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About the Alliance

Letter from the Gulf Coast Governors
In March 2006, on the heels of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the five Gulf Coast Governors signed the Gulf of Mexico Alliance Governors’ Action Plan for Healthy and Resilient Coasts. As Gulf States Governors, we recognize that the economy and quality of life for citizens of this national treasure are linked to its ecological health.  Gulf stewardship is everyone’s responsibility.  The first Action Plan identified specific actions needed to improve the health of our coastal areas, and the lives of millions of people that live and visit this region every year.  Through the collaborative leadership of the Gulf States, the exceptional support of our federal partners, and active participation of our business council and non-governmental organizations, we have been able to collectively implement these actions.

The Gulf of Mexico Alliance

The Gulf of Mexico Alliance is a partnership, initiated in 2004 by the states of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, intent on significantly increasing regional collaboration to enhance the ecological and economic health of the Gulf of Mexico. The Alliance has identified six priority issues that are regionally significant and can be effectively addressed through increased collaboration at the local, state, and federal levels.

Collaboration with Mexico

The Alliance actively works to collaborate with the six Mexican Gulf States and is engaged in a number of ongoing activities in Mexico.  Both parties acknowledge that the environmental and economic health of the Gulf of Mexico is contingent upon responsible management by both the United States and Mexico. The Alliance will work to become a model for regional and international collaboration.

The Governors' Action Plan

The Governors’ Action Plan for Healthy and Resilient Coastswas released in 2006. The three-year Action Plan identified regionally significant issues that could be effectively addressed through increased collaboration at the local, state, and federal levels. 

Under the leadership of the five Gulf States and the strong support by federal and non-governmental partners, strategies were developed to advance and coordinate the implementation of the specific activities identified in the 2006 Action Plan. Results of these collaborative partnerships far exceeded initial expectations with the majority of the activities completed or in progress.

Building on successes of the first Action Plan, the Gulf States and their partners developed the Governors’ Action Plan II, a farther-reaching, five-year regional plan that looks to expand partnerships.  The core goals of the 2006 Action Plan were to build partnerships and lay a foundation for a true regional approach.  This Action Plan II sets a course for actions designed to improve the health of coastal ecosystems and economies of the Gulf in ways that a single entity could not achieve.

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