...to preserve, protect, develop, and restore coastal resources for all Rhode Islanders
CRMC Deputy Director to represent coastal states in Ohio OCRM review
May 11, 2007, WAKEFIELD – The Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council’s Deputy Director Jeff Willis will be traveling to Ohio to represent the country’s coastal states in an evaluation of Ohio’s Coastal Management Program by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM). The evaluation will take place from May 14 – May 18.
Under Section 312 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, the OCRM is required to continually review and evaluate all coastal management programs. The OCRM requested that Willis be on the evaluation team because of the CRMC’s expertise in certain areas of coastal resources management. Ohio’s evaluation will cover the time period of November 2003 through May 2007. Willis has been appointed to serve as a member of the evaluation team; the other three members of the team are from the OCRM. During the site visit, the team will meet with federal, state and local agency representatives and interest groups involved with Ohio’s coastal management program and initiatives. Following the site visit, the team will prepare draft findings, and then a final evaluation, which will be announced in the Federal Register.
The OCRM evaluated the CRMC and its coastal program in 2006, covering the time period between June 2003 and October 2005. The evaluation commended the CRMC on its accomplishments in the areas of operations and maintenance, public access, habitat restoration, land acquisition, marina management, coastal buffer zone program, special area management plans, education, outreach and public participation, dredging and dredged material disposal and aquaculture. It also listed suggestions for future improvements to the program.