Editor

The Northeast Regional Ocean Council, Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean, and Coastal States Stewardship Foundation today announced a new collaboration that they will administer and direct that will focus on research and monitoring for wildlife and offshore wind energy in areas along the U.S. East Coast where offshore wind energy is being developed or proposed. The Regional Wildlife

NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today announced its release of 80 final 2020 marine mammal stock assessment reports that were updated and finalized and a revised final 2019 North Atlantic right whale stock assessment report that includes a typographical correction. The Marine Mammal Protection Act requires NMFS and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to prepare stock

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Safety & Environmental Enforcement today announced that it is seeking comments by Tuesday, Sept. 7 on its intent to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement to inform future decisions on applications for the decommissioning of oil and gas pipelines, platforms, and other facilities in federal waters off Southern California.  The

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management today announced that it will co-host virtual workshops with the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development on Wednesday, Aug. 4 and Wednesday, Aug. 11 to share data from the Oregon Offshore Wind Mapping Tool and other data collected during a statewide data gathering effort that started in Fall 2020.  BOEM

NOAA today announced that the Hydrographic Services Review Panel will hold a virtual public meeting on Sept. 1-2. Agenda items include offshore wind energy and data sharing for ocean mapping and technology in waters 40 meters and shallower, an update on plans to address and implement the Alaska Coastal Mapping Strategy and National Strategy for Mapping, Exploring, and

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced that it is seeking comments by Thursday, Aug. 19 on a revised Regulatory Flexibility Analysis and Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis associated with its proposal to revoke the Jan. 7 final rule defining the scope of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to clarify that the law’s prohibitions on pursuing, hunting, taking, capturing,

NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today announced NOAA’s recommendation of ~$8.3 million in funding for the continuation of 23 coastal and marine habitat restoration projects in 13 states and territories.  The recommendations include funding for projects in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska (6), Pacific Southwest-California and Hawaii (4), Northeast (6), and Southeast and Caribbean (7).

As part of its efforts to carry out a Port Access Route Study for the Northern New York Bight, the Coast Guard today announced that it is seeking comments by Monday, Aug. 30 on the content and development of a draft report evaluating the adequacy of existing vessel routing measures and whether additional routing measures are needed for port

The Interior Department’s Fish & Wildlife Service today announced that it is seeking comments by Monday, Sept. 13 on its proposal to designate ~649,066 acres of critical habitat for the threatened rufa red knot in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts.  In conjunction with the comment period, USFWS