July 25, 2010
Peter B. Lord: R.I. Environmentalists elated at National Ocean Policy
When Obama administration officials came to Providence last fall to solicit comments on creation of a new national ocean policy, more than 250 people jammed the Rhode Island Convention Center and 70 requested the opportunity to speak.
And in what was a sharp counterpoint to nearly every other national issue, virtually every speaker strongly supported creation of a national ocean policy.
Last week, their wishes came true.
President Obama signed an executive order creating the first National Ocean Policy in the nation’s history.
Two of its major recommendations — marine spatial planning and ecosystem-based management — were prominent themes for the people who came from as far as Maine and North Carolina to testify in Providence.
Rhode Island is considered a national leader in marine spatial planning with its new Special Area Management Plan to determine the best place to locate a giant wind farm in state and federal waters offshore. The state is spending nearly $10 million to study fisheries, geology, recreational uses, shipping and many other activities that go on along the coast. Read more…
