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NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today announced that it is extending the comment period on the agency’s initiation of a 5-year review for the endangered Cook Inlet beluga whale through Friday, June 25. Originally due to expire on April 26, NMFS said it is extending the comment period following a request seeking an extension in order to provide [...]

The White House Council on Environmental Quality, Interior Department, U.S. Agriculture Department, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration today held a meeting with representatives of outdoor recreational businesses and other organizations to discuss the administration’s efforts to conserve 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030. Administration officials who participated in the meeting said that a report being developed for [...]

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy today announced the appointment of former NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco to serve as OSTP Deputy Director of Climate & Environment, a new role that OSTP said “will bring science-based solutions to tackle climate change & help our economy Build Back Better.” In an interview with The Washington Post following [...]

NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research today announced that the National Sea Grant Advisory Board will hold a public virtual meeting on Apr. 13-15. In addition to a 15-minute public comment session, the agenda includes discussion and votes on findings and recommendations from the Information Services and Publication Review Subcommittee, Committee membership for Guam Sea Grant Institutional [...]

NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today announced that the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will hold a public virtual meeting on Apr. 6-8.  Agenda items include a presentation and discussion on President Biden’s Jan. 2021 Executive Order on “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad” and an East Coast climate change scenario planning initiative.

The National Climate Task Force led by Assistant to the President and National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy held its second meeting today.  The Task Force was created by the Jan. 2021 Executive Order on “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad.” According to a White House summary, Task Force members discussed plans for integrating climate change action [...]

NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today announced its decision to keep the Lake Erie Quadrangle National Marine Sanctuary nomination in the inventory for an additional five years.  The proposed sanctuary would span ~759 of Pennsylvania’s Lake Erie waters up to the low water mark. In making its decision, among other things NOAA determined that significant threats to the area remain, that it [...]

The U.S. Senate on Monday voted 51-40 to confirm Debra Haaland as Secretary of the Interior.  Haaland most recently served as U.S. Representative for New Mexico’s 1st congressional district, with previous experience including service as Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico, tribal administrator at San Felipe Pueblo, and small business owner. Upon confirmation, Haaland said that “[t]ogether, we will work to [...]

In a letter sent to President Biden today, 64 Republican members of the U.S. House (51) and Senate (13) expressed concern and called for more clarity on the administration’s efforts to conserve at least 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030 (30×30), an “equitable and meaningful voice in the process” for state and local governments and key stakeholders, [...]

The Northeast Regional Ocean Council (NROC) today announced that it will hold a virtual meeting on Thursday, Apr. 8.  Registration is accessible here, and further meeting information including an agenda and briefing materials will be posted here. NROC is a regional ocean partnership formed in 2005 by the Governors of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut to provide [...]