Oceans & Great Lakes Proclamation, Policy, Plans & Meetings

Jun 2: President Obama issued a Presidential Proclamation on National Oceans Month. Within the proclamation the President said, "Last year, I signed an Executive Order directing my Administration to implement our Nation's first comprehensive National Policy for the Stewardship of the Ocean, Our Coasts, and the Great Lakes [See WIMS 7/20/10]. This policy makes more effective use of Federal resources by addressing the most critical issues facing our oceans. It establishes a new approach to bringing together Federal, State, local, and tribal governments and all of the ocean's users -- from recreational and commercial fishermen, boaters, and industry, to environmental groups, scientists, and the public -- to better plan for, manage, and sustain the myriad human uses that healthy oceans, coasts, and the Great Lakes support. . .  I call upon Americans to take action to protect, conserve, and restore our oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes."

 

    In conjunction with the Proclamation, the Obama Administration took another step to implement the nation's first comprehensive ocean policy by launching a series of events aimed at gathering public input from the communities and economies that depend on and care for our ocean, coasts, and Great Lakes. Feedback and comments gathered through this public engagement will assist the National Ocean Council as it implements a new National Policy for the Stewardship of the Ocean, Our coasts, and the Great Lakes. 

    Under the Executive Order issued by President Obama last July that established the National Ocean Policy, the National Ocean Council is charged with implementing that policy. The National Ocean Council will host a series of public listening sessions across the country starting next week. Listening sessions will be held throughout the month of June in Washington, DC; Barrow, AK; Anchorage, AK; Chicago, IL; Jacksonville, FL; Honolulu, HI; Exeter, NH; Galveston, TX; Ocean Shores, WA; San Francisco Bay Area, CA; West Long Branch, NJ; and Portland, OR.   

    According to a release, these listening sessions mark the latest milestone in implementing a robust ocean policy that will address the most critical issues facing the oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes and ensure that Federal resources in these domains are used wisely. The National Ocean Council's efforts will bring together State, local, and tribal governments and all of the ocean's users -- including recreational and commercial fishermen, boaters, industry, environmental groups, scientists, and the public -- to better plan for, manage, harmonize, and sustain the uses that healthy oceans, coasts, and the Great Lakes support.

    In addition, the National Ocean Council has launched a month-long online public review period for nine draft strategic action plan outlines. These strategic action plans will propose attainable goals and specific, measureable actions the Federal government can take to address key challenges facing our ocean, coasts, and Great Lakes. The National Ocean Council will host The National Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning (CMSP) Workshop in Washington, DC, on June 21-23. The first day of the Workshop will be a dedicated public and stakeholder session.

    The nine draft outlines have been released for public comment, including: (1) incorporating ecosystem-based management; (2) implementing coastal and marine spatial planning; (3) informing decisions and improving understanding to respond to changes and challenges facing our resources; (4) improving coordination and support for Federal, state, tribal, local and regional management of our resources; (5) addressing changing conditions in the Arctic; (6) enhancing water quality; (7) implementing a regional ecosystem restoration and protection strategy; (8) strengthening and integrating ocean, coastal and great lakes observations, mapping and infrastructure; and, (9) strengthening the resiliency of coastal communities and their abilities to adapt to climate change impacts. The outlines were drafted with input from a wide range of stakeholders.

    Access the Presidential Proclamation (click here). Access a release on the meetings and plan outlines (click here). Access the National Oceans & Great Lakes Policy website for background, copies of the strategic action plan outlines and to provide comments (click here). Access details on the public meetings (click here). Access further information on the Chicago meeting and webinar (click here); and (click here). 

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GLOS RFQ On Acoustic Telemetry Observing System

Jun 3: The Great Lakes Observing System is issuing a Request for Quotes (RFQ) for services to develop an interactive, web-based map search tool for the Great Lakes Acoustic Telemetry Observing System (GLATOS) database of fish tags, acoustic receivers, and related project information. Please see the attached RFQ including contact information for questions. The deadline for quotes is Friday, June 24, 2011.

 

    Access the RFQ posted on the GLOS website (click here).

 

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Great Lakes Cities To Hold Annual Conference

Jun 1: Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative will hold their Annual Meeting and Conference in Niagara Falls, Ontario, June 15-17, 2011. Keynote Speakers include: Consul General Kevin Johnson, U.S. Consulate; Minister John Wilkinson, Ontario Ministry of the Environment; Karel Mayrand, Québec Director General of the David Suzuki Foundation; and Chair Lana Pollack, U.S. Chair of the International Joint Commission. Panel Sessions will include: Green CiTTS – High Returns on Blue Investments; Spills on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence – are we ready?; Exchange with Mayors; Lessons for Cities on Shale Gas and Other Energy Exploration; and Cities In Action.

