NROC News - June 2017 - Northeast Regional Ocean Council (NROC)

NROC News – monthly news and updates from NROC, its member agencies and partners.

NROC would like you to know –

NROC’s spring meeting will be held Thursday, June 29^th at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge in Newburyport, MA. See the NROC website for additional details. We hope to see you there!
As part of the NALCC/DOI Hurricane Sandy funded science delivery grant program, NROC hosted a 2-day workshop titled “Using Technology and Emerging Practices to Build Tidal Marsh Habitat Resiliency”. This workshop focused on the discussion of model applications to inform tidal marsh restorations in the Northeast. Invited speakers and participants discussed updates to relevant models and the context under which they should be applied; model applications for resilience planning; as well as structural and nonstructural management techniques to build tidal habitat resilience. This workshop was developed and implemented by a steering committee with representatives from all five New England coastal state agencies, federal agencies, regional NGOs and academic institutions. The workshop was attended by 45 coastal managers, scientists and engineers who have completed, or are actively involved in, coastal habitat resiliency planning and implementation. Click here for more information and meeting materials.
As part of the Regional Coastal Resilience grant, NROC hosted a workshop in Greenland, NH on May 31^st to convene state and federal managers to focus on regulatory and permitting issues associated with coastal nature-based infrastructure/living shoreline practices. 50 representatives from the five coastal NE states, federal agencies (USCG, USACE, EPA, NOAA, FWS), and The Nature Conservancy participated in this highly interactive workshop to begin identifying opportunities and approaches for advancing these practices consistent with regulatory standards throughout the region.

NROC Partners would like you to know –

U.S. Coast Guard Seeking a Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning Support Specialist: This GS10 temporary position with the First District Waterways Management Division is located in Boston, MA. The position is open to internal federal candidates, as well as all U.S. citizens, via separate job announcements. The announcement is open until Wednesday, June 14. Via Michele DesAutels (USCG)

EPA Funding Opportunity for Coastal Watershed Restoration in Southeast New England: EPA is releasing a request for applications (RFA) from eligible entities to administer a sub-award grant program to support goals of the Southeast New England Program for coastal watershed restoration. EPA expects the total estimated funding for this competitive opportunity will be up to $5 million for FY2017, and up to $12 million over three years pending federal appropriations. The Southeast New England Program (SNEP) serves as a collaborative framework for advancing ecosystem resiliency, protecting and restoring water quality, habitat, and ecosystem function, and developing and applying innovative policy, science, and technology to environmental management in southeast coastal New England. This RFA focuses primarily on reducing the impacts of nutrients, especially nitrogen, on aquatic life and coastal ecosystems, restoring physical processes that support critical habitat and ecosystem function, and measuring, monitoring, and reporting change in condition and the effectiveness of actions. Under this focus, EPA intends to fund a single entity to manage a competitive sub-award grant program to support projects that build capacity to implement strategic protection and restoration of coastal ecosystems and their watersheds, including associated water quality and aquatic habitats, in southeast New England. Click here for more information about EPA’s Southeast New England Program (SNEP), the RFA, and Frequently Asked Questions. Initial applications are due June 12, 2017. Via Regina Lyons (EPA)