The Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM) implements the Coastal Zone Management Act, which addresses concerns about development and population pressure on our nation’s coasts. Shown is an aerial view of St. Augustine, Florida (Photo credit: Marge Beaver).

The Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM) is responsible for implementing the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) of 1972, which Congress passed to address the growing concerns about the health of the nation’s coastal resources. The office works with state and territorial governments to implement their coastal management programs and find local solutions to problems that occur throughout the entire nation. Daily management decisions are made at the state and territorial level. Thirty-four states and territories have active coastal management programs.

OCRM works to advance national coastal management initiatives, and to maintain and strengthen state coastal management through financial, policy and technical assistance. It also helps to ensure that actions of federal agencies are consistent with state and territory coastal management policies. It undertakes projects with program-wide or system-wide benefits in the areas of coastal habitat protection and restoration; coastal hazards; public access to the shore for recreation; responsible development of coastal communities, including urban waterfronts; and polluted runoff (also known as nonpoint source pollution or runoff pollution).

This freshwater pond on Mary’s Island, near Charleston, South Carolina, is part of the ACE Basin National Estuarine Research Reserve, one of the largest undeveloped estuaries on the East Coast.

OCRM also is responsible for implementing the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS), which was created by the CZMA as well. NERRS currently encompasses 26 estuarine field sites that are operated by state agencies and universities in partnership with OCRM’s Estuarine Reserves Division. The system develops programs for species and habitat protection, habitat restoration, and pollution control in more than one million acres of U.S. land and water. Each estuarine reserve works to implement long-term science programs that will provide crucial information about how coastal ecosystems function, how human activity impacts them, and methods for improving their conditions. This critical information is provided to coastal managers, decision makers and the public.