Assessment of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Studies Program reviews the ecological studies done by the Environmental Studies Program of the Minerals Management Service. This program, which has spent $10 million a year on ecological studies in recent years, is designed to provide information to predict and manage the environmental effects of outer continental shelf oil and gas activities. The book considers studies on marine mammals and endangered species, birds, benthic organisms, fisheries, and marine ecosystems and makes recommendations for future studies.

This document is an overview of the history and purpose of the Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment Program (OCSEAP) and of the management of this program. OCSEAP is conducted for the Bureau of Land Management by Environmental Research Laboratories (which is part of NOAA).