Coastal Planning

With 367 miles of Gulf beaches and more than 3,300 miles of shoreline surrounding bays and estuaries, Texas has one of the longest coastlines in the country. The GLO ensures proper management and stewardship of the Texas coast through a combination of federally partnered and state led coastal planning efforts.

Image
coastal planning

Texas Coastal Resiliency Master Plan

The Texas Coastal Resiliency Master Plan is the GLO’s state led, ongoing, and iterative coastwide planning process to protect and promote a vibrant and resilient Texas coast that supports and sustains a strong economy and healthy environment for all who live, work, play, or otherwise benefit from the natural resources and infrastructure along the Texas coast. Through the Master Plan, the GLO engages with stakeholder groups through the Technical Advisory Committee to assess the most pressing vulnerabilities and evaluate the highest priority solutions.

The Texas coast is an integrated network of built infrastructure and natural environments that should be considered as a cohesive system to understand and achieve coastal resiliency. The state’s natural coastal environments contribute resources and invaluable ecosystem services – such as cultural and recreational benefits, seafood, flood prevention, and habitat productivity – that bolster business development, improve quality of life, and attract people to Texas. The coast’s-built environments provide the support services, transportation, and infrastructure systems that allow communities, businesses and families to grow and flourish up and down the coast. 
 

Federally Partnered Planning

The GLO works closely with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers serving as the non-federal sponsor on various planning studies to reduce risk to coastal communities and restore ecosystem function through multiple ongoing efforts. A valuable partner in this process for projects in Galveston, Harris, Jefferson, and Orange counties is the Gulf Coast Protection District (GCPD) who receive funding through the GLO to implement various projects and measures under the support of the following Congressionally approved project frameworks.