On June 4, 2013, the Rockland Library hosted a public meeting by representatives of the Northeast Regional Ocean Council. NROC was created by the federal Ocean Policy Task Force set up to implement Executive Order 13547 "Stewardship of the Ocean, Our Coasts, and the Great Lakes". The Rockland meeting was the last in a series held around New England.
Listen below to the presentations that were given.(mp3s)
The Task Force's goal: developing a national policy that stimulates:
"Effective Decision Making", "Healthy Ocean and Coastal Ecosystems:, and "Compatibility Among Past, Current and Future Ocean Uses" Those
goals are detailed in their
3 page draft ocean planning goals paper (pdf) Read more about the Ocean Policy Task Force and its purpose in hosting this event, below the recordings.
1. Introduction by Kathleen Leyden 3min38sec
2. Meeting attendees identified. 8min 47sec
3. Meeting facilitator intro. 2min 12sec
4. Betsy Nicholson, NOAA. 13min38sec
5. Betsy Nicholson Q&A. 5min 31sec
6. John Weber, NROC. Part 1. 9min 12sec
7. John Weber, NROC Part 2. 9min 26sec
8. Betsy Nicholson NOAA 9min 57sec
9 Betsy Nicholson NOAA. 3min 46sec
10. Closing remarks. 3min 38sec
Background: On July 19, 2010 President Obama signed Executive Order 13547 --Stewardship of the Ocean, Our Coasts, and the Great
Lakes. The executive order implements the recommendations of the Ocean Policy Task Force (pdf) The task force is "composed of 24 senior-level officials from executive departments, agencies, and offices across the Federal government and led by the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)."
EO 13547 makes it "the policy of the United States" for ocean related agencies to meet ten standards in their permit and license decision making. Each agency must
- (i) protect, maintain, and restore the health and biological diversity of
ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems and resources;
- (ii) improve the resiliency of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems,
communities, and economies;
- (iii) bolster the conservation and sustainable uses of land in ways that
will improve the health of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems;
- (iv) use the best available science and knowledge to inform decisions
affecting the ocean, our coasts, and the Great Lakes, and enhance humanity's
capacity to understand, respond, and adapt to a changing global
environment;
- (v) support sustainable, safe, secure, and productive access to, and uses of
the ocean, our coasts, and the Great Lakes;
- (vi) respect and preserve our Nation's maritime heritage, including our
social, cultural, recreational, and historical values;
- (vii) exercise rights and jurisdiction and perform duties in accordance with
applicable international law, including respect for and preservation of
navigational rights and freedoms, which are essential for the global economy and
international peace and security;
- (viii) increase scientific understanding of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes
ecosystems as part of the global interconnected systems of air, land, ice, and
water, including their relationships to humans and their activities;
- (ix) improve our understanding and awareness of changing environmental
conditions, trends, and their causes, and of human activities taking place in
ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes waters; and
- (x) foster a public understanding of the value of the ocean, our coasts, and
the Great Lakes to build a foundation for improved stewardship.
(More information coming.)
