The National Ocean Council is hosting a public listening session in Ocean Shores on Monday June 27th. At one of a dozen Regional Listening Sessions, experts from the National Ocean Council’s 27 Federal agencies and offices will be collecting the public’s input in developing strategic action plans to achieve the priority objectives of the National Ocean Policy (NOP).
Rep. Norm Dicks will be in attendance, as will National Ocean Council members Washington State Senator Kevin Ranker and Makah Tribal Chairman Micah McCarty.
The listening session will be held at the Quinault Beach Resort and Casino on State Route 115 from 9 AM to 5 PM.
“The health of Puget Sound is directly linked to the health of the Pacific Ocean,” said Rein Attemann, People For Puget Sound field director. “Increased ocean acidification puts Puget Sound’s shellfish industry at great risk. Oceans also support endangered Chinook salmon, the primary food source for Puget Sound’s endangered resident orca whales.”
According to Bill Dewey of Taylor Shellfish, shellfish growers contributed $107 million a year to Washington’s economy and provided thousands of family-wage jobs in coastal communities in 2010.
“Our economy and our quality of life are intertwined with the health of our ocean and coast,” said Jody Kennedy, Washington Policy Manager for the Surfrider Foundation.
“Through the establishment of a National Ocean Policy, the Obama Administration has taken a major step in ensuring the continued health of oceans and waterways such as Puget Sound,” added Kennedy. “Now we need to put this policy into action so that we can continue to enjoy our ocean and coast.”
The draft strategic action plans of the National Ocean Policy identify specific and measurable near-, mid- and long-term actions, with appropriate milestones, performance measures, and outcomes to meet each priority objective.
“Regionally, we have established a Puget Sound Action Agenda to recover Puget Sound’s health by 2020,” said Attemann. “Nation Ocean Policy must be integrated with and supportive of our regional recovery plan with specific science-based actions and targets.”
President Obama established an integrated National Ocean Policy for the Stewardship of the Ocean, Our Coasts, and Great Lakes last July. The NOP identifies nine national priorities, addressing the most pressing challenges facing the ocean, coasts, and Great Lakes. Now the public have a unique opportunity to help shape those plans and tailor them to meet the local needs in Washington.
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: Puget Sound |
