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The Gulf of Mexico Program was initiated in 1988 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a non-regulatory program. Founded on the threefold principles of partnership, science-based information, and citizen involvement, the Gulf Program joined the Great Lakes and Chesapeake Bay Programs as flagships of the nation's efforts to apply an adaptive management approach to large coastal freshwater and marine ecosystems. The mission of the Program is to facilitate collaborative actions to protect, maintain, and restore the health and productivity of the Gulf of Mexico in ways consistent with the economic well-being of the Region. The Program provides a broad geographic focus on the major environmental issues in the Gulf, and from its inception, was envisioned as a multiagency partnership endeavor based on the simple premise that no one agency or institution alone has the technical skills, financial resources, or legislative authority needed to resolve the environmental or natural resource problems confronting an ecological system the size of the Gulf. The Program's success comes from its ability to engage many people across the Gulf region for leadership and to implement projects that move in an environmentally and economically sound direction. As a result of a shared vision for a healthy and resilient Gulf of Mexico coast, the Governors of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas formalized the Gulf of Mexico Alliance in 2004. Thirteen federal agencies committed to supporting the Alliance and formed a Federal Workgroup with EPA's Gulf of Mexico Program, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Department of the Interior serving as co-leads. The Alliance released the Governors' Action Plan I in 2006 which was intended to be a dynamic starting point to set the stage for a long-term regional partnership. Developed using input from Gulf citizens and supported by specific state and federal agency resource commitments, the Action Plan set out projects to deliver significant on-the-ground results. Capitalizing on the momentum of the first Plan, a second Action Plan covering five years and addressing some of the more pressing issues affecting the Gulf region was released in 2009.