from Nantucket’s  The Inquirer and Mirror

Click here to download the 2 page PDF.

Like many Americans I watched Obama’s State of the Union speech, and let out a small laugh at his smoked salmon reference. The reality is that this one anecdote, now shared by all Americans, is a glimpse into how our ocean and coastal resources are managed by multiple state and federal agencies…

Read the rest of Stephanie’s latest article at the Huffington Post here!

The federal panel briefed attendees on National Ocean Council structures and anticipated timelines.  But more than a briefing, this event was a welcome opportunity to scan the room and recognize the contributions of state agencies, not-for-profits, academic institutions and others in making possible all that has been accomplished over the past 2-3 years.

Developing nine regional ocean plans in a five-year timeframe will be, to say the least, challenging.  But, as we learned here in MA, “nothing gets done without a deadline” and great progress can be made even in short order.  By design, most of MOP’s work over the past three years is transferrable and scalable to support regional/national ocean management planning—we stand ready to support the Northeast and other regions as they craft win-win management plans to more effectively make use of while protecting our essential ocean/great lakes resources.

Stephanie

• The US is power hungry (and demand will only grow);
• We should capitalize on clean, domestic energy sources as soon possible; and
• We need good-paying jobs/a sustainable economy now.

The good news is that ocean-based wind, wave and tidal projects can, in theory, provide clean, home-grown energy and create jobs—but none of that helps much if it takes 10 years to obtain a single siting approval.

The ocean provides something for everyone in the Northeast: food and recreation for millions, hundreds of thousands of jobs; it regulates our climate and even produces the air we breathe—the challenge is balancing valued traditional uses like commercial fishing and transportation with vital emerging projects like wind farms.  But, one way or another, a balance must be struck if we hope to protect the ocean, meet our evolving energy needs and rejuvenate our economy.  Coastal and marine spatial planning is a novel tool in the U.S., currently practiced in MA and gaining favor across the nation. It helps weigh economic and environmental tradeoffs by using the best available science and stakeholder input in a timely and transparent fashion.

Whether the siting decision on a particular use is yea or nee, marine spatial planning methods can help us make better informed decisions faster—we just don’t have decades to solve problems and meet the needs on our doorstep today.

SM

MA, RI, and ME have made considerable progress in coastal and marine spatial planning (CMSP) and that work continues to evolve at the state level.  With the July 2010 Executive Order and the recent NOAA FFO, decision makers and stakeholders are directed to undertake CMSP at a regional scale.  The NE region, as lead by the Northeast Regional Ocean Council (NROC), is well-positioned to lead the way.  MOP is actively working to leverage lessons and tools developed through MA ocean planning to support the emerging efforts in the greater NE Region and beyond.

SM

SM

Two new web features are:

• The “Project Status Indicator Graphic” where you can learn, at a glance, the relative timelines of all major ocean planning projects (their status and primary purpose), and
• Our video gallery featuring views and opinions from MOP stakeholder Partners.

To receive automatic notification of the ocean planning events and opportunities presented in our blog, please subscribe via Twitter or RSS feeds.  Further enhancements to the newly launched MOP Facebook page are forthcoming.  Please let us know what you are thinking; if you have comments or questions please drop us an email or give us a call (Contact / Feedback)—we’re look forward to hearing from you.

Best,
Stephanie