The National Science Foundation today announced that its Advisory Committee for Polar Programs will hold a virtual public meeting on Thursday, Mar. 24. Agenda items include upcoming field seasons and COVID-19, updates on Antarctic research vessels and NSF Geoscience Directorate activities, polar partnerships, the South Pole Station, and Russian science collaborations. The Committee provides advice and recommendations to [...]
Archive | February, 2022
State Dept. to Hold Meetings Ahead of IMO Gatherings
The State Dept. today announced that it will hold a virtual public meeting on Tuesday, Mar. 15 in preparation for the 109th session of the International Maritime Organization’s Legal Committee, to be held remotely Mar. 21-25. Agenda items include measures to assess the need to amend liability limits and technical cooperation activities related to maritime legislation, among other things. The [...]
State Dept. to Hold Public Meeting Ahead of ISA Council Gathering
The State Dept. today announced that it will hold a virtual public meeting on Wednesday, Mar. 16 in preparation for the 27th session of the International Seabed Authority Council, to be held in Kingston, Jamaica from Mar. 21 – Apr. 1. The State Dept. will provide an overview of the upcoming session and hear viewpoints from U.S. stakeholders, with particular interest [...]
NE Fishery Mgmt. Council Meeting to Include Offshore Energy Update
NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today announced that the New England Fishery Management Council will hold a virtual joint meeting of its Habitat Committee on Thursday, Mar. 17 (RSVP here). Agenda items include updates on offshore energy, cable, and aquaculture projects.
NOAA Keeps Proposed Atlantic, Alaska Sanctuaries in Inventory
NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries today announced its final determination to keep the proposed Hudson Canyon National Marine Sanctuary nomination in the sanctuary inventory beyond its February 2022 expiration date. Given NOAA’s finding that the nomination continues to meet the 11 sanctuary nomination process criteria, the nomination will remain in the inventory through Feb. 2027. ONMS earlier this month also announced [...]
DOI Announces U.S. Atlantic Offshore Wind Lease Sale Results
The U.S. Interior Department today announced the results of a federal offshore wind energy lease sale covering ~500,000 acres in the New York Bight, which attracted $4.37B in winning bids. DOI called the auction “a major milestone towards achieving the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of reaching 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030.” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland [...]
NOAA Issues FONSI on Alabama Restoration Project
NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today announced the release of the Final Weeks Bay Land Acquisition (Lloyd Tract) Project: Supplemental Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact. Under the project, ~60 acres of land, wetlands, and waterways in the Weeks Bay watershed farmland will be restored and become part of the Weeks Bay National [...]
Comments Sought on Draft Supplemental EA for GOM Restoration Project
NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today announced that it is seeking comments by Monday, Mar. 28 on the Draft Swift Tract Living Shoreline Supplemental Environmental Assessment, which evaluates the removal of rocks from the bay bottom near the Swift Tract action area in Alabama and the placement of the removed rocks on a nearby breakwater.
State Dept. Leads U.S. Stakeholder Session on High Seas Treaty Negotiations
In advance of UN negotiations taking place now in New York for an agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond jurisdiction, the State Dept. today held a virtual meeting to provide an overview of the negotiating session and hear viewpoints from U.S. stakeholders. Deputy Asst. Sec. for Oceans, Fisheries, and Polar Affairs Maxine Burkett [...]
POTUS Highlights Infrastructure and Restoration in Visit to Great Lakes
President Biden today traveled to Lorain, OH and provided remarks on the bipartisan infrastructure law and Great Lakes restoration. Biden highlighted the need for investments in the Great Lakes and the benefits the provide including drinking water, jobs, boating and fishing opportunities, and being a vessel for the shipment of goods to the country and the world, [...]
