July 2008 - As you well know, there are never enough hours in the day to get it all done! I and my fellow Foundation staff members are scrambling to keep up with need and opportunity. Ryan Fikes, our habitat restoration coordinator has just issued our latest Request for Proposals for 2009 Community-Based Restoration Program projects. Working with our NOAA partner for seven years, the CRP has produced impressive results. The program has generated more than two times as much in matching funds and tens of thousands of volunteer hours. We have supported projects in all five of the U.S. Gulf states and four Caribbean territories. We are working closely with the Governors’ Gulf of Mexico Alliance Habitat Conservation and Restoration workgroup and have just recently completed the paperwork finalizing a grant of $832,000 from NOAA to support the efforts of this workgroup.

Richard Gonzales, coordinator of the GMF Science & Spanish Club Network, is on the road supporting clubs from as far south as Brownsville and Matamoros to Van Vleck in northern Matagorda County. Clubs are forming in Louisiana and Puerto Rico and some of our SSCN alumni have inquired about establishing clubs at the college level. In May, the SSCN ended the school year with its fourth annual Youth Environmental Leadership Conference. With generous support from BP and others, we have begun to develop this conference into a larger format reaching more students.

I have continued to work with Governor Fidel Herrera of Veracruz, Mexico, and his talented staff to develop the next State of the Gulf of Mexico Summit which will be held February 3-5, 2009, in Boca del Rio, Veracruz. The Governors of the 10 other Gulf states have been invited by Governor Herrera to participate in this event. President of the GMF Board of Directors Paul Kelly and I were scheduled to be in Tuxpan, Veracruz, July 23-24 to meet with an array of science and resource management professionals from Mexico and the U. S. to advance program development for the Summit. Unfortunately, Hurricane Dolly had other plans, and Governor Herrera decided to cancel the meeting in concern for both U. S. and Mexican communities along the Gulf Coast facing the arrival of a hurricane. The meeting will be rescheduled soon.

Franklin Viola has stepped in to coordinate the Down Under Out Yonder teachers’ coral reef workshop which will occur July 19-23 for the 13th year. ConocoPhillips is our premier sponsor for this event. In 2009 we hope to host a new field workshop for non-diving teachers, “Where the Ocean Meets the Rivers: Coastal Habitats Along the Intracoastal Waterway,” which will include three days aboard a ship exploring habitats between Freeport, Texas, and New Orleans, Louisiana.

Paul Kelly, Laura Bodenheimer, and I are constantly working to develop funding support for the Foundations’ efforts. We have added to our CEO Council level list of donors with the most recent new partner being Anadarko with a contribution of $30,000 for 2008.

GMF's webmaster and newsletter editor Carrie Robertson is working on updates and upgrades for our website and GMF Executive Assistant Bobbi Reed is organizing meetings around the Gulf and coordinating travel for participants from around the Gulf and Caribbean.

In short, the need for what the Foundation contributes is great and opportunities to make a difference abound. All it takes is vision, commitment, energy, and cash flow. We appreciate all you do to support the mission of the Gulf of Mexico Foundation.