26th U.S. Coral Reef Task Force Meeting

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Monday, October 17 to Friday, October 21, 2011

Marriott Harbor Beach Resort & Spa
3030 Holiday Drive
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33316
United States
954 525 4000

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The 26^th U.S. Coral Reef Task Force (USCRTF) Meeting in partnership with the 2^nd Reef Resilience Conference (RRC) will be held October 17-21, 2011 at the Marriott Harbor Beach Resort, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Week at a Glance

The U.S. Coral Reef Task Force is co-chaired by the Department of Commerce and the Department of the Interior, and includes leaders of 12 federal agencies, seven U.S. states and territories, and three freely associated states. The mission is to lead, coordinate, and strengthen U.S. government actions to better preserve and protect coral reef ecosystems. Further details can be found at www.coralreef.gov.

The USCRTF meets twice per year, alternating between Washington, DC and Pacific or Atlantic/Caribbean coral reef jurisdictions. In 2011, it will be co-hosted in South Florida by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP).

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is an additional co-host of the week’s activities as the organization offering the 2nd Reef Resilience Conference (The first was held in April 2008 in Key Largo, Florida). The Reef Resilience Conference is coordinated by the Florida Reef Resilience Program, a consortium of local and state agencies and partners, chaired by The Nature Conservancy (TNC).

The U.S. All Islands Committee Meeting will be held on Monday, October 17.

In a slightly different format from previous meetings, the workshop which typically precedes the USCRTF Business Meeting will be replaced with the 2-day Reef Resilience Conference scheduled Tuesday, October 18 and Wednesday, October 19. The Reef Resilience Conference theme will be “Planning for Resilience” and it will address spatial planning within Florida and in the wider Caribbean/Gulf of Mexico context. Outcomes from this conference will be presented in the USCRTF Business Meeting.

Optional field trips will be conducted on Thursday, October 20, to see and learn first-hand about on-the-ground marine and coastal conservation issues and strategies.

The USCRTF Business Meeting will be held on Friday, October 21. The meeting will highlight conservation strategies, successes, and challenges in Florida, as well as provide a forum for the USCRTF to hear about and discuss the priority threats facing reefs and innovative solutions and partnerships the USCRTF can explore to more effectively address these threats. The theme of the USCRTF meeting will be “Integrating Management of the Florida Reef Tract”, which will address coastal and marine spatial planning, water management and coral reef restoration.