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.