June 23, 2016 — ELLSWORTH, Maine — Six years ago, President Obama signed an executive order establishing a National Ocean Policy that called for the creation of nine regional planning boards to develop plans “to better manage the nation’s oceans and coasts.”
Four years ago, the Northeast Regional Planning Board was formed to develop a plan for the waters off New England. The board includes representatives of nine federal agencies with authority of one sort or another over activities in the ocean, six federally recognized tribes, the New England Fishery Management Council and all six New England states.
Since then, the Northeast board has worked to draft a plan that will promote “healthy ocean and coastal ecosystems,” effective decision-making and “compatibility among past, current and future ocean uses.”
On Monday, the board held a hearing at the Ellsworth Library to solicit comment from the public and from “stakeholders” on what it anticipates is a near-final draft of the Northeast Ocean Plan. The public comment period began May 25 and ends July 25.
Monday’s hearing was one of nine scheduled throughout New England during the month of June. The first was held in Rockland on June 6. The final hearing — and the third in Maine — is scheduled for June 30 in Portland.
The current schedule calls for the Northeast board to meet in September after staff members have incorporated public comments to approve final version of the plan. The final step will be for the National Ocean Council to review and approve the plan which is subject to revision at five-year intervals.