 

    Access complete conference information (click here). Access the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative website for more information (click here).

Great Lakes Governors Release Latest Newsletter

Jun 1: The Council of Great Lakes Governors (CGLG) has released its June 2011 edition of THE COMPASS newsletter. Highlights in the issue include: A Message from Council Co-Chair Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels; Regional Body and Compact Council to Hold Meetings on June 9; Naftzger Authors Chapter in New Book; State Trade Directors Strategize Regional Economic Development; Council participates in Taiwan Delegation; Council to Present at 54th IAGLR Conference; and U.S. Ambassador Visits with Great Lakes of North America.

 

    Access the CGLG newsletter (click here). Access the CGLG website for more information (click here).

Latest Asian Carp Monitoring & Rapid Response Plan

May 23: The Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (ACRCC) released its 2011 Asian Carp Monitoring and Rapid Response Plan (MRRP), outlining what they said was an aggressive set of actions to track and remove Asian carp in the Upper Illinois River and the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS) to prevent this invasive species from establishing in the Great Lakes. 

    In 2010, Federal and state partners dedicating more than 16,000 hours to surveying and removing Asian carp in more than 200 miles of Illinois waterway. On-the-ground actions ranged from scientific analysis of water samples for Asian carp DNA to intensive use of traditional fishing methods such as electro-fishing and netting. These actions were part of the Asian Carp Control Strategy Framework first released by the Obama Administration in May 2010. The 2011 MRRP summarizes the monitoring results from 2010, continues and intensifies the monitoring and sampling actions and outlines a strategy for rapid response in the event an Asian carp is found above the barrier system in the CAWS.

    John Goss, Asian Carp Director for the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) said, "This plan represents an intensive and collaborative response to Asian carp in Illinois waters and is a key part of the Obama Administration's comprehensive and long term strategy to protect our Great Lakes from Asian carp. By unifying Federal and state action, conducting vigilant monitoring, and developing and using cutting edge technologies, we are ensuring the most coordinated and effective response at all levels to safeguard the health of the Great Lakes and Great Lakes communities."

    The 2011 MRRP represents an estimated $7 million Federal investment and is designed with the flexibility to respond to new threats. Project plans can be categorized geographically as occurring either upstream or downstream of the electric dispersal barrier and grouped into the following five categories: Monitoring; Barrier Effectiveness Evaluations; Removal Projects; Technology Effectiveness Evaluations and Development Projects; and Alternative Pathway Surveillance.

    Access a release with further details (click here). Access the complete 111-page 2011 Monitoring and Rapid Response Plan (click here). Access the ACRCC website for more information (click here). [*GLakes]

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Great Lakes Regional Body & Compact Council To Meet

May 11: The Council of Great Lakes Governors (CGLG), which serves as Secretariat to the Regional Body and the Compact Council announced that the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Water Resources Regional Body (Regional Body) will meet on June 9, 2011, at 2:00 PM EDT. The conference call meeting will be open to the public and will include an opportunity for public comments. An agenda, materials to be discussed and call-in information for those wishing to participate are available on the website below. 

    Additionally, the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Council (Compact Council) will meet the same day at 2:45 PM EDT. The conference call meeting will be open to the public and will include an opportunity for public comments. An agenda, materials to be discussed and call-in information for those wishing to participate are available on the website below.

    Access the announcement from CGLG (click here). Access the agenda and information for the Regional Body (click here). Access the agenda and information for the Compact Council (click here). Access the CGLG website for more information Access (click here).

Proceedings From Asian Carp Marketing Summit

May 11: An announcement from the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) indicates that even though Asian Carp is considered a nuisance by many in the Great Lakes and Mississippi regions, the fish have been a popular food in China for thousands of years. Because of this fact, experts who took part in IISG Asian Carp Marketing Summit (ACMS) have proposed that the invasive species be exported in high numbers back home to Asian markets. The ACMS was held so various stakeholder groups could discuss opportunities and impediments to commercial marketing of Asian carp as a way to slow the spread of these fish. In addition to exporting, participating experts agreed that another solution could be marketing high-value Asian carp fillets to restaurants and retailers. They also recommended converting Asian carp by-products into pet food or treats to eliminate waste and maximize profit opportunities. Attending the meeting were commercial fishers, processors, natural resource managers, marketers, researchers, conservation organizations, aquaculturists, distributors, and restaurateurs from eight different states.

 

    Access the IISG announcement (click here). Access a report that summarizes the background of the issue and lists the multiple solutions proposed by ACMS attendees (click here).