NROC Meetings
On November 15th, NROC members and partners traveled to the University of Southern Maine in Portland for a productive Fall Meeting. Participants heard partner updates from Northeastern Regional Association of Coastal Ocean Observing Systems (NERACOOS), Northeast Sea Grant Consortium, Gulf of Maine Council, and the North Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative. NROC’s Ocean Planning Committee provided an update about advancing Northeast ocean management priorities in the context of the new administration. NROC’s Ocean and Coastal Ecosystem Health Committee highlighted recent activities of the Northeast Ocean Acidification Network, and the Integrated Sentinel Monitoring Network. The Coastal Hazards Resilience Committee solicited feedback from partners about potential workshop topics. Meetings participants also heard about recent activities associated with Living Shorelines projects, news from the Sand Management Committee, and other presentations. A copy of the November meeting Briefing Packet, presentations, and meeting summary have been posted to NROC’s online library under Council Meetings. The date and location of NROC’s Spring 2019 meeting will be posted here when available. Questions about NROC meetings can be directed to jleblanc@northeastoceancouncil.org.
Living Shorelines / Nature-based Coastal Infrastructure
NROC, The Nature Conservancy, state agencies in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut along with numerous other partners have been working together on the NOAA funded project, Increasing Resilience and Reducing Risk through Successful Application of Nature-based Coastal Infrastructure Practices in New England. Several project team members traveled to California in December to share highlights from this regional effort at the Restoring America’s Estuaries Conference. For more information about this project, view NROC’s new two-page issue and project overview available here. This project builds on the Living Shorelines State of the Practice Report published in 2017.
Northeast Ocean Planning Update
NROC hosted an ocean planning meeting on November 14th in Portland, Maine. The meeting resulted in the development and delivery of a letter from NROC to the federal interagency Ocean Policy Committee established under Executive Order 13840. NROC’s letter describes regional ocean management priorities and requests continued and increased cooperation from federal agencies to advance these priorities. In addition to the letter, the meeting resulted in the following outcomes:
In related news:
Questions about Ocean Planning can be directed to Nick Napoli at nnapoli@northeastoceancouncil.org.
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation / NOAA Announce Coastal Resilience Grant Awards
In November 2018, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and NOAA announced National Coastal Resilience Fund awards totaling $28.9 million. Projects focus on enhancing fish and wildlife habitat and protecting coastal communities. A summary of awards is available at: https://www.nfwf.org/coastalresilience/Documents/2018grantslate.pdf. Grants were awarded to the following projects in the Northeast Region: