ERF Presidents Encourage Governors to Support US Commission on Ocean Policy's Recommendations

Dennis M. Allen
ERF Past President
dallen@belle.baruch.sc.edu

Coinciding with the release of the US Commission on Ocean Policy's (USCOP) long-awaited Preliminary Report to the Governors and interested stakeholders on April 20, the current and past presidents of ERF mailed a letter to the Governors of 50 states and 3 territories that encouraged them to support the Commission's recommendations for increasing our nation's scientific capacity. Our letter was motivated by the need to increase awareness of the role of science in policy and management related to coastal systems. The decision to develop this letter was made when a group of Presidents met at ERF 2003. Subsequent communications resulted in a consensus statement signed by eleven individuals presented in the form of a letter. The participants were Dennis Allen, Don Boesch, Bob Christian, Chris D'Elia, Anne Giblin, Fred Nichols, Bob Orth, Candace Oviatt, Nancy Rabalais, Linda Schaffner, and Jerry Schubel.

The letter calls attention to the need to:

  1. connect activities on land with those in estuarine and coastal waters,
  2. address non-point source pollution, coastal land development, and habitat conservation more effectively,
  3. restructure fishery management to sustain these resources and ecosystems on which they depend, and
  4. increase the role of science in achieving these policy objectives.

Suggestions for increasing scientific capacity included:

  1. acquiring new information, knowledge and understanding,
  2. directing monitoring programs to evaluate impacts and guide research,
  3. integrating and synthesizing existing and new information, and
  4. sharing information and knowledge with decision makers and the public.

The letter was addressed to the Governors because they were designated by the administration as the focal points for public comment on the Commission's recommendations. The Governors were encouraged to increase their own state's commitment to support science-informed management and policy by strategically addressing key issues such as watershed-estuary interactions, establishing partnerships with scientific institutions and agencies on a regional scale, supporting senior staff positions such as chief scientists, and creating scientific advisory groups.

Thoughtful letters have been received from some Governors indicating their support for the Commission's conclusions and appreciation for our input. The full text of the ERF Presidents' letter can be found at www.erf.org. The USCOP Preliminary Report is available at www.oceancommission.gov. Now that the public comment period is over, the Commission is considering responses from the Governors and others. Later this year, the USCOP will deliver its Final Report to the President and Congress with recommendations for a coordinated and comprehensive national policy. Within 90 days of receiving the document, the President will present his recommendations to Congress. With the urgency expressed by the Commission regarding the state of our coastal and ocean systems and federal policies and the likelihood that it will be many years before estuaries and the ocean are in the national spotlight again, this year provides an unprecedented opportunity for coastal scientists, educators, and managers to get involved. ERF members are encouraged to become familiar with the work of the Commission and to support the future well being of our coasts.