Opinion: Growing for the future and protecting our environment requires working together

We are lucky to live in the Coastal Bend, where we have quality jobs, a healthy and resilient environment and a good quality of life, all while living next to the beautiful Gulf of Mexico. For many decades, the Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program and our many partners have been working to find a balance between the desire for growth and our resolve to protect our natural resources — and that mindset hasn’t changed.

Our natural resources are the key to life and livelihoods here in the Coastal Bend. Good water quality is the cornerstone to our quality of life and how we spend our free time fishing, swimming, paddleboarding and surfing. A diverse mix of habitats, like seagrasses, mangroves and oysters, serve as nurseries for the fish, shrimp and crabs we like to catch and eat, while our wetlands protect our homes and businesses from floods and rising seas. We also use our natural resources to create products in the Coastal Bend that are used around the world and in our own homes, every day.

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