“We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch it, we are going back from whence we came.”

PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY

NORTHEAST OCEAN PLAN

NORTHEAST OCEAN PLAN

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A great many people were part of the develop-ment of this plan. The members of the RPB and their stafs developed, reviewed, and decided upon Plan content and the planning process every step of the way. In addition, the RPB thanks all who attended and contributed to any of the workshops, meetings, and other discussions held over the last several years. Special thanks are owed to the following.

An initial draft of Chapter 1 was written by Eric Jay Dolin, Marblehead MA resident and author of Brilliant Beacons: A History of the American Lighthouse and Leviathan: A History of Whaling in America.

Plan design, graphics, and layout were provided by Jane Winsor of Winsor Design Studio. Tehila Lieberman and Cathy Armer provided content support and editing services.

The Data Portal Team includes staf from NROC, RPS/ASA, NOAA, The Nature Conser-vancy, SeaPlan, Waterview Consulting, and NERACOOS.

Members of the Ecosystem Based Management Work Group provided input to the RPB in 2015 and 2016. Approximately 80 people served in one or more of the work groups that informed the Marine life Data and Analysis Team.

During development of the Plan, in addition to those listed above, many entities were contract-ed to provide services to the RPB, including:

• All Nations Consulting

• Biodiversity Research Institute

• Coastal Vision LLC

• Connecticut Sea Grant

• Consensus Building Institute

• Duke University, Nicholas School of the Environment Marine Geospatial Ecology Laboratory

• E&C Enviroscape LLC

• Eastern Research Group

• ESS Group, Inc.

• George LaPointe Consulting LLC

• Gulf of Maine Research Institute

• Island Institute

• Liberty Square Group

• Kearns and West

• Meridian Institute

• National Centers for Coastal and Ocean Science, NOAA

• Northeast Fisheries Science Center, NMFS/NOAA

• Northeast Regional Association of Coastal and Ocean Observing Systems (NERACOOS)

• Northeast Regional Ocean Council (NROC)

• Point 97

• SeaPlan

• Surfrider

• University of Rhode Island, Coastal Resources Center

• University of Southern Maine

• Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Marine Policy Center

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

NORTHEAST REGIONAL PLANNING BODY

SIX STATES SIX FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED TRIBES

• Connecticut • Aroostook Band of Micmacs • Rhode Island • Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians • Massachusetts • Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council • New Hampshire • Mohegan Indian Tribe of Connecticut • Maine • Narragansett Indian Tribe of Rhode Island • Vermont • Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah)

NINE FEDERAL AGENCIES

• Joint Chiefs of Staf • US Department of Agriculture • US Department of Commerce • US Department of Defense • US Department of Energy • USDepartment of Homeland Security • US Department of the Interior • US Department of Transportation • US Environmental Protection Agency

NEW ENGLAND FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUNCIL

EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS

• New York • Canada

NORTHEAST OCEAN PLAN 01

ADOPTION OF THE NORTHEAST OCEAN PLAN

The Northeast Ocean Plan (Plan) is the result of a historic collaboration among six

New England States, six Federally recognized Tribes, nine Federal agencies, and the

New England Fishery Management Council, acting collectively as the Northeast Regional

Planning Body (NE RPB) and informed by the extensive participation of stakeholders

throughout the region and beyond.

The Plan describes the use of data, agency coordination, and stakeholder engagement

that will inform and guide Federal, State, Tribal, and New England Fishery Management

Council activities under existing authorities. The companion Northeast Ocean Data Portal

(Data Portal) presents thousands of publicly available maps that represent components

of the marine ecosystem and a wide range of human activities. The Plan and Data Portal

promote healthy ocean ecosystems, enable more effective decision making, and pursue

compatibility among ocean uses in New England waters.

The Plan was developed pursuant to Executive Order 13547, “Stewardship of the Ocean,

Our Coasts, and the Great Lakes” (July 19, 2010). The Executive Order adopted the White

House Council on Environmental Quality, “Final Recommendations of the lnteragency

Ocean Policy Task Force” (July 19, 2010); established the National Ocean Policy; and pro-

vided for the development of regional marine plans that build upon and improve existing

Federal, State, Tribal, local, and regional decision making and planning processes.

02 NORTHEAST OCEAN PLAN

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NORTHEAST OCEAN PLAN The National Ocean Council certified that the

Plan is consistent with the National Ocean Policy

on December 1, 2016. The Federal members of

the NE RPB administer a wide range of statutes

and programs that involve or affect the marine

environment. These Federal departments and

agencies carry out actions under Federal laws

involving a wide range of regulatory respon-

sibilities and non-regulatory missions and

management activities throughout the Northeast

ocean planning area. The specific manner and

mechanism each Federal agency will use

to implement the Plan will depend on that

agency’s mission, authorities, and activities.

Each Federal NE RPB member will use the Plan

to inform and guide its planning activities and

decision making activities.

Specifically, consistent and within existing stat-

utory authorities, Executive Order 13547 and the

Final Recommendations, the Federal agencies

represented on the NE RPB hereby adopt the

Plan, and will: (1) identify, develop, and make

publicly available implementing instructions, such

as internal agency guidance, directives, or similar

organizational or administrative documents, that

describe the way the agency will use the Plan to

inform and guide its actions and decisions in the

Northeast ocean planning area; (2) ensure that

the agency, through such internal administrative

instructions, will consider the data products avail-

able from the Data Portal in its decision making

and as it carries out its actions in the Northeast

ocean planning area; and (3) explain its use of

the Plan and Data Portal in its decisions, activi-

ties, or planning processes that involve or affect

the Northeast ocean planning area.

This document does not create any right or

benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable

by law or equity against any signatory or agency.

