This year the Deep Gulf Habitats Project Team Members were among 14 groups to receive one of the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) highest honors, the Cooperative Conservation Award . The Honor Awards Ceremony was held May 9, 2007 at 2:00 p.m. in the Sidney Yates Auditorium, Main Interior Building located at 1849 C Street, NW, Washington, DC. Fourteen groups and individuals received the Cooperative Conservation Award which recognizes cooperative conservation achievements that involve collaborative activity among a diverse range of entities that may include Federal, State, local and tribal governments, private for profit and nonprofit institutions, other non-governmental entities, and individuals. (Citation)
Excerpt from the Nomination (full text)
The Deep Gulf Habitats Project was awarded to TDI Brooks International Inc of College Station Texas , who formed a world class international team of researchers from five universities including scientists from the United States , France , Germany and Austria . All participants are leaders in their fields and dedicated to the understanding and stewardship of these unique habitats. This cooperative venture, initiated under NOPP and now under the auspices of the Interagency Committee on Ocean Science and Resource Management Integration (ICOSRMI), is making land-mark strides towards the goal of discovering and understanding the deepwater biological communities of the Gulf not previously known. An earlier exploratory cruise had confirmed a large number of potential sites after extensive research utilizing MMS in-house seismic records of the deep Gulf. The success of the mission was critically dependent upon the successful cooperation of MMS personnel and members of the scientific team during this phase. This cooperation resulted in a 100% success rate for Alvindives encountering high-density chemosynthetic or coral communities.
