Law
Center
The
Sea
Grant
Law
Center
was founded to disseminate
information about marine
laws and policies,
coordinate
ocean and coastal law
researchers, and provide
the Sea Grant College
Program and its constituents
a source of critical
analysis of marine
laws
and policies. One of
its primary focuses
is
contributing to the
legal
analysis by the U.S.
Commission on Ocean
Policy
of the laws that affect
the Nation's oceans
and
coasts (as mandated
by
Congress in the Oceans
Act of 2000). Other
research
includes fisheries
law,
marine habitat conservation,
non-indigenous species
and current issues
in
wetlands law and policy.
To learn more, visit
the center’s
website at: http://www.olemiss.edu/orgs/SGLC/
Ports & Harbors
Sea Grant has two ports and harbors specialists through
Texas A&M University and the University of Southern
California, who serve as focal coordinating points
for expanding Sea Grant College Program activities
on state and national ports and harbors, and related
marine transportation issues. These new positions
will lead overall efforts in ports and harbors issues,
coordinate with individuals within the Sea Grant network
on specific matters, and promote the growth and development
of Sea Grant leadership in ports and harbors issues
at the national level. Read
more about ports and harbors.
Earth Grant
Because of common goals
related to improved
environmental decision-making,
the
National Sea Grant
Office has initiated
discussions
with senior administrators
from NASA’s Space
Grant and USDA’s
Cooperative State Research
Education and Extension
Service. The partnership,
dubbed “Earth Grant,” has
led to a cooperative
funding arrangement
to establish a geospatial
extension specialist
position located at
the
University of Connecticut.
The specialist provides
NASA geospatial information
to the national network
of Sea Grant coastal
community development
specialists.
Coastal Community Development
(CCD) Program
This new Sea Grant
program element focuses
on the
critical importance
of community planning
and
growth management in
coastal areas. The
initiative will provide
services
to coastal communities
to aid in efforts to
protect their environmental
amenities, strengthen
their economies and
improve their quality
of life.
The goal of the Community
Development Program
investment is to realize
a significant
step-up in Sea Grant’s
engagement at the coastal
community decision-making
level (municipalities,
counties, state agencies,
watershed management
districts, etc.) by
providing the enhanced
science-based
support needed to balance
environmental, social
and economic considerations.
Smart Growth
Over the past several
months, under the auspices
of the NOAA Sea Grant
Coastal Communities
and Economies Theme
Team,
representatives from
NOAA, the National
Sea Grant Office (NSGO)
and
the Sea Grant network
have met with managers
and staff at EPA’s
Office’s of Wetlands,
Oceans and Watersheds
and Policy, Economics
and Innovation to discuss
mutual interests in coastal
community development.
EPA is interested in
developing relationships
with Sea Grant extension
specialists associated
with the coastal community
development (CCD) program
for the purpose of enhancing
education and training
opportunities to local
decisionmakers. Significant
partnership opportunities
are available by coupling
EPA’s national
smart growth expertise
and resources with Sea
Grant’s locally
based extension and education
infrastructure. To initiate
the partnership, EPA
is making available an
in-depth training opportunity
to be held November 3-7,
2003 in Washington, DC.
The workshop will provide
basic smart growth information,
educate Sea Grant CCD
specialists on smart
growth project planning,
and assist participants
in drafting a work plan
that directly seeks to
implement some aspect
of smart growth in their
community. EPA will provide
a small amount of seed
funding for each Sea
Grant program to implement
the work plans generated
at the training session.
To learn more about Smart
Growth, visit EPA’s
website at: http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/
Consortium for Oceanographic
Research and Education
(CORE)
Sea Grant programs throughout the network and the
national office have been engaged in substantive collaborative
education efforts with CORE for several years. One
such collaboration that has benefited thousands of
high school students and their coaches (teachers)
is the annual Ocean Sciences Bowl, a series of regional
and national competitions. Sea Grant programs are
leaders in conducting the regional competitions. The
winner of each then competes at the national competition,
which is supported in part by the National Sea Grant
Office. In addition, as CORE has developed its vision
for education, Sea Grant educators have been instrumental
in informing the development of an education white
paper and priorities for CORE to promote.
Centers for Ocean Science
Education Excellence
(COSEE)
Centers for Ocean Science
Education Excellence:
NOAA Sea Grant has been
at the nexus of a major
initiative in marine
education in cooperation
with the National Science
Foundation (NSF). This
initiative, called the
Centers for Ocean Science
Education Excellence
(COSEE), seeks to increase
and enhance collaboration
and communications among
ocean scientists, educators
and the general public.
Working with NSF and
other NOAA programs,
the National Sea Grant
Office has played an
integral role in conceptualizing
and realizing the COSEE
vision and is a partner
with CORE on the central
coordinating office.
The seven COSEE centers
around the U.S. (five
of which are partnered
with Sea Grant programs)
are working to facilitate
the integration of research
into high quality educational
activities, programs
and materials in order
to engage students and
their teachers, and develop
their interest into a
mature understanding
of the relevance of the
oceans to their lives.
Bilateral Aquaculture
Agreements
NOAA Research has provided
funding for Sea Grant’s
participation in International
Bilateral Agreements
with Japan, China and
Korea for 2003. Jim McVey,
the National Sea Grant
Office’s aquaculture
program manager, is
the chairperson for
all three
bilaterals and will
be working with the
state
Sea Grant Directors
to participate in these
important interactions
with each of the three
countries.
Nonpoint Education for
Municipal Officials (NEMO)
NEMO was developed
as a collaborative
effort
between Cooperative
Extension and Sea Grant.
NEMO is
an effort to help local
officials use technology
such as GIS and statistical
analyses to link land
use and water quality
in planning decisions.
Several NOAA programs
have shown increasing
interest in utilizing
the NEMO network (a
confederation of 27
programs in 26
states that educate
local land use decision
makers
about the links between
land use and natural
resource protection)
to achieve NOAA coastal
environmental health
goals. Staff representing
these programs in NOAA’s
National Ocean Service
(NOS) and NOAA Research
have met to coordinate
existing and plan new
activities related
to NEMO. Through our
Extension
Program, Sea Gant supports
NEMO activities in
approximately half
of all coastal states.
In addition, numerous
Sea Grant research
projects
provide the science
that forms the basis
for building
science-based extension
education programs.
Sea Grant investments
in
water quality and watershed
management programs
have grown significantly
in
recent years. Recently,
Sea Grant initiated
the $1.5 million per
year
coastal community development
(CCD) program in order
to enhance NEMO-like
activities in all 30
Sea Grant programs.
In partnership with
NASA,
Sea Grant has also
agreed to fund a full
time technical
specialist to be located
at NEMO offices at
the University of Connecticut
for the purpose of
providing
NASA geospatial information
to NEMO and CCD extension
specialists. To learn
more about NEMO, visit:
http://nemo.uconn.edu/
Rip Currents
Task Force
In a new multi-agency collaboration, NOAA’s
National Sea Grant College Program and the National
Weather Service (NWS), along with the U.S. Lifesaving
Association (USLA) have partnered to leverage the
expertise and resources of each organization to address
the dangers of rip currents. The task force has developed
a unified and consistent public education message
and campaign, and is working to increase the dialogue
among local beach patrols, coastal NWS forecast offices
and Sea Grant Universities. The task force has developed
a national rip current brochure, a public service
announcement and an outdoor sign in English and Spanish.
These materials, and additional information about
rip currents can be found at: http://ripcurrents.noaa.gov
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