Coastal Issues | Ocean Resources | Case Studies

Ocean and Great Lakes Resources: Case Studies

Below are a few examples of regional planning efforts and projects states have funded through their coastal management programs to address Ocean and Great Lakes Resources:

Regional Planning

State Projects

Gulf of Mexico Alliance

The five U.S. Gulf of Mexico States—Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas—formed the Gulf of Mexico Alliance in 2004 to increase regional collaboration and enhance the ecological and economic health of the Gulf of Mexico region. The Alliance is focused on five priority areas:

Early in 2005, thirteen federal agencies committed to supporting the Gulf of Mexico Alliance. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency coordinate this Federal Workgroup. In 2006, the Gulf of Mexico states and the Federal Workgroup published the Governors' Action Plan for Healthy and Resilient Coasts. This Action Plan identifies actions to address the five priority areas, on-going hurricane recovery, and increased resilience of Gulf coast communities. The Gulf of Mexico Alliance and the Federal Workgroup will continue to work together as a forum for regional collaboration. OCRM supports the Alliance through participation on the Federal Workgroup and by working directly with the coastal management programs of the Gulf States.

Great Lakes Regional Collaboration

The Great Lakes Regional Collaboration (GLRC) is a wide-ranging, cooperative effort to design and implement a strategy for the restoration, protection and sustainable use of the Great Lakes. In May 2004 President Bush issued an Executive Order, which recognized the Great Lakes as a "national treasure" and created a federal Great Lakes Interagency Task Force to improve federal coordination on the Great Lakes. The Order also directed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator to convene a "regional collaboration of national significance for the Great Lakes." This effort led to the development of a national restoration and protection action plan for the Great Lakes, the GLRC Strategy, which is organized around eight priorities:

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is a member of the Interagency Task Force and responsible for implementing many of the Strategy's recommendations. Great Lakes state coastal management programs may also use coastal zone management funding to implement recommendations, particularly in the areas of sustainable development and providing public access to coastal recreational opportunities.

Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment

The Gulf of Maine Council (GOMC) was created by the coastal management programs of Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in 1989. The Gulf of Maine Council works to maintain and enhance environmental quality in the Gulf of Maine and to allow for sustainable resource use by current and future generations. Over the past two decades, this body has become a critical forum in which states and provinces, along with U.S. and Canadian federal agencies, industry, academia and non-profit organization partners can identify and address those issues that require transboundary regional solutions. The GOMC uses this integrated management approach to fund projects that support habitat restoration, protection of human health and ecosystem integrity, and encouragement of sustainable maritime activities. The Council has become a strong advocate for coastal management issues, by promoting sharing of lessons learned across state and international borders, as well as regional approaches to issues too complex for individual states to address alone.

Gulf of Maine Mapping Initiative

Human activities and impacts on the seafloor are growing rapidly in variety and intensity, as populations expand, technologies develop, and new economic activities emerge. In the Gulf of Maine, trawling, dredging, aquaculture, mining, fiber-optic and electric power cables, oil and gas pipelines, wind farms, and other activities can affect seabed habitats which support a diversity of animals and plants. Successful management of these activities—balancing ecological impacts and conflicting uses—requires comprehensive maps of seafloor characteristics. Throughout the Gulf of Maine, managers, scientists, and businesses are using new seafloor maps to improve decision-making. Fishermen, oil and gas companies, and other businesses also find such maps valuable. As of 2002, however, only 15 percent of the Gulf of Maine had been mapped in sufficient detail.

To enhance their mapping capacity, the Gulf of Maine Mapping Initiative, an international partnership of governmental and non-governmental organizations, including state coastal programs, produced a strategy to map the remaining 85 percent of the Gulf of Maine and provide the maps on the Internet. In 2004, coastal managers and other stakeholders from the region gathered to conduct a user needs assessment to determine priority areas to be mapped and are currently pursuing funds to complete the work. Applications of such mapping efforts include dredging and dredge spoil disposal, fisheries management, ocean zoning, marine protected areas, navigation safety, education on marine habitat, and offshore engineering.

