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NOAA today announced that $7.5 million will be allocated for nine projects in FY 2023 that utilize private sector operated uncrewed marine systems to collect data for NOAA missions. NOAA Uncrewed Systems Operations Center Director Capt. William Mowitt called uncrewed systems “an increasingly important tool to support NOAA’s mission of understanding and predicting changes in climate, […]

The White House Office of Management and Budget today released its FY2024 budget proposal. Among other things, the budget includes the following: $26 million to develop the Conservation and Stewardship Atlas to “inform conservation decisions” $87 million to support national marine sanctuaries and marine protected areas “as part of the Administration’s America the Beautiful Initiative,” with funding

During the 2023 Our Ocean Conference in Panama on Mar. 2-3, the United States made 77 commitments valued at ~$6 billion in support of ocean health.  Commitments included the following: 30 announcements (~$5 billion) related to climate change, including efforts to promote green shipping renewable energy, coastal community health, resilience, and vitality, and climate observation, modeling, and

The Intergovernmental Conference on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) today reached agreement on text for an internationally binding legal instrument that, among other things, would establish a framework and governance structure for designating marine protected areas in international waters. A spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the

The Interior Dept. today announced the release of the 2023 Request for Proposals for the America the Beautiful Challenge, with up to $116 million in grants are expected to be awarded this year.  Grant pre-proposals are due by Thursday, Apr. 20, and full proposals (by invitation only) are due by Thursday, July 20.  Awards are expected to be announced in

The Environmental Protection Agency today announced $12.5 million in funding for environmental justice grants in the Gulf of Mexico, with plans to award ~5 cooperative agreements of up to $2.5 million each and at least one grant per Gulf of Mexico state.  The request for funding ends Monday, May 8. EPA Region 4 (MS, AL, FL, GA, SC,

The White House recently announced President Biden’s intent to nominate Mike Sfraga to be Ambassador at Large for Arctic Affairs.  Sfraga was subsequently formally nominated. Currently chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, Sfraga’s background includes previous positions with the Polar Institute, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and University of Alaska. The State Department announced the establishment of this position in Aug. 2022.

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management today announced its decision to public a Proposed Notice of Sale for a Gulf of Mexico oil and natural gas lease sale to be held in Sept. 2023.  Lease Sale 261 would offer ~13,620 blocks spanning 73.4 million acres of the Western, Central, and Eastern Gulf of Mexico Planning Areas.

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management today announced that it is seeking comments by Monday, Apr. 17 on its proposal to require lessees and operators to submit an archaeological report with any oil and gas exploration or development plan submitted to BOEM for approval of activities proposed in federal waters.  Under current practice, such reports are

NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) has announced the issuance of a regulation effective Mar. 16, 2023 that removes a section from existing regulations pertaining to the resolution of conflicting federal agency regulations by the ONMS Director. The revision was made in response to concerns from federal agencies that the existing regulations providing that a conflict between