New Federal Plan Aims to Address Ocean Challenges

The Obama Administration released a plan this week aimed at improving the health of the ocean, coasts and the Great Lakes. The draft National Ocean Policy action plan lays out steps the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other agencies on the National Ocean Council will take to address the most pressing challenges facing ocean and coastal resources.

“How we treat our lands has a direct impact on the health of our oceans,” U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said. “The National Ocean Policy action plan will further USDA's collaborative partnerships to improve water quality through voluntary conservation efforts on private lands.”

The plan notes that ocean and coastal resources are under pressure from growing and often competing uses, such as national security, recreation, shipping, energy production and commercial fishing, as well as from pollution, resource extraction and climate change. The draft implementation plan focuses on public-private partnerships, promoting efficiency and collaboration across sectors, managing resources with an integrated approach, and making available and using the best science and information on ocean health.

To read the draft plan and submit comments, click here.