GBEP CCMP Update
The Galveston Bay Estuary Program (GBEP) is updating its Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) (the Galveston Bay Plan, 2nd Edition). Input from stakeholders is critical to the success of the Galveston Bay Plan. Since the publication of the Galveston Bay Plan, 2nd Edition,(the Plan), GBEP has developed the Galveston Bay Estuary Resilience Action Plan (ERAP) and the GBEP Equity Strategy. Goals and findings from these documents need to be integrated into the Plan.
Before doing so, we would like to receive input about the current CCMP and any changes or updates the public would like to suggest making the CCMP more responsive and inclusive of the basin’s needs. Some things one might consider when providing suggestions or comments are:
- The subcommittees you attend and how you use the Plan to guide your work;
- Action items that need updating or are complete, missing items or gaps;
- Which ERAP stressors need to be integrated into which priorities;
- How the Equity Strategy should be integrated into the Plan; and
- Any challenges facing Galveston Bay in the next ten years that should be addressed.
Click the link to access the feedback boxes https://forms.office.com/r/mAEHHTbs3h where your input will be gathered and shared during the December Subcommittee meetings to guide discussions. We welcome input at any time through this initial process, so feel free to add responses through January 20, 2024.
The Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC) is working with GBEP to update the Plan. HARC and GBEP will be holding discussions with GBEP Subcommittees and the Galveston Bay Council in upcoming meetings on what needs to be updated in the Plan. Input from you is critical to success – we appreciate your time.
Disclaimer: this feedback is for information gathering purposes only
About the Galveston Bay Plan
Each of the 28 National Estuary Programs were charged with developing and implementing a comprehensive conservation and management plan (CCMP) that establishes priorities for activities, research, and funding for the estuary. The CCMP serves as a blueprint to guide future decisions and addresses a wide range of environmental protection issues, including:
- water quality,
- habitat,
- fish and wildlife,
- pathogens,
- land use, and
- introduced species.
Each CCMP is based on a scientific characterization of the estuary and is developed and approved by a broad coalition of stakeholders. The CCMP for Galveston Bay is called The Galveston Bay Plan.
The Galveston Bay Plan, 2nd Edition
To continue protection and conservation of the estuary, a 2nd edition of the plan was revised to focus on identifying new issues facing Galveston Bay that were not addressed by the 1995 plan or previous updates and presented them in an easily accessible format.
Download the full Galveston Bay Plan 2nd Edition.
The Galveston Bay Plan, 2nd Edition Revision contains non-substantive changes requested by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and supported by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).
Download the Revised 2nd Edition.
The Finance Plan Addendum contains non-substantive changes.
Download the Finance Plan Addendum.
View a copy of the Resolution supporting the Galveston Bay Plan, 2nd Edition.
These entities signed support letters or a resolution supporting GBEP and the 2nd Edition.
Area stakeholders developed The Galveston Bay Plan (The Plan) to ensure long-term preservation of the bay’s health. The Galveston Bay Council, a 41-member advisory committee to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, oversees The Plan’s implementation.
The Plan was approved by the governor of Texas and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1995. It was designed to be implemented over a 20-year period with evaluations every five years.
See more information on The Plan or get a copy.
By 2005, progress had been made on all 82 actions originally identified in The Plan. Inevitably, however, funding limitations, population growth, changes as environmental regulatory programs progressed, and new issues had emerged over time. Charting the Course to 2015: Galveston Bay Strategic Action Plan (SAP), was created not to replace The Plan, but to help focus and guide its implementation up to 2015.
The SAP, published in 2007, had three sections that highlighted the priority focus areas identified during a series of stakeholder meetings held in 2005 and 2006:
- ecosystem and human health,
- public participation and education, and
- monitoring and research.
In each of the priority focus areas, the issues of greatest concern were characterized and a series of associated goals and objectives were identified. The goals and objectives were designed to guide Estuary Program partners as they planned, funded, and implemented policies and programs.