The Galveston Bay Estuary Program, a non-regulatory program administered by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and its partners work together to implement tThe Galveston Bay Plan, a 20-year, science-based plant designed to protect and restore the bay. The Estuary Program hosts the biennial symposium to provide an opportunity for stakeholders to interact and share environmental policy and management successes, report the latest monitoring and research findings, and to illuminate the challenges facing Galveston Bay. The symposium is convened to advance knowledge and understanding of Galveston Bay and associated habitats, their importance and value to coastal lving, and the role citizens, business and industry, and resource managers play in creating an economically and environmentally sustainable region.