Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council

The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council, an independent civilian agency, administers federal contracts and grants to support ecosystem restoration and environmental protection across the Gulf of Mexico coastal region.

The Council has awarded 40 federal contracts totaling $16.2 million in combined potential value, with $9.3 million obligated, since 2015. Recent contract volume has been modest and irregular: 3 awards in 2022, 1 in 2023, 1 in 2024, 4 in 2025, and 2 year-to-date in 2026. The contract portfolio spans 17 distinct prime contractors. Contract concentration is highly fragmented by award count — the top five primes hold 82% of recent awards — but moderately concentrated by potential value: Veterans Management Services, Inc., Acquisition Professionals LLC, and McNeal Professional Services, Inc. account for $7.1 million (47% of combined potential value) over the last five years. Acquisition Professionals LLC leads by award count with 3 contracts valued at $2.5 million; Veterans Management Services, Inc. leads by value with a single $4 million award. One recent award transacts through a Schedule task order or BPA call with unreported potential value. The set-aside mix skews toward open competition: 73% of awards carry no set-aside designation, while 10% are small-business set-asides (including 8(a) sole-source and competitive 8(a)), 3% are service-disabled veteran-owned small business, and 3% are woman-owned small business.

The Council has issued 161 federal grants totaling $1.29 billion in combined federal dollars obligated, with an additional $850 million in non-federal cost-share, since 2014. Grant volume has remained steady: 6 awards in 2021, 19 in 2022, 13 in 2023, 11 in 2024, and 15 in 2025. All awards are Project Grants. Grant recipient concentration is highly concentrated: the top five recipients by award count hold 97% of recent awards and account for $362.9 million in federal dollars. The Coastal Protection & Restoration Authority of Louisiana dominates by federal dollars obligated at $190 million across 2 awards, followed by Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources at $113.5 million across 11 awards. The Gulf Consortium leads by award count with 21 grants worth $89.9 million. Only 9 distinct recipients have received funding, indicating a tightly held grant portfolio focused on state environmental and coastal agencies.