About | Coastal Zone Management Act | Future

Envisioning the Future of Coastal Management

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After over 30 years of coastal zone management under the Coastal Zone Management Act, OCRM is working with others to develop a vision for coastal management on into the future.

In 2006 and 2007, the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM), in partnership with the Coastal States Organization, conducted a project in which coastal managers, stakeholders, and federal agency partners engaged in identifying future improvements to coastal management.  The project sought ideas for legislative changes through an improved Coastal Zone Management Act, as well as administrative improvements.

The primary outcome is a set of core principles and specific options to consider in drafting a proposal for reauthorizing the Coastal Zone Management Act.  The visioning initiative was implemented in three phases:

  1. Draft discussion paper that identifies current issues, constraints and opportunities for coastal management;

  2. Seek state coastal manager perspectives to further define issues and priorities, and;

  3. Engage the broader coastal community to identify options for improved coastal management, including tools to improve coordination with coastal partners.

  4. As part of this process, in the summer of 2007 stakeholder meetings were held in Waltham, MA, Chicago, IL, Atlanta, GA, Honolulu, HI, and San Francisco, CA. Stakeholder discussions from all five meetings have been organized by topic and consolidated into summary documents (found in the menu bar to the right).

In addition, discussions were held with key federal agency partners on strategies for better collaboration and coordination, as well as with key experts from a broad range of disciplines and interests.

For additional information, contact Joelle Gore.


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