West Coast Governors' Agreement on Ocean Health
NEWS! |
4/21/09 CA and OR Governors request salmon disaster declarations in anticipation of fishing closures. Read their letter to Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke. 4/20/09 WCGA State co-leads emphasize their support for the prohibition of krill harvesting. Read their letter to NOAA and the Office of Management and Budget. 4/13/09 Governors request $5 million for implementation of the Action Plan. View the letters to the President, House, and Senate. 3/19/09 WCGA Executive Committee is now identifying communities to receive Coastal Community Planning and Development training, per Action 1.2 of the Action Plan. See the course description and submit the form. Six communities, two each in WA, OR, and CA, will receive the training. 2/5/09 A workshop on Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB) was held on February 10-12 in Portland, OR to integrate specific actions recommended in the WCGA Action Plan that promote interstate coordination of HAB research and monitoring efforts on the West Coast. For more information see the WCGA meetings page. 9/19/08 Governors respond to NOAA Fisheries' release of $100 million in salmon disaster relief funding: 8/20/08 WCGA held a public workshop on Alternative Energy Development in the West Coast Ocean Environment on September 23rd in Portland, OR. For more information and the link to the archived webcast see the WCGA meetings page. 8/15/08 WCGA on the radio in Seattle. Jennifer Hennessey (WA) and Usha Varanasi (NOAA) appeared on Seattle Public Radio station KUOW as part of a round table to discuss the Action Plan. Listen to the recording of the show and read about the panel here. 7/29/08 The final Action Plan is now available (6.8 Mb / 2.2 Mb). View the state press release and federal press release announcing the plan. Watch the video of the release announcement. Listen to a podcast with California Assistant Secretary Brian Baird. 7/29/08 Governors request $5 million to support implementation of the Action Plan. View the letters to the House and Senate. 7/11/08 Governors urge the President to sign the Maritime Pollution Prevention Act of 2007. View the letter. 6/13/08 Governors oppose the federal Administration's proposed removal of $70 million from funding directed to salmon fishing communities. View the letter. |
Governor Gregoire, Governor Kulongoski, and Governor Schwarzenegger announced the release of their landmark Action Plan for the West Coast Governors’ Agreement on Ocean Health on Tuesday, July 29, 2008. |
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On September 18, 2006 the Governors of California, Oregon and Washington announced the West Coast Governors’ Agreement on Ocean Health. The Agreement launched a new, proactive regional collaboration to protect and manage the ocean and coastal resources along the entire West Coast, as called for in the recommendations of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy and the Pew Oceans Commission.
The Agreement seeks to advance the goals of:
  Clean coastal waters and beaches
  Healthy ocean and coastal habitats
  Effective ecosystem-based management
  Reduced impacts of offshore development
  Increased ocean awareness and literacy among the region’s citizens
  Expanded ocean and coastal scientific information, research, and monitoring
  Sustainable economic development of coastal communities
The Agreement also underscores the importance of managing activities that affect our oceans on an ecosystem basis. That is, managing human activities and their impact on ocean resources in a way that accounts for the relationships among all ecosystem components, including people and other species and the environment in which we all live.
![Olympic Coast, Washington Olympic Coast, Washington](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090509225021im_/http://westcoastoceans.gov/images/olympic_coast.jpg)
The Agreement directs staff of the three Governors to take certain immediate actions, and to develop a more extensive action plan within one year. The three states prepared a discussion paper to guide public input on actions for consideration during development of the action plan and sponsored a series of meetings to obtain public and stakeholder input on the Agreement. The public comment period on the draft Action Plan is now closed. Thank you for your input. The draft Action Plan was released on October 19, 2007 and public comments were accepted through December 1, 2007. The Governors released the final Action Plan in July 2008 (6.8 Mb / 2.2 Mb). View the press release or watch the video.
We invite you to sign up for the WCGA Update to receive email updates about meetings, plans, and actions under the Agreement (see box above left).