Many Coasts, One Policy

The White House is pushing for a comprehensive approach to regulation of all the coastlines of the US including the Northern Coast also known as the shores of the Great Lakes. In an effort to ensure better stewardship for the Great Lakes and our Ocean coastal waters the President set up a task force headed up by the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

President Obama would like to streamline the many state and federal agencies (often with conflicting interests) with regulation power for our waters. The new regulators should keep the health of the marine ecosystem central to decision making. The Task Force has just published an interim report that includes conclusions drawn from public meetings held around the nation.  They found several themes emerge over-and-over again during these meetings and include them in the report. The public and stakeholders would like to see us adopt ecosystem based management as a guiding principle – yet, allow for regional differences. Adaptive management and science based decision making were also priorities, as is investing in ecosystem-based science and research. The participants at the meetings agreed that there needed to be better coordination between federal, state and local agencies and efforts. They also urged improved public education and increased funding for programs.

The Task Force is now developing a framework for coastal and marine planning and will deliver it to the President in early December with a final set of recommendations.

This is also interesting in light of the development of a Great Waters Coalition. The White House effort seems to back up what Bill Leary, former White House CEQ, has been telling those participating in the Great Waters deliberations – that the White House wants us to band together to be treated as one. Just something to think about…

• Posted by Tiffany Danitz Pache on September 21st, 2009
• Tags: Bill Leary, Federal Regulation and Coastal Waters, Great Waters, President Obama, White House Council on Environmental Quality
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