The National Ocean Council wants to hear from YOU –  Help Make a Difference for Healthy Communities and Healthy Coasts

We have a tremendous opportunity to protect and restore our oceans, Great Lakes and coastal ecosystems and the wildlife that depend on them. Last summer, President Obama signed an Executive Order establishing the nation’s first comprehensive National Ocean Policy to protect, maintain, and restore our ocean, coasts, and Great Lakes resources.

Yet, the work is not done. The National Ocean Council is now implementing the National Ocean Policy and has recently released a Draft Implementation Plan to help implement the nine priority objectives of the National Ocean Policy and Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning.  As the NOC states:

The draft Implementation Plan describes more than 50 actions the Federal Government will take to improve the health of the ocean, coasts, and Great Lakes, which support tens of millions of jobs, contribute trillions of dollars a year to the national economy, and are essential to public health and national security.

The draft Implementation Plan will ensure the Federal Government targets limited resources more effectively to deliver demonstrable results for the American people, including predictability for users, more efficient and coordinated decision-making, and improved sharing of data and technology. For each action, the Plan outlines key milestones, identifies responsible agencies, and indicates the expected timeframe for completion.

Now more than ever, the environment needs a strong public voice. The draft implementation plan provides all ocean users a great opportunity to have their voices heard and to ensure that implementation of the National Ocean Policy encompasses the views and ideas of fishermen, scientists, shipping companies and port managers, energy developers, conservationists and those that live and work in coastal communities.  Please add your voice by sending in a comment letter on the recently released Draft Implentation Plan.