2015 Baird Symposium spotlights marine spatial planning

2015 Ronald C. Baird Sea Grant Science Symposium brings international participants together to discuss marine spatial planning; public invited to register

NARRAGANSETT, R.I.—The five wind turbines Deepwater Wind is just beginning to install off the Block Island coast are one of the most visible outcomes of a 2-year marine spatial planning process known as the R.I. Ocean Special Area Management Plan, or Ocean SAMP.

Deepwater Wind CEO Jeffrey Grybowski will be giving the keynote address at the upcoming international symposium on marine spatial planning that will be hosted at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography in Narragansett on October 6.

“Rhode Island’s pioneering marine spatial planning work has helped to pave the way for America’s first offshore wind energy project, the Block Island Wind Farm. Smart, transparent, and inclusive planning is essential to the offshore wind energy industry,” Grybowski says. He will be talking about the importance of the Ocean SAMP and its stakeholder process to the location and development of the wind farm.

Grybowski is just one of several experts in the realms of ocean development, research, planning, and policymaking who will be participating in this year’s Ronald C. Baird Sea Grant Science Symposium “2015 International Marine Spatial Planning Symposium: Sharing Practical Solutions.”

This all-day event will provide participants with information on the state of marine spatial planning locally and around the world. The public is invited to attend. The registration fee for the symposium includes materials, continental breakfast, mid-day and afternoon refreshments, lunch, and an evening reception. To see the program or to learn more, please visit https://web.uri.edu/gso/. Note: The registration deadline is September 25.

SPONSORS

Rhode Island Sea Grant and the Coastal Resources Center at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography, and the R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council

WITH THANKS TO OUR FUNDERS

Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation