Ducks Unlimited and National Wildlife Federation have launched a bold campaign to restore Louisiana's waterfowl habitat by reconnecting the Mississippi River with the wetlands.
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Migratory Bird Habitat Initiative
In the summer of 2010, as the Deepwater Horizon disaster poured oil into the Gulf of Mexico, Ducks Unlimited, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation joined forces to provide alternative habitat for the millions of migratory birds that would soon wing their way to the Gulf Coast.
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Gulf Coast Restoration Legislation in the 112th Congress
For decades, DU has been working to promote long-term large scale wetlands restoration in the Gulf Coast region to pair with our on-the-ground restoration efforts. Since the spill, DU and its partners have been successful in getting Congress to introduce legislation that ensures penalties paid by the responsible parties under the Clean Water Act are directed back to the Gulf Coast region for restoration.
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RESTORE Act: Directing CWA penalties back to restoration efforts in the Gulf
Since the Deepwater Horizon disaster, DU and its partners have formally requested that Congress support legislation to ensure penalties paid by the responsible parties under the Clean Water Act (CWA) be used to restore the Gulf Coast region.
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DU Gulf Coast Public Policy Efforts
To recover from the oil spill, Louisiana's wildlife and habitats need legislative action from Congress.
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Issues Facing the Gulf Coast
Long-term wetlands loss; impacts of the 2010 Gulf Oil Spill
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Why the Gulf Matters to Ducks and Duck Hunters
Many of the waterfowl that winter along the Gulf Coast spend more of their annual life-cycle on these verdant wintering grounds than they do on the breeding grounds to the north.
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Gulf Coast Public Policy
If actions are not taken now to conserve and restore these vital marshes and wetlands, the continent’s most critical wintering habitat for waterfowl will be lost forever.
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The importance of migration habits to waterfowl
While factors on the breeding grounds tend to influence overall waterfowl populations more significantly than others, without sufficient winter and migration habitat, waterfowl return to the breeding grounds in poorer condition.
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