Pennsylvania's Ocean Resource Policy

Over a five year period, the Pennsylvania Coastal Resources Management Program (CRMP) undertook an effort to define and improve its management regime for ocean resources, including programmatic and administrative changes related to resource impacts from invasive species. The resulting Ocean Resource Policy was incorporated into the CRMP in 2003. The policy established enforcement authority, residing in networked agencies engaged in preventing the introduction, spread, and transfer of aquatic nuisance species and facilitating their eradication. The policy change incorporates regulatory authority through the Noxious Weeds Law, Aquacultural Development Law, Fish and Boat Code, Clean Streams Law, and Dam Safety and Encroachments Act. In addition, the policy provides funding for research and outreach programs to limit the introduction and spread of aquatic nuisance species in the coastal zone and established a rapid response protocol for responding to unintentional invasive species introductions In response to the Ocean Resource Policy, the Pennsylvania Invasive Species Council, consisting of representatives from state agencies and various public interests, was established in 2004 and tasked with developing an invasive species management plan.

Florida BlueWays

The Florida Coastal Program and Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute have partnered in a pioneering project to develop innovative methods, tools, partnerships and processes to address ecological and sociological concerns about coastal and ocean systems. The Florida BlueWays project has focused on the Charlotte Harbor area with the goal of developing a regionally focused, data driven, place-based, approach to coastal management. To facilitate effective management of ocean resources, Florida developed a Coastal Resource Information System (CRIS) to make ecological and human-use data, such as sea grass beds and boating activities, available through an internet-based mapping tool. More information and access to the internet mapping tool can be found on the Florida BlueWays website.

Oregon's Territorial Sea Plan

Boats

Fishing boats in Port Orford, Oregon.

In the early 1990's, the Oregon State Legislature called for a plan to better manage marine resources within the state's three-mile territorial sea. The Territorial Sea Plan was created through a multi-year public process. This comprehensive plan focuses on integrating ocean management to best conserve ocean resources for current and future generations. The Plan sets up procedures and standards for decision makers to balance competing uses, and prioritizes the protection of renewable marine resources over the development of non-renewable ocean resources. The plan also supports development of ocean resources that is environmentally sound and economically beneficial to Oregonians and protects the health of the marine environment.

U.S. Virgin Islands Implement the Area's First Territorial Marine Park

The St. Croix East End Marine Park was established on January 15, 2003 and represents the first territorial marine park in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The park includes about 60 square miles on the eastern end of the island and is approximately 17 miles long. It was established to manage and protect the cultural and natural resources of the area. The park encourages multi-use and includes areas designated as recreation management, turtle protection, no take, and open areas.

The marine park advisory committee has been successful in building partnerships between local governments, non-governmental organizations, business representatives and local community members to create collaborative efforts in managing the park. The committee works to promote the protection and maintenance of biological diversity, enhance natural marine resources and encourage sustainable use, and promote socio-economic parity for individuals or businesses displaced by established Marine Protected Areas, among other initiatives.

A number of partnerships have been established to study, manage and oversee the park. For example, the territorial coral reef monitoring program is a partnership between the University of the Virgin Islands Center for Marine and Environmental Studies and the Commonwealth's Department of Planning and Natural Resources, Division of Fish and Wildlife. The partnership works to document long-term trends in benthic and fisheries resources for the U.S.V.I. The Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystem Monitoring Program is being implemented by NOAA and the National Park Service to develop a protocol to complete a baseline survey of marine resources within the park. The Spiny Lobster monitoring program represents a joint effort between the National Park Service, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and other government agencies to establish a monitoring program of the commercially important species within the park boundaries. In addition, the park leads education and outreach initiatives to engage community members and build overall awareness about the park's resources and the different management issues.

Ohio's Coastal Atlas

The Ohio Coastal Program, along with several partners, undertook an extensive effort to compile maps and other information about Ohio’s coastal resources to create an Ohio Coastal Atlas. The Atlas project improves management of Lake Erie's resources by providing government officials and other decision makers easy access to maps and other information regarding Lake Erie coastal issues such as boating access, flood hazards, ports and transportation, sand resources, and fishery spawning habitat.

 

 

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