January 16, 2014 — In New England, regional ocean planning activities and partnerships have been underway for several years. The Northeast Regional Planning Body (RPB) and NROC’s Ocean Planning Committee are helping lay a foundation for future planning needs.
January 22-23 RPB Meeting
The next Northeast Regional Planning Body meeting will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, January 22-23, 2014 at the Hyatt Regency Cambridge located at 575 Memorial Drive in Cambridge, Massachusetts. On Wednesday, January 22, the meeting will begin at 10:00 am and adjourn at 6:00 pm and will be followed by a networking reception from 6:15 pm – 7:30 pm. On Thursday, January 23, public registration will begin at 8:30 am, the meeting starts at 9:00 am and the meeting will adjourn at 4:45 pm. See agenda for additional details and the meeting materials that will be discussed, and please register here to indicate your attendance at the meeting.
This meeting was originally scheduled for November 12-13, 2013, but was postponed due to the federal government shutdown.
The January 22-23 Regional Planning Body meeting will include a public review, revision, and approval of goals, objectives, and accompanying actions for regional ocean planning in the Northeast. It builds on previous RPB discussions and the extensive public input received during the public comment period earlier this year, the public meetings convened across New England in May and June, and through other engagement.
To help prepare for this next meeting, RPB members held conference calls for updates and coordination. Summaries of these calls are available for the June 27th, August 7th and October 4th, November 13 discussions.
Public Comment Meetings
The RPB held public comment meetings throughout New England in May and June, 2013, to discuss draft regional ocean planning goals. Ten meetings were held in in the following locations:
– Portland, ME
– Ellsworth, ME
– Rockland, ME
– Portsmouth, NH
– Gloucester, MA
– Boston, MA
– New Bedford, MA
– Barnstable, MA
– Narragansett, RI
– New Haven, CT
A summary of the discussions at these public meetings and written comments on the draft goals is now available: Public Comment Summary, May-July, 2013
A compilation of all the written comments submitted during the public comment period (May-July 2013) is also available: Public Comments on Draft Ocean Planning Goals
All of this input will inform the RPB’s revision of the draft regional ocean planning goals and development of specific objectives to meet these goals.