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Coastal environmental protection is an integral part of the Texas General Land Office mission.
    The agency addresses coastal environmental damage both proactively and reactively, through efforts such as educating the public to change bad habits, and cleaning up messes caused by others.
    The agency’s Oil Spill Prevention and Response Program oversees the Texas coast around-the-clock, placing emphasis on preventing spills but responding rapidly when they occur. As a Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) trustee, the Land Office takes action to restore natural resources damaged by oil and other hazardous materials in coastal waters.
    In addition, the Land Office is one of many Texas agencies in the Nonpoint Source Pollution Control Program.
    The Texas Coastal Ocean Observation Network (TCOON) is a state-of-the-art water level monitoring network operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. TCOON currently consists of 31 active stations along the Texas coast, from Sabine Pass to Port Isabel, measuring many different environmental and physical parameters such as water levels, wind speed and direction, water and air temperature, and atmospheric pressure. A select few TCOON stations collect and report salinity levels.
    Likewise, the agency’s Beach Watch Program keeps track of bacteria levels at the most popular Texas beaches, posting the findings online for anyone with Internet access to see.
    Adopt-A-Beach is an all-volunteer effort dedicated to preserving and protecting Texas beaches. Since the first clean-up, approximately 400,000 volunteer participants have helped remove 7,700 tons of trash.
    While sandy beaches are important, coastal preserves and wetlands are also essential, so they receive well-deserved attention from the Land Office. These programs and others involving the Land Office help keep our coast clean and healthy, for both people and wildlife.