Gulf of Mexico Foundation of its funding comes from corporations, including oil and gas companies. While the remaining, three-quarters comes from state and federal government grants. The foundation website provides the most prominent credit to oil and gas companies. Media and consumer advocacy groups question the Foundation's close and questionable ties to the oil and gas industry. After the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico starting in April 2010, Quenton Dokken, the organization's director was interviewed by the New York Times about the severity of the then ongoing oil spill. He was optimistic, saying: The sky is not falling. We've
Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies spill that released more than 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico between April 20, and July 15, 2010, created a unique opportunity to address many of the long-term issues fundamental to the Gulf’s future sustainability. HRI scientists have and continue to provide leadership in assessing the long-term impacts of the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry and are fostering the Gulf’s recovery by helping guide restoration to assure that conservation efforts are effective and long lasting. HRI has already influenced the allocation of billions of dollars toward Gulf restoration and