About the Report Card

The Texas Coast Ecosystem Health Report Card series was developed by the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University Corpus Christi (HRI) in response to a desire from stakeholders and natural resource managers for a standardized coastal ecosystem health assessment framework. Report Card development involved stakeholder engagement coupled with rigorous analysis of long term datasets to identify and quantify key indicators. In total, 27 different datasets were evaluated to determine “scores” for each of 13 relevant indicators of coastal ecosystem health for both the Texas Coast as a whole as well as for individual bays. Find more information on how these reports were compiled at the expanded document HERE.

With launch of the 2023 Texas Coast Ecosystem Health Report Cards, HRI is moving towards a Gulf-wide assessment program to promote thoughtful and effective restoration and conservation decisions for the Gulf of Mexico as a whole. In addition, the next generation of Texas Coast Ecosystem Health Report Card is expected to be unveiled in the 2025-2026 timeframe. Stay tuned!