Who’s Who at Coastal America

The Coastal America Coordinating Office has undergone a few changes this spring with regard to its staff members. Bill Klesch, Deputy Director, has returned to his position at the Army Corps of Engineers and Barbara Elkus, Education/Outreach Coordinator returned to her position at the Environmental Protection Agency and has been selected to serve as the River Navigator for the St. John’s American Heritage River in Florida. Virginia K. Tippie continues to serve as Director of the partnership. Betsy Tam Salter will be joining Coastal America as the new Education/Outreach Coordinator. As the EPA representative to the Education/ Outreach workgroup, Betsy was actively involved in the development of the learning center concept and was one of the members of the CELC team that received the 1998 Coastal America Partnership Award. An Environmental Protection Specialist in the Coastal Management Branch of EPA’s Office of Water, Betsy served as the team leader for Program Management and Implementation and formulated national policies and guidance for the National Estuary Program. Angie L. Lawrence has joined Coastal America as Project Coordinator. She has a B.S. in Marine Biology from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and a M.S. in Marine, Estuarine and Environmental Science from the University of Maryland. In addition to the core staff, David Emery from NOAA and Margo Lane Bauman from the Navy have joined the office on short term developmental assignments. David Emery is a Cartographer at the National Ocean Service and will be assisting Betsy with education/outreach projects. Margo Bauman is a civil engineer at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station and will be coordinating military involvement in the partnership.

Gulf of Mexico Meeting

The Gulf of Mexico RIT met February 23-25, 1999 at the Texas State Aquarium. The meeting was attended by representatives of the federal partner agencies, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and the two Gulf CELCs, The Florida Aquarium and the Texas State Aquarium. Several overview presentations set the stage for discussions of issues in the Gulf. Barbara Elkus, Coastal America, described the Coastal America programs, activities at various learning centers, and several Administration initiatives. Bill Hubbard, chair of the Northeast RIT and Dennis Barnett, Chair of the Southeast RIT, described the efforts of their teams. Mr. Barnett discussed opportunities for collaboration, and the need to develop projects from the environmental priorities of the RIT members. Mr. Hubbard described several projects, highlighting salt marsh restoration and creative use of military technologies and capabilities. Bryon Griffith, Deputy Director of the Gulf of Mexico Program Office and Co-Chair, Gulf of Mexico RIT, described the Gulf of Mexico Program, highlighting four priority themes: public health protection, nutrients, habitat protection and invasive species. The group discussed the nomination of projects which could benefit from partnership development, focusing on geographic areas of greatest concern in the Gulf and the four priority themes. The role of the CELCs was also discussed and clarified. Becky Clayton, Director of Education, The Florida Aquarium, described their programs and opportunities for collaboration. These opportunites include projects, events and bringing federal research to aquarium programs. Mary Orf, of the Texas State Aquarium, described their key programs and the need to link these to state educational objectives. Discussions highlighted several opportunities for partnership efforts both at the CELCs and throughout the Gulf region, which could increase public knowledge about the priority themes.

Gulf of Mexico Meeting

Coastal Ecosystem Learning Center Update

Meetings: There will be a meeting of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regional CELCs at the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut on June 23-24, 1999. During this meeting they will identify CELC needs for technical assistance and resources from federal partners and explore ways Coastal America partners can work together as a network to entice people to care about the environment and take an active role in protecting and restoring coastal resources.

New Exhibits/Staff: The Hatfield Marine Science Center will have a new manager coming aboard in May, John Lukes, and they are working with the Oregon Corps of Engineers to develop a demonstration wetland at their facility. The Texas State Aquarium has a new exhibit “Swamp Tales” opening in May 1999. The Aquarium for Wildlife Conservation has a new echinoderm exhibit opening May 20, 1999 and they also recently acquired several beluga whales, whose transport was facilitated by the Coast Guard.

Opportunities for Collaboration: The Northeast RIT collaborated with the Mystic Aquarium and the Texas State Aquarium to provide a transport flight for an injured juvenile dolphin named “Stormy” rescued in Texas. Mystic was able to permanently house this non-releasable marine mammal, since it was never weaned and could not hunt for food if released. The Air National Guard and the Coast Guard both had C-130 Hercules training flights available to transport the dolphin. A private contractor, however, had an earlier flight opportunity and succeeded in transferring the dolphin. This exercise proved extremely valuable in testing the strength of the Coastal America network and surfaced some interesting policy issues that the National Implementation Team will be addressing.

Regional Updates

Northeast: The NERIT met on April 19 and reviewed various tools that collectively exist to implement habitat restoration and preservation projects. Military services representatives reviewed the policies in place to use military training exercises to conduct habitat restoration projects. Other presentations included the highly successful Souadabscook Dam removal, conducted by the Maine NRCS, a review of the concept of ocean ranching (combining wave/wind power generation structures with aquaculture nets), and an overview of Army Corps of Engineers civil works programs. The team is interacting with the CELCs, such as the New England Aquarium’s Teachers Sabbatical Program. A workshop is scheduled for June 23-24 at the Mystic Aquarium and Institute for Exploration. The US Fish and Wildlife Service will host a Coastal America Regional Principals meeting this fall, bringing together the New England federal agency directors and administrators to discuss more efficient delivery of government services in the coastal arena.

Mid-Atlantic: The MARIT is constructing a fish passage at Little Falls this summer, and is expecting a ceremony at the site in July. The MARIT has also been involved in several regional CWAP meetings designed to establish Federal Coordination Teams (FCTs) in the hope that the MARIT can integrate the Coastal America Team concept in the process. There are now two FCTs being discussed, one by EPA Region 2 and the other by the Park Service, in addition to the American Heritage Rivers group. The Coastal America process has been a topic of discussion at these meetings.

