February 2008 - We are now firmly into 2008 and the year is starting off with a bang! Marathon Oil, Inc. has joined our CEO Council of supporters and several other companies, including Petrobras and Anadarko, are considering corporate memberships. BP America, Inc. is going to be the lead sponsor of the GMF Science & Spanish Club Network (SSCN) Student Environmental Leadership Conference in May. This level of sponsorship will expand the SSCN program significantly with student and teacher training programs and scholarships for students following technical career paths. In the not too distant future participating clubs will ring the Gulf of Mexico.

We are now into year seven of the Gulf of Mexico Community Based Restoration Program. With our partners, NOAA and the EPA, through year six we have invested nearly $1.8 million directly and leveraged $4.1 million from other sources. These habitat restoration projects have accumulated more than 31,000 volunteer hours and impacted nearly 15,000 acres of coastal wetland habitat. Year seven projects have been selected in each of the Gulf States and will soon be underway.

The Gulf of Mexico Foundation continues to play a leadership role in the Governors’ Gulf of Mexico Alliance. We have partnered with several state and federal agencies, other conservation organizations, and private industry partners to address policy and funding needs to sustain habitat restoration programs around the Gulf. As the lead organization we now have grant proposals into NOAA to continue this effort.

The Down Under Out Yonder Teacher Program is going into its 14th year. To commemorate this success we are brainstorming ideas on how to make this program more comprehensive in topics covered adding watershed and coastal issues and field exploration.

Along with trying to keep up with our talented staff and Board of Directors, I have been serving as an advisor to Governor Fidel Herrera of Veracruz, Mexico as he and his staff plan the next State of the Gulf of Mexico Summit. I have also continued to serve as an advisor to the Department of Energy Ultra-Deep Water Technology Development Committee.

Thanks to the generosity of Leon Loeb and Landlord Resources of Corpus Christi, Texas, we are comfortably working from new office space with room to grow; and we are growing! Richard Gonzales is now a full time employee and Ryan Fikes has joined us to manage our habitat restoration efforts. In 2008 we should be adding at least two new staff members to our education and restoration programs.

The Board of Directors, led by Paul Kelly, is setting new goals and standards. Not only are the members actively involved in helping pay the bills they are getting involved in program development and implementation, creating new opportunities across the Gulf.

The year 2008 is going to be a milestone in the history of the Gulf of Mexico Foundation. We exist to address today’s needs for environmental conservation and to serve future generations as advocates of healthy and productive environments and economies and a sustainable quality of life. We need you to jump on the bandwagon with us. There is always room and you can be assured that you will make a difference.