Coastal Issues | Ocean Resources | Activities

What is OCRM Doing to Improve Management of Ocean and Great Lakes Resources?

Through its coastal management efforts, the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM) helps to improve management of our ocean and Great Lakes resources.

Coastal Zone Management Program

One of the main objectives within the Coastal Zone Management Act is to “to preserve, protect, develop, and where possible, to restore or enhance, the resources of the Nation's coastal zone for this and succeeding generations.” As such OCRM’s Coastal Zone Management Program, in partnership with state coastal management programs, provides technical assistance and funding to support many projects to improve ocean and Great Lakes resource management at the state, local, and regional level. Ocean and Great Lakes resource management projects can include: adopting statewide ocean management statutes; participating on inter-governmental planning bodies to develop statewide and regional comprehensive ocean or Great Lakes management plans; establishing systems of marine protected areas (MPAs) and implementing MPA management plans; and mapping ocean and Great Lakes resources.

OCRM staff participate is several regional governance bodies that manage ocean resources at a regional level including the Gulf of Maine Council and the Gulf of Mexico Alliance. In addition, OCRM has provided trainings on MPA management plan development and management effectiveness as well as led an effort to develop a regional network of MPA managers in the Pacific Islands. This network, the Pacific Islands MPA Community, seeks to facilitate the sharing of information, expertise, and experience to build capacity throughout the region to support the effective development and implementation of MPAs.

Through the Coastal Zone Enhancement Program’s five-year assessments and strategies, states and territories have incentives to enhance their coastal management programs in a wide array of coastal issues of national significance, including ocean and Great Lakes resource management. The Coastal Zone Enhancement Program provides state programs with an opportunity to develop and enhance their regulatory, planning, and intra-governmental coordination mechanisms for ocean and Great Lakes resources.

Marine Protected Areas Center

Photo from MPA meeting

MPA Management Planning

The National Marine Protected Areas Center facilitates the effective use of science, technology, training, and information in the planning, management, and evaluation of the nation’s system of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Over the past two decades, MPAs have become a popular conservation and management tool to protect the nation’s most important natural and cultural marine resources and habitats. The Center is developing a national framework for a system of MPAs, works with partners to improve MPA stewardship and effectiveness, and facilitates national and regional coordination. The National MPA Center also works with the Department of the Interior and other agencies and stakeholders to develop a plan for an effective, integrated system of MPAs.

Coral Reef Conservation Program

OCRM is a key partner in NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program and serves as NOAA’s main liaison to the state and territory coral reef initiatives of the seven states and territories on the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force: American Samoa, Florida, Guam, Hawaii, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. All seven jurisdictions have developed three-year local action strategies to address specific threats to coral reefs.  The NOAA Coral Program provides technical assistance and funding to develop and implement these strategies. The states and territories have used grant funding to support a variety of ocean resource management projects, including establishing new MPAs.

National Estuarine Research Reserve System

The National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) is a network of 27 estuarine reserves that represent different biogeographic regions across the United States. The NERRS network protects more than 1.3 million acres of coastal and estuarine habitat in 21 coastal states for long-term research, water-quality monitoring, education, and coastal stewardship. The Reserves support habitat research and water quality monitoring that can provide important baseline information for establishing resource management plans or protected areas. Most Reserves also offer Coastal Training Programs to provide coastal decision makers with effective, science-based tools for coastal management.

Cooperative Institute for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technology

The Cooperative Institute for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technology (CICEET) was established in 1997 as a partnership between the University of New Hampshire and the National Estuarine Reserve System. CICEET serves as a national center for the development and innovative application of environmental technologies and methods for monitoring, managing, and preventing coastal contamination and degradation. CICEET supports projects to identify new technologies and tools that may improve coastal monitoring and assessment capabilities. Resource assessment and monitoring is essential for understanding the distribution and health of ocean and Great Lakes.

 

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