oceanpolicy.com

The Interior Department today announced the availability of a Final Restoration Plan 2 and Environmental Assessment: Habitat Projects on Federally Managed Lands; Sea Turtles; Marine Mammals; Birds; and Provide and Enhance Recreational Opportunities, which was prepared by federal natural resource trustee agencies for the Florida Trustee Implementation Group. The plan includes ~$62 million to help restore to help restore [...]

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management today announced their decision to withdraw a proposed rule to revise 21 existing regulations and add 13 new regulations governing exploration drilling in U.S. Arctic waters. In announcing the withdrawal, BSEE and BOEM cited President Biden’s Jan. 2021 Executive Order on “Protecting [...]

NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today announced that it is seeking comments by Monday, Aug. 30 on the agency’s initiation of a 5-year review for the endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle.  The review will assess the best scientific and commercial data available to determine whether the species should be delisted or reclassified.

NOAA’s National Ocean Service today announced that it is seeking comments by Tuesday, Aug. 24 on its draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (appendices accessible here) analyzing the potential impacts associated with NOAA’s recurring data collection projects to characterize submerged features in U.S. rivers and state and federal waters over the next six years. NOAA noted that the purpose of the proposed [...]

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service today announced its release of revised marine mammal stock assessment reports (SAR’s) for the Southern Beaufort Sea polar bear stock and the Chukchi/Bering Seas polar bear stock. The Marine Mammal Protection Act requires NMFS and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to prepare stock assessment reports for each stock of marine mammals occurring [...]

The National Climate Task Force led by Assistant to the President and National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy today held its fourth meeting. According to a White House summary, among other things Task Force members discussed the whole-of-government effort to address climate impacts on U.S. communities, the summer weather outlook, near-term readiness plans to address weather risks, and long-term [...]

NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today highlighted a recent virtual meeting between U.S. and Canadian officials regarding North Atlantic right whale conservation and management efforts.  The message noted a continued high rate of mortality and an ongoing Unusual Mortality Event, as well as the birth of at least 18 North Atlantic right whale calves so far in [...]

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has announced that it is seeking comments by Friday, Aug. 13 on the proposed sale of eight lease areas for commercial wind energy development in the New York Bight. BOEM specifically seeks comments on how to address the following issues through lease terms or stipulations: number, size, orientation, and location [...]

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management today announced a partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to support planning and reviewing renewable energy projects in federal waters.  BOEM said that the agreement will allow USACE to provide the agency with scientific and technical resources to evaluate offshore wind projects, with an initial focus on reviewing the Coastal [...]

The State Department today announced that the United States will partner with Palau on the Our Ocean Conference scheduled to take place early next year in Koror, Palau. The announcement called the conference “a pivotal moment to spur global ocean action,” and noted that “[i]t is critical to work together with partners around the globe to mobilize [...]