This document does not substitute for or super-

sede any legally binding statutes or regulations.

In the event of a conflict between this document

and requirements under statute or regulation,

the latter controls. All commitments made by

agencies herein are subject to the availability of

appropriated funds and agency budget priorities.

Tribal, State, and New England Fishery Manage-

ment Council participation in the development

and implementation of the Plan is voluntary.

These entities strongly value the benefits of

regional collaboration and have been equal

partners in the development of the Plan. By their

signatures below, the State, Tribal, and New

England Fishery Management

Council members of the Northeast Regional

Planning Body hereby agree to adopt and

implement the Plan. (See also Addendum 1).

NATIONAL OCEAN COUNCIL PRINCIPALS SIGNATURES

Kathryn SullivanU.S. Department of CommerceRepresented by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

A. Stanley MeiburgU.S. Environmental Protection Agency

VADM James Crawford, III, JAGC, U.S. NavyJoint Chiefs of Staff Represented by the DoD Representative for Ocean Policy Affairs

Dennis McGinnU.S. Department of Defense Represented by the Department of the Navy

Franklin M. Orr, Jr.U.S. Department of Energy

VADM Charles Ray, USCGU.S. Department of Homeland Security Represented by the U.S. Coast Guard

Blair AndersonU.S. Department of Transportation

January 17, 2017

NORTHEAST OCEAN PLAN 03

Jeffrey FlumignanU.S. Department of Transportation

Robert LaBelleU.S. Department of the Interior

Christine ClarkeU.S. Department of Agriculture Represented by the Natural Resources Conservation Service

STATE SIGNATURES

Brian ThompsonConnecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection

Patrick KeliherMaine Department of Marine Resourses

Bruce CarlisleMassachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs

Thomas BurackNew Hampshire Department of Environmental Services

Grover FugateRhode Island Coastal Resource Management Council

Deborah MarkowitzVermont Agency of Natural Resources

Susan WhalenConnecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection

Walter WhitcombMaine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry

David PierceMassachusetts Department of Fish and Game

Glenn NormandeauNew Hampshire Department of Fish and Game

Janet CoitRhode Island Department of Environmental Management

TRIBAL SIGNATURES

Richard GetchellAroostook Band of Micmacs/ All Nations Consulting

Lori FaethU.S. Department of the Interior

Ann MillsU.S. Department of Agriculture

NE REGIONAL PLANNING BODY REPRESENTATIVES

Elizabeth NicholsonU.S. Department of Commerce Represented by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Melville P. Coté Jr.U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Jose F. H. AtanganJoint Chiefs of Staff Represented by the U.S. Navy

Christopher TompsettU.S. Department of Defense Represented by the Department of the Navy

Hoyt BatteyU.S. Department of Energy

RADM Steven D. Poulin, USCGU.S. Department of Homeland Security Represented by the U.S. Coast Guard

Cedric Cromwell, Chairman for Chuckie GreenMashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council

John Brown, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, Land and Water Resource Commission Chairman for Doug HarrisNarragansett Indian Tribe of Rhode Island

Brenda Commander, Tribal Chief for Sharri VennoHoulton Band of Maliseet Indians

Jean McInnisMohegan Indian Tribe of Connecticut

Tobias Vanderhoop, Chairman for Elizabeth James-PerryWampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah)

NEW ENGLAND FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUNCIL SIGNATURE

Mark AlexanderConnecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection

THE NORTHEAST OCEAN PLAN

This Plan summarizes the ocean planning process and is a guide to informing

agency decisions and practices in order to continue making progress toward

achieving regional goals for the management of our public ocean resources.

This Plan recognizes that these goals and a desire to move toward an

ecosystem-based approach to management must be achieved through existing

legal frameworks by using the best available information and by ensuring

public and scientifc input in every decision. Therefore, the work is not done,

and this Plan serves as the foundation for continued progress.

04 NOR THEAST OCEAN PLAN

These chapters describe the path forward for achieving the Northeast Ocean

Contents Plan’s goals—a path that refects the Regional Planning Body’s interest

in continued public engagement, in a foundation of sound science, and in

advancing an adaptive approach to managing the ocean ecosystem.

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CHAPTER 1 describes the unique characteristics of the Northeast US and the need for and benefts of ocean planning.

CHAPTER 2 summarizes the ocean planning process to date, including the devel-opment of ocean planning goals, the Northeast Ocean Data Portal, and the North-east Ocean Plan (Plan).

32 CHAPTER 3 summarizes CHAPTER 4 describes how 142 166the regulatory framework for the Regional Planning Body managing ocean and coastal (RPB) will implement the resources. It then provides Plan. This discussion includes an in-depth look at the 10 best practices for intergov-primary ocean resources and ernmental coordination and activities for which this stakeholder engagement, Plan will guide and inform Plan implementation and decision-making: oversight responsibilities, and

commitments to developing 38 Marine Life & Habitat frameworks for monitor-60 Cultural Resources ing and evaluating plan 68 Marine Transportation performance and ocean and 78 National Security ecosystem health. 86 Commercial &

Recreational Fishing 96 Recreation 104 Energy & Infrastructure 114 Aquaculture 124 Ofshore Sand Resources 134 Restoration

CHAPTER 5 identifes knowledge and information gaps and organizes those gaps under six primary science and research priorities. These data and information gaps were identifed throughout the planning process by the RPB, stakeholders, and scientists. Agencies’ decisions will be enhanced as each of these gaps is flled by the RPB and the broader community over time.

181 Addendum 1 183 Endnotes 188 Appendices 201 Acronyms and

Abbreviations 203 Acknowledgments

NORTHEAST OCEAN PLAN 05