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The Weeks Bay Foundation, Inc. Receives $270,566 to Increase Awareness and Action on Gulf Issues

Release Date: 09/22/2014
Contact Information: Contact Information: Jason McDonald, (404) 562-9203 (Direct), (404) 562-8400 (Main) mcdonald.jason@epa.gov

(09/22/14- ) Stennis Space Center, MS – The U.S. EPA Gulf of Mexico Program recently announced that the Weeks Bay Foundation, Inc. (Weeks Bay) has received a $270,566 through a cooperative agreement for the project “A Gulf of Mexico Coastal Training Initiative.” This project will be directed under the leadership of Michael Shelton, Coastal Training Program Coordinator of Weeks Bay Foundation, Inc.

“The Gulf of Mexico Program is committed to supporting our partners in addressing our mutual goals of improving, protecting and restoring the health and productivity of the Gulf of Mexico,” said Ben Scaggs, Director of the U.S. EPA Gulf of Mexico Program. “We look forward to the sustainable environmental results that will be accomplished through this cooperative agreement with the Weeks Bay Foundation, Inc.”

The Gulf of Mexico Coastal Training Initiative will offer targeted and technical assistance to resource managers and decision-makers on the Gulf Coast. The training events and technical assistance will employ proven educational methodologies to increase regional awareness and action on program priorities and strategic goals identified by the EPA Gulf of Mexico Program and the region’s coastal decision-makers. Weeks Bay will hold 15 workshops on the Gulf Coast, provide technical assistance to five coastal communities over three years, as well as engage local communities and raise awareness of environmental issues Gulf-wide.

“The Gulf National Estuarine Research Reserves (NERR) regional partnership is well positioned to address coastal resource management issues that have impacts on a regional level through locally based training and technical assistance,” said Shelton. “The primary outcome of the NERRs and GMP initiative is improved decision-making in the management of coastal resources.”

This cooperative agreement will further the strategic goals and objectives of Gulf of Mexico Program and lead to a healthy and prosperous ecosystem.

For more information about the Gulf of Mexico Program, please call 228-688-3726 or visit our web site at https://www.epa.gov/gmpo.

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