January 12, 2012 –The National Ocean Council has released a draft of the National Ocean Policy Implementation Plan. The Plan includes more than 50 specific actions the Federal government will take to address the challenges facing the ocean, our coasts, and the Great Lakes. For each action, the Plan outlines key milestones, identifies responsible agencies, and indicates the expected timeframe for completion. Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning is addressed as one of nine National Priority Objectives. Comments on the draft Plan will be accepted through February 27, 2012.
December 6, 2011 – The federal government has launched a new website to make data, maps, information, and tools easily accessible to those engaged in managing and planning for the future of the nation’s oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes. The launch of Ocean.Data.gov is one element of the National Ocean Council’s implementation of the National Ocean Policy. Ocean.Data.gov will provide streamlined access to data from many federal agencies by making it accessible from a single site. Interactive forums are also available for coastal, marine, and Great Lakes managers to share data and tools, discuss data standards, coordinate regional efforts, and incorporate tribal knowledge.
On June 12, 2009, President Obama signed a memorandum establishing an Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force, led by the White House Council on Environmental Quality. On July 19, 2010 the Task Force released a set of final recommendations that set a new direction for improved stewardship of the ocean, our coasts, and the Great Lakes. The recommendations provide: (1) our Nation’s first ever national ocean policy; (2) a strengthened governance structure to provide sustained, high-level, and coordinated attention to ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes issues; (3) a targeted implementation strategy that identifies and prioritizes nine categories for action that the United States should pursue; and (4) a framework for effective coastal and marine spatial planning. These documents are available on their website. Learn more...
The purpose of this website is to provide users with coastal and marine spatial planning information related to national level policies, NOAA’s role, and to help managers, policy makers, and all those who use and appreciate the ocean, to understand the concept of coastal and marine spatial planning and advance its implementation in real-world settings.
Coastal and marine spatial planning is a rapidly evolving and dynamic topic area in which strong partnerships are essential. Therefore, users are encouraged to bookmark this website, since content will be frequently updated.
The Ocean Policy Task Force defines coastal and marine spatial planning as a comprehensive, adaptive, integrated, ecosystem-based, and transparent spatial planning process, based on sound science, for analyzing current and anticipated uses of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes areas. Coastal and marine spatial planning identifies areas most suitable for various types or classes of activities in order to reduce conflicts among uses, reduce environmental impacts, facilitate compatible uses, and preserve critical ecosystem services to meet economic, environmental, security, and social objectives.