Coastal America: What is Coastal America?

In 1991, then-President George Bush launched the Coastal America partnership process as a way "to ensure that we use - and use efficiently - all of the tools that are available to federal agencies, to state and local governments, and to private citizens in order to solve coastal problems." He called it a way to forge "a strong, long-term alliance for coastal stewardship." Coastal America isn't an agency. It isn't a program. It's a virtual organization, a way of doing business. The Coastal America partnership is formalized by a Memorandum of Understanding signed by 13 sub-cabinet level agency representatives of the federal government. They committed their agencies to work together and integrate their efforts with state, local and non-governmental activities. With a goal of better management of coastal resources, they pledged to coordinate their statutory responsibilities and combine their resources and expertise.

In addition to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Coastal America Partnership includes the following agencies:

• Department of Agriculture
• Department of the Air Force
• Department of the Army
• Department of Commerce
• Department of Defense
• Department of Energy
• Department of Housing and Urban Development
• Department of the Interior
• Department of the Navy
• Department of State
• Department of Transportation
• Executive Office of the President

Visit the Coastal America home page to learn more about Coastal America, its coastal restoration and protection successes and lessons learned and how you can be a part of this exciting public-private partnership.