Testimony of Scott Gudes, Deputy Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, before the House Resources Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans Subcommittee, on legislation to reauthorize NOAA's Chesapeake Bay office and create a scholarship program to honor the late Dr. Nancy Foster, September 21, 2000

TESTIMONY OF
SCOTT B. GUDES
DEPUTY UNDER SECRETARY FOR OCEANS AND ATMOSPHERE
NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON FISHERIES CONSERVATION, WILDLIFE AND OCEANS
COMMITTEE ON RESOURCES
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

September 21, 2000

Good morning, Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee. I am Scott Gudes, Deputy Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Thank you for inviting me to testify before the Subcommittee on the reauthorization of the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office as proposed in two pieces of legislation: H.R. 5133, the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office Improvement Act, and H.R. 4789, NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office Reauthorization Act. I am also pleased to convey the Administration's support for H.R. 5086, a bill to establish an oceanographic scholarship in honor of Dr. Nancy Foster, with minor modifications.

With regard to the two pieces of legislation regarding the reauthorization of the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office, I am pleased to testify that NOAA strongly supports measures that further efforts to protect, restore and maintain living marine resources and their habitats, while utilizing and coordinating the broad and diverse capabilities and expertise of NOAA. We are interested in enactment of legislation that will re-authorize and strengthen our Chesapeake Bay Office. Estuaries such as the Chesapeake Bay are important to our Nation's economic and environmental well-being and are closely tied to the Department's mission and goals. As one of the largest estuaries in the world, the Chesapeake Bay provides habitat for many important species and supports the economic and traditional values of the many communities of the Bay. The bills under consideration highlight the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office's role in coordinating NOAA's many estuarine-related fisheries, habitat, and atmospheric activities--and how the Office can serve as a national model for orchestrating NOAA regional activities while minimizing overlapping efforts.

We are pleased that both bills recognize NOAA's expertise in fisheries management, and its ability to provide leadership in the emerging area of multi-species, or ecosystem-based, fisheries management. In part because of strong Congressional support in this area, the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office is poised to develop one of the Nation's first fisheries ecosystem plans. Our efforts follow the recommendations outlined in Ecosystem-based Fishery Management, a report to Congress by the Ecosystems Principles Advisory Panel, as mandated by the Sustainable Fisheries Act amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1996. In addition, the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office continues to support strong, scientifically-based fishery management activities, including baywide surveys and stock assessments of important species such as the Chesapeake blue crab. The office works with its Chesapeake Bay partners to involve scientists from NOAA and other institutions to ensure the resources of the Bay are managed in a manner that is sustainable, consistent, and complementary throughout the Bay, regardless of jurisdictional responsibility.

We also are pleased that both bills emphasize local restoration projects that will benefit the Chesapeake Bay watershed by restoring fish and shellfish habitats, improving fish passage, restoring wetlands and sea grass beds and, in the process, strengthening community relationships around the Bay.

Such activities reaffirm the important elements of the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office, as highlighted in a recent program review. The review involved other NOAA line offices, the states, research institutions, environmental organizations, and other interested parties that live, work, and play on or near the Chesapeake Bay. The review made clear that ecosystem management-- that is, management of fisheries and living resource habitats-- is seen as the primary focus for the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office.

The program review also identified future opportunities by which NOAA can use its diverse capabilities through its "window on the bay," the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office. Some of these are addressed in the legislation we are discussing today, from the creation of an Internet-based Coastal Prediction Center, which would draw on the databases and programs of the National Weather Service, National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service, the National Ocean Service, and other NOAA programs to provide a knowledge bank for organizing data into predictive products useful to policymakers, resource managers, scientists, and the public, to a stronger role in coordinating the federally funded marine and estuarine-related research activities in the Bay. Other opportunities identified in the program review, such as studying effects and impacts of climate change in the "microcosm" of the Chesapeake Bay, or mapping fish and shellfish habitats in the Chesapeake Bay, may evolve into realities with the re-authorization of the Office.

As previously stated, NOAA strongly supports re-authorizing legislation and the opportunities that the continuing existence of the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office provides for NOAA to apply its expertise and innovation. Both bills will accomplish this, although they vary in relatively minor ways.

While both bills provide an increase in the authorization level to $6 million, H.R. 5133 would give the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office greater flexibility to work with its Chesapeake Bay partners in determining how to allocate its funding. Such flexibility would enable the office to be responsive to the diverse and changing opportunities within the Bay community.

Both bills strengthen coordination between the National Marine Fisheries Service and the National Ocean Service, and recognize the continuing and potentially new collaborations with the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (through the Sea Grant programs and Coastal Prediction Center). H.R. 5133 adds additional emphasis in requiring close coordination with the Chesapeake Bay units of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) and the Cooperative Oxford Laboratory of the National Ocean Service. We support close coordination among these programs, however, we request an important clarification in the language of the bill to explicitly seek Chesapeake Bay Office coordination with the NERRS programs and Oxford Laboratory rather than coordination of the programs. We would like to emphasize, however, that our sister agencies will retain management authority over their respective programs.

We recommend a few additions and changes to strengthen and clarify, but not to modify, the intent of the legislation. These specific recommendations will be provided in writing.

This Administration looks forward to working with you to ensure the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office maintains and enhances the application of NOAA's broad capabilities and talents to the difficult and consequential issues facing the Chesapeake Bay.

Now I would like to turn to H.R. 5086, a bill to establish an oceanographic scholarship in honor of Dr. Nancy Foster. As you know, Dr. Foster had a long and distinguished career at NOAA culminating in being named the head of the National Ocean Service.

For several reasons, it is especially fitting that a scholarship be established in her memory and that it be incorporated into the National Marine Sanctuaries Act–

• When Dr. Foster was made the Assistant Administrator of the National Ocean Service, she became the first career woman to lead one of NOAA's five principal line offices.
• Earlier in her career, Dr. Foster was one of the first directors of the National Marine Sanctuary program, part of the National Ocean Service.
• Throughout her career, Dr. Foster demonstrated an on-going commitment to mentoring and supporting women and minorities in the marine sciences.

Dr. Nancy Foster was a leader in marine resource conservation as well as inspirational in her role as one of the top female senior executives in the marine field. The bill honors the legacy of Dr. Foster.

Mr. Chairman, I need not tell you of the myriad ocean and coastal challenges facing the Nation. Clearly, science is playing a critical role in understanding and resolving many of these concerns. This scholarship has the potential to provide partial or full support for many students each year. By targeting graduate level students, there is ample assurance that the beneficiaries will have demonstrated a commitment to academic excellence and to pursuing ocean-related studies and research.

However, we would like to see two changes in the legislation, which we believe do not change the intent of the legislation. The House bill states that the scholarships can be awarded in the areas of oceanography or maritime cultural studies. We would prefer that the term maritime cultural studies be replaced with the term marine biology, because oceanography and marine biology are the predominating areas for graduate level ocean study and research. Second, we would recommend that the bill be changed to set aside up to 1% of the amounts appropriated for the National Marine Sanctuary Program to fund the Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship program.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to express my thanks to you for sponsoring legislation in memory of a dedicated public servant and marine conservationist.

That concludes my testimony. I would be happy to answer any questions.