NOAA TO HOST STAKEHOLDER FORUM IN SAN DIEGO, CALIF.

Retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator will host a meeting with stakeholders on Sept. 24, 2003, in San Diego, Calif., to review the agency’s new strategic plan and plans for an integrated ocean observing system. The meeting is open to all who have an interest in NOAA’s current and future programs and will be held in conjunction with the Oceans 2003 Conference at the Town and Country Hotel, 500 Hotel Circle North, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. PDT. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is an agency in the Department of Commerce.

“NOAA is committed to working with its constituents, to be more effective and responsive to the nation’s needs now and into the future,” said Lautenbacher. “I especially encourage users and constituents who may not have been able to participate in last year’s regional stakeholder meetings to attend this forum or the stakeholder meetings we are currently planning for 2004.”

The public may register online at http://www.osp.noaa.gov by selecting the link to “Upcoming External Stakeholder Meeting”. Outcomes from the San Diego meeting will be posted at this site and constituents may also post comments after the meeting online. Results from this and other constituent meetings will be used in NOAA’s future planning and priority-setting. If you have administrative questions about the San Diego meeting please call Nicky McClurkin in NOAA’s Strategic Planning Office at (301) 713-3318, extension 179.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation’s coastal and marine resources.

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