Implementation Strategy for Coral Reef Transplantation Methods in Support of Natural Resource Planning, Management and NEPANESDI Project Number 491

This study provides a roadmap for making decisions when formulating mitigation packages presented to regulatory agencies. Natural resource planners, range managers, and other environmental team members can refer to the Coral Reef Transplant Method Implementation Strategy (CRTMIS) for scientific evidence to determine coral reef transplant and mitigation methods. Conversely, CRTMIS provides information that would argue against the transplantation option under certain conditions. Overall, CRTMIS will serve as a tool to help meet the following Navy goals: keep submerged training lands available for use by the Navy, lower mitigation costs, provide scientifically defensible data to be used in National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) consultations/agreements, and help select transplantation methods that will lead to an increase of genetic diversity among coral reefs and stronger, resilient ecosystems.