The Ocean SAMP – Five Years Later

The Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) is marking the five year anniversary of the Rhode Island Ocean Special Area Management Plan (Ocean SAMP) – the first SAMP in the nation to venture out into federal offshore waters for future uses and preservation – and we invite all Rhode Islanders to help celebrate.

The Ocean SAMP used science and stakeholder input to zone our ocean, thereby allowing the state to make informed decisions as to how to balance competing uses. Our SAMP has become a national model for marine spatial planning. It encompasses approximately 1,467 square miles over portions of Block Island Sound, Rhode Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean. The CRMC, together with the URI Graduate School of Oceanography and Coastal Resources Center, Rhode Island Sea Grant, Roger Williams University and numerous stakeholders, organizations, federal and state agencies, developed the 946-page document over a span of two years. The head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) came to Rhode Island in May 2011 to applaud its adoption.

A celebratory update stakeholder meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 29, 2016, from 5-8:30 p.m., at the URI Narragansett Bay Campus Coastal Institute. At the meeting, attendees will learn the latest news coming out of the Ocean SAMP, including updates on bird, lobster and underwater archaeological studies and research from URI, as well as information on the Block Island wind farm and the Deepwater One federal wind farm initiative from the developer, Deepwater Wind. CRMC and NOAA officials will also discuss how the Council’s efforts are helping shape a Regional Ocean Plan for New England.  

Working with well-informed and committed experts, the Ocean SAMP provides a comprehensive understanding of the complex and rich ecosystem of Rhode Island’s offshore waters. The document covers topics including ecology, global climate change, cultural and historic resources, fisheries, recreation and tourism, marine transportation, and navigation. Current uses of our waters, such as fishing and shipping, are now required to be considered when permitting new uses, most notably offshore wind turbines.

The CRMC has authority to develop and implement SAMPs through the state enabling legislation, and the Federal Coastal Zone Management Act. We have been developing SAMPs since 1983 when the Providence Harbor SAMP was adopted. Now the CRMC is working on its eighth SAMP – the Shoreline Change (Beach) SAMP – to study the entire Rhode Island shoreline to address erosion and flooding threats caused by storm events and sea level rise. A comprehensive computer mapping tool designed to help homeowners and municipalities understand their risks from storms and flooding, and sea level rise, called STORMTOOLS, is now available. Developing and implementing SAMPs is something the CRMC is internationally and nationally known for, and spurred the formation of regional bodies tasked with following the SAMP template.

The concept for the Ocean SAMP was born through the realization that climate change is a reality, and that Rhode Island is particularly susceptible. It is already accelerating sea level rise, leading to beach erosion, property losses, and increasing Rhode Island’s vulnerability to hurricanes and floods. Rhode Island is committed to reducing its carbon footprint by using renewable energy resources, primarily offshore wind farms, to meet 15 percent of its energy needs. Because of this, the CRMC in 2008 decided that one way to address this issue was to provide room for renewable energy in the state’s long-term plan. The Ocean SAMP facilitated the accomplishment of that goal.

It’s a crucial time in our state’s coastal management history, and decisions made now will be studied in the years to come – did we prepare for the new realities of increased sea levels and climate change? Were there plans put in place to protect Rhode Island’s future, using the best science available and pushing the boundary to carry that vision into federal waters offshore? Did we do our best as a state to manage our marine waters and our state’s shoreline, arguably our most valuable resources?

The CRMC sincerely hopes that through its marine spatial planning effort like the Ocean SAMP, and its other current plans, the answer to those questions will be a resounding yes. The five year Ocean SAMP update in which the CRMC is now engaged gives us an opportunity to affirm our commitment to this precious resource, as well as draw attention to our hope to give the same level of planning for our Bay that our offshore waters have received.

For more information on the Ocean SAMP or the Block Island wind farm pilot project, go to http://www.crmc.ri.gov/samp_ocean.html.

Anne Maxwell Livingston, CRMC Chair
4808 Tower Hill Road
Wakefield, RI 02879