Southeast: The SERIT is currently conducting an evaluation of the International Game Fish Association’s World Fishing Center in Dania, Florida, for possible designation as Coastal America’s 10th Coastal Ecosystem Learning Center. The team conducted their site visit on March 17, 1999. On March 16, 1999, the SERIT Chair attended the “State of the Rivers Conference”, sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund, and spoke about Coastal America and SERIT activities. The next meeting of the SERIT is scheduled for June 2, 1999.

Gulf of Mexico: The Gulf of Mexico RIT met February 23-25, 1999 at the Texas State Aquarium. They discussed the roles of their regional CELCs and opportunities for federal collaboration. The GMRIT is also developing an annual report describing the activities undertaken to achieve regional and national program goals. The next GMRIT meeting will be in September at the Florida Aquarium in Tampa.

Southwest: The SWRIT met on February 18, 1999 to discuss current and proposed projects. The Southwest team strategy focuses on the preservation and restoration of coastal wetlands. As much as 90 percent of California’s native wetlands have disappeared due to urbanization and development. Construction at the Prospect Island site is set to begin in June and Cullinan Coastal America Regions Alaska Northwest Southwest Pacific Islands Gulf of Mexico Great Lakes Northeast Mid-Atlantic Southeast Puert Rico Ranch may become part of the San Pablo Wildlife Refuge, adding 1,300 acres of wetlands.

Northwest: The NWRIT met in Seattle, WA on March 10, 1999. They are discussing funding options for the development of a wetland demonstration site at the Hatfield Marine Center and calling for new projects in the northwest region. The Navy and Army Corps of Engineers are working on the Little Clam intertidal marsh restoration and the Navy has appropriated funds for other intertidal restoration projects.

Alaska: The Duck Creek project recently received a $45.0 K grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The grant will go to the Southeast Conference, a participant in the Duck Creek Advisory Group, for work on reducing dissolved iron levels in the stream and for creation of additional freshwater marsh wetlands which improve water quality. The engineering company, Toner Nordling and Associates, of Juneau, won runner-up for the Alaska engineering project of the year for work they did in association with the wetland creation and bridge construction on Duck Creek. As requested by the NMFS Office of Habitat Conservation, an application was submitted for the “Watershed Showcase” to showcase stream corridor technology that has been developed or used on the Duck Creek watershed project. The “showcasing” is an action item of the Clean Water Action Plan that 15 federal agencies are actively pursuing to demonstrate activities to improve the Nation’s water quality.

New Coastal America Web Address

Coastal America has a new address for our Web site: http://www.coastalamerica .gov Please visit our new site.

Coastal America’s Principal Group

Coastal America’s Principals Group is composed of a subcabinet-level committee of Assistant Secretaries and Administrators from each of the federal signatory agencies. Their responsibilities include establishing overall partnership direction; addressing multi-agency policy issues as they relate to the collaborative implementation of coastal programs; and reviewing and approving the program and budget of the Coastal America Partnership. The Principals Group receives advice and suggestions from the National Implementation and Regional Implementation Teams as well as from the Coastal America Coordinating Office. The current Chair of Coastal America’s Principal Group is Terry Garcia, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Deputy Administrator of NOAA. As Assistant Secretary of Commerce with NOAA, he has been responsible for leading the Administration’s efforts to address a wide range of issues from the endangered salmon populations on the west coast, to the restoration of South Florida, to the development of one coastal and marine policy. A lawyer by training, Mr. Garcia was General Counsel of NOAA prior to assuming his current position.

Robert Perciasepe, former Chair of the Coastal America Principals Group, passing the mantle to Terry Garcia, current Chair of the Coastal America Principals Group

PUBLICATIONS:

The following publications are available from the Coastal America Office:

Coastal America: A Partnership for Action - A brochure describing the Coastal America Partnership.

Coastal Challenges: A Guide to Coastal and Marine Issues - A guide for environmental reporters, managers, and other interested people, that includes definitions of coastal terms, information on coastal issues, key laws and associated programs, an excellent reference book.

Reinventing Our Approach to Coastal Restoration and Protection: 1998 Coastal America Progress Report - An annual report that outlines recent accomplishments of the partnership, and provides a summary of regional strategies, projects and learning center activities for 1998.

Coastal Restoration and Protection, Lessons Learned: Coastal America Technology Transfer Report: A report that explains the value of the Coastal America process and describes the key lessons learned from coastal restoration projects around the country.

The Fragile Fringe: Coastal Wetlands of the Continental United States - An 18-page, consensus report that describes the function and value of coastal wetlands.

Toward a Watershed Approach: A Framework for Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration, Protection and Management - A 22-page, full color consensus publication on watershed management.

Coastal America: A Partnership for Action: A 24-minute video describing the Coastal America Partnership, with description of the structure, learning centers, and projects from around the country.

Restoring Fish Habitat: Dam Removal: A 15-minute video describing the removal of the Quaker Neck Dam on the Neuse River, North Carolina.

Coastal Ecosystem Learning Centers: A brochure describing Coastal America’s network of learning centers.

UPCOMING EVENTS

NIT Meetings

May 12, 1999 and June 9 , 1999

Principals Group Meeting

June 3, 1999

Scientific/Technical Advisory Group Meeting

May 11, 1999

Coastal America Workshop at CZ 99

July 26, 1999

Coastal America Annual Retreat

September 22-24, 1999

Coastal America is a partnership among federal, state and local governments and private alliances to address environmental problems along our nation’s coasts. The federal partners are: Departments of Agriculture, Air Force, Army, Commerce, Defense, Energy, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Navy, Transportation, Environmental Protection Agency and The Executive Office of the President.