President Obama today signed an Executive Order to form the new National Policy for the Stewardship of the Ocean, Coasts, and Great Lakes and create a National Ocean Council (NOC) to strengthen ocean governance and coordination.  The Executive Order adopts the Final Recommendations of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force and directs Federal agencies to take the appropriate steps to implement them.

With support from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation's Marine Conservation Initiative, grantees and other partners have been working on integrally related issues including implementing comprehensive marine spatial planning (MSP) for a number of years. We congratulate them on this news, and thank them for their hard work.

Related Links:

www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/executive-order-stewardship-ocean-our-coasts-and-great-lakes (Executive Order)

www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ceq/Press_Releases/July_19_2010 (Press Release)

www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ceq/initiatives/oceans 

http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2010/07/obamas-national-ocean-policy.html

www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2010/0719/After-Gulf-oil-spill-Obama-plans-better-use-of-oceans

www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_15552517?nclick_check=1

www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-obama-ocean-20100719,0,1686762.story

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OBAMA_OCEANS