NROC News - March 2014 - Northeast Regional Ocean Council (NROC)

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

NROC would like you to know –

Due to a weather postponement, the Winter NROC Meeting originally scheduled for February 13^th is being held Friday, March 14^th in Portsmouth, NH. Please note the location has also changed and the meeting is now being held at the Portsmouth Public Library. An agenda and briefing packet will be distributed prior to the meeting.
There is still time to submit your proposal! As a reminder, NROC is seeking proposals for contractor assistance to support a regional marsh vulnerability and modeling assessment. The selected contractor will conduct research into relevant existing projects and methodologies used for marsh migration, as well as assisting in engaging the modeling and policy making community in developing specific options and recommendations to help achieve a regional outlook for marsh migration in the New England region. The deadline for proposals has been extended to March 14, 2014. See the Request for Proposals for details.
NROC and the NE Regional Planning Body are seeking proposals for contractor assistance to develop spatial data products and other information characterizing marine mammals, sea turtles, bird, and fish distribution and abundance for use in regional ocean planning. The deadline for proposals is March 27, 2014. See the Request for Proposals for details.

NROC Partners would like you to know –

MA CZM Seeks Coastal Resiliency Specialist: The Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM) is accepting applications for a Coastal Resiliency Specialist to join the StormSmart Coasts team in Boston. CZM seeks a talented professional with planning, outreach, and data analysis expertise to provide technical support for CZM efforts to develop and implement strategies that protect coastal resources and enable communities to better address erosion, flooding, and sea level rise. This full-time position serves on a multi-disciplinary team and will assist in all stages of coastal shoreline and floodplain management related data development, planning, and outreach. Applications are due by March 4. Via Prassede Vella (MA CZM)
Survey – Seeking Information about Monitoring Programs in the Northeast: NROC and NERACOOS are coordinating a two-year, regional effort to identify sentinel sites and monitoring parameters which can be used to follow trends and measure changes in marine and estuarine ecosystems resulting from climate change and other stressors. They need your help completing the first step, which is to develop a region-wide compendium of existing long term monitoring programs. Click here to learn more about this effort, what information is needed, and to take a short survey to provide information on programs or efforts of which you are aware. Of particular interest are citizen science and nonprofit-driven monitoring programs. Via Jackie Ball (NERACOOS)
MA Ocean Management Plan Amendment Public Workshops: In December 2009, the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) issued the Commonwealth’s first-ever Massachusetts Ocean Management Plan. The plan provides protection for critical marine habitat and natural resources in the Commonwealth’s waters and sets standards for the development of offshore renewable energy, as well as for other infrastructure, to foster sustainable ocean uses. The Oceans Act requires the review and update of the plan at least once every five years, and in January 2013, EEA initiated this review. As part of the process, CZM will hold two public workshops in March focused on the data, products, and recommendations of six technical work groups. The workshops will be held in Boston – Monday, March 10 from 3:30-6:00 p.m. at Third Sector New England, 89 South Street, Boston, MA 02111 Register for Boston; and Falmouth – Tuesday, March 11 from 3:30-6:00 p.m. at Falmouth Public Library, Hermann Room, 300 Main Street, Falmouth, MA 02540 Register for Falmouth. All are welcome to participate. For more information, go to EEA’s Massachusetts Ocean Management Plan website. Via Prassede Vella (MA CZM)
Wind-Wildlife Impacts Literature Database now available: The Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) Wind-Wildlife Impacts Literature Database (WILD) (https://wild.nrel.gov/) is a searchable bibliographic database that houses records of documents that focus on the impacts to wildlife resulting from the development of wind power technologies. The scope of wind power topics covered in the database includes: small wind turbines, offshore wind, electrical infrastructure, marine energy, and telecommunication towers. The document types included in the collection consist of: journal articles, environmental impact studies, conference papers, books, and theses and dissertations, and has access to some full-text articles when available. The collection is also international in scope, and has a user friendly browsing function to search by region. The intent of this collection is to serve the research needs of a variety of user types. This ideal guides the collection development policy, which is to add all subject relevant materials, without bias or preference toward any particular viewpoint. For additional information about WILD, please contact the NREL Library at nwtc.library@nrel.gov. Via Jennifer Abbott (NREL)