National Ocean Policy

On July 19, 2010, President Obama signed an Executive Order (E.O. 13547) establishing a national policy for the Stewardship of the Ocean, Coasts and Great Lakes. The Executive Order strengthens ocean governance and coordination, establishes guiding principles for ocean management, and adopts a flexible framework for effective coastal and marine spatial planning to address conservation, economic activity, user conflict and sustainable use of the offshore areas. The National Ocean Policy outlines nine priority objectives including Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning (CMSP). It also creates the National Ocean Council, a two-tiered institutional framework to implement the National Ocean Policy. 

CMSP is an ecosystem-based spatial planning process for analyzing current and anticipated ocean uses, and identifying areas most suitable for various activities. CMS plans will be prepared and implemented using a regional approach to allow for variability of economic, environmental and social aspects among different areas of the US. CMSP at the regional level will be stakeholder driven--engaging local, state, regional and tribal stakeholders. The planning scale for the nine proposed regions is the LargeMarine Ecosystems (LMEs). 

BOEM is a federal co-lead in the Mid-Atlantic region and designated federal representative in Alaska, Gulf of Mexico, Northeast and the West Coast.