Editor

Coinciding with the “Oceans and Coastal Zones” thematic day at COP27, the U.S. State Department highlighted a series of ocean-climate actions the United States is leading, including the Green Shipping Challenge, joining the “Ocean Conservation Pledge” to conserve or protect at least 30% of ocean waters under national jurisdiction by 2030 and recruiting other countries to do the same, NOAA […]

NOAA today announced that it is seeking nominations by Tuesday, Jan. 17 from individuals interested in serving on the newly-established Marine and Coastal Area-based Management Advisory Committee. The Committee will include up to 20 non-federal voting members and advise the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere on science-based approaches to area-based protection, conservation, restoration, and management

NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today announced its decision that an Endangered Species Act listing of the shortfin mako shark as threatened or endangered is not warranted. The decision was made in response to a petition filed by Defenders of Wildlife.  The shortfin mako shark is found in all temperate and tropical ocean waters, including the western Atlantic, Gulf

The Interior Department today announced the award of ~$91 million for 55 grants to support landscape-scale conservation projects in 42 states, 3 territories, and 14 tribal nations.  The grants were issued as part of the “America the Beautiful Challenge” and support projects that conserve, restore, and connect habitats for wildlife while improving community resilience and access to nature. Interior

NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research today announced that comments are being sought by Friday, Jan. 27 on the draft Fifth National Climate Assessment. The Global Change Research Act of 1990 requires the U.S. Global Change Research Program to conduct a quadrennial National Climate Assessment to evaluate scientific findings and uncertainties related to global change, analyze the

During a presentation today at a meeting of the Northeast Regional Ocean Council, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Asst. Director for Oceans and Environment and Ocean Policy Committee Executive Director Deerin Babb-Brott discussed the administration’s support for regional ocean partnerships and how the Ocean Policy Committee will leverage their activities as a national model in terms

NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today announced the membership of the new American Fisheries Advisory Committee. The Committee, which will hold its inaugural meeting in Seattle, WA the week of December 12, was established by law in May and is tasked with evaluating and making recommendations for an annual competition that provides grants or cooperative agreements for fisheries research

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy today announced the release of a report on “Opportunities to Accelerate Nature Based Solutions: A Roadmap for Climate Progress, Thriving Nature, Equity, and Prosperity,” calling it “high time for nature-based solutions to be used and scaled as critical tools in the fight against climate change, nature loss and inequity”

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management today finalized two areas in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Galveston, TX (508,265 acres) and Lake Charles, LA (174,275 acres) for wind energy leasing.  The areas have the potential to power 2.84 million homes. BOEM Director Amanda Lefton called the announcement “exciting progress toward having the first offshore wind

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy today announced that comments are being sought by Friday, March 31 on the framing, development, and eventual use of the first National Nature Assessment. The U.S. Global Change Research Program committed to conducting the Assessment in April, and President Biden directed that the assessment be conducted in his April 22, 2022 Executive