Bush creates panel on oceans, Great Lakes
By Sarah Frank
Chicago Tribune - Washington Bureau
December 18, 2004
President Bush created a Cabinet-level committee Friday to oversee the nation's ocean and Great Lakes policies, but some environmentalists voiced concerns that the initiative could be underfunded and eventually ineffective.
Members of the panel appointed by Bush also agreed that funding ocean initiatives will be the next major environmental challenge for the president and Congress.
The Bush administration touted the move, designed to centralize decision-making on subjects as varied as research and pollution-fighting, as a major step forward for its environmental policies, which often have been criticized by environmental advocates.
The new Committee on Ocean Policy will be led by James Connaughton, chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
Bush issued the executive order creating the panel in response to recommendations from the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy's report released in April. The 400-plus-page report suggested a major overhaul of ocean policy was needed to reverse decades of damage to domestic and international waters from pollution, erosion, development and overfishing.
As outlined in the president's order, the new committee will "provide advice on establishment or implementation of policies concerning ocean-related matters," including the Great Lakes, to the president and department heads. The committee will gather information from state, local and tribal leaders.
The details of Bush's plan were not available Friday. But an outline did not include more funding or any bold legislative initiatives.
Instead, it called for setting federal research priorities, building a network of buoys to observe ocean and atmospheric conditions, working with local officials to protect coral reefs and giving some fishermen an ownership stake in their fishing grounds as incentive to catch fish in a more sustainable way.
The chairman of the commission on Ocean Policy, retired Adm. James Watkins, said in a statement that it is too soon to know whether the president's executive order will accomplish the commission's goals.
"We need to understand how the plan addresses the multitude of recommendations made by the commission as well as the availability of funding to support these activities," he said.
Funding won't be determined until Congress and the president begin planning for the 2006 fiscal year budget.
Some environmentalists fear that without adequate funding the reorganization will have little effect.
"Honestly, a lot of us in the ocean conservation community are concerned that the bulk of this response is largely window dressing," said Buffy Baumann, of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, a liberal advocacy group. "Unfortunately, money talks and in January we'll see the president's budget and how serious he is about protecting and conserving our oceans."
The commission's report contained 212 recommendations, one of which was to create a $4 billion government trust fund to pay for ocean initiatives over four years. Some commissioners said Friday they had not seen the president's plan and did not yet know how many of their specific recommendations would be implemented.
Some in the environmental community said they are "cautiously optimistic" about Bush's plans. While the ocean advocates said they were impressed that the administration appears to support reversing ocean damage, they voiced concern that its efforts won't go far enough.
The National Resources Defense Council said the president's plan "does not match the seriousness of the problems plaguing our oceans."
Sarah Chasis, director of the council's coastal and water program, added, "Creating a Cabinet-level committee is a good idea, but we need a specific presidential directive to the committee to implement a policy that will restore and protect our oceans. Right now there is no clear mandate for the committee."
The committee will include Cabinet secretaries as well as members of the Marine Mammal Commission, NASA and the National Science Foundation.
Connaughton said the committee will improve communication between the White House and Congress on matters relating to oceans, coral reefs and the Great Lakes.
Great Lakes issues--mainly strategies to control pollution and invasive species--will be led in part by state and local leaders, including Chicago Mayor Richard Daley.
In 2002, Daley created the Great Lakes Cities Initiative to address such issues as pollution and runoff.
"I think Washington is really looking to Mayor Daley as a major leader on Great Lakes issues," said David Ullrich, executive director for the Chicago initiative. "We felt very strongly that it was important to get a local perspective brought to all the various Great Lakes decision-making tables and it is obvious that is happening."
In this photo provided by the White House, President Bush signs an executive order on the establishment of the Committee on Ocean Policy in the Oval Office at the White House Friday, Dec. 17, 2004, in Washington. Attending the signing from left to right: Vice Admiral Conrad Lautenbacher, Jr., Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Commerce Secretary Donald Evans, Chairman Jim Connaughton, Council on Environmental Quality; Assistant Secretary of Policy, Management, and Budget, Dept. of the Interior, Lynn Scarlett and Admiral James D. Watkins, Chairman, U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy. (AP Photo/White House, Paul Morse).
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...hicagotrib/bushcreatespanelonoceansgreatlakes
USCOP Home Page: http://www.oceancommission.gov
Preliminary Report Home Page:
http://www.oceancommission.gov/documents/prelimreport/welcome.html
Complete Report (4.9MB pdf):
http://www.oceancommission.gov/documents/prelimreport/00_complete_prelim_report.pdf
Chapter 1 (488KB pdf): States that the US MO retail trade is worth $3 billion. Also mentions the aquarium trade being partly responsible for releasing non-native species.
http://www.oceancommission.gov/documents/prelimreport/chapter01.pdf
Chapter 17 (328KB pdf): Aquarists releasing non-native species mentioned. See Recommendation 17-3.
http://www.oceancommission.gov/documents/prelimreport/chapter17.pdf
Chapter 21 (168KB pdf): Detrimental effects of fishing (fisheries) on corals (not sure if this includes MO trade) see Recommendation 21-2. Sustainable harvest of coral reef resources by the MO trade, suggestion for it to be modeled after the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998, see Recommendation 21-3.
http://www.oceancommission.gov/documents/prelimreport/chapter21.pdf
Chapter 22 (152KB pdf): Increased funding for marine aquaculture, see Recommendation 22-3.
http://www.oceancommission.gov/documents/prelimreport/chapter22.pdf
MASNA Industry and Ocean Conservation Website: http://www.masna.org/iloc/index.php
By Sarah Frank
Chicago Tribune - Washington Bureau
December 18, 2004
President Bush created a Cabinet-level committee Friday to oversee the nation's ocean and Great Lakes policies, but some environmentalists voiced concerns that the initiative could be underfunded and eventually ineffective.
Members of the panel appointed by Bush also agreed that funding ocean initiatives will be the next major environmental challenge for the president and Congress.
The Bush administration touted the move, designed to centralize decision-making on subjects as varied as research and pollution-fighting, as a major step forward for its environmental policies, which often have been criticized by environmental advocates.
The new Committee on Ocean Policy will be led by James Connaughton, chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
Bush issued the executive order creating the panel in response to recommendations from the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy's report released in April. The 400-plus-page report suggested a major overhaul of ocean policy was needed to reverse decades of damage to domestic and international waters from pollution, erosion, development and overfishing.
As outlined in the president's order, the new committee will "provide advice on establishment or implementation of policies concerning ocean-related matters," including the Great Lakes, to the president and department heads. The committee will gather information from state, local and tribal leaders.
The details of Bush's plan were not available Friday. But an outline did not include more funding or any bold legislative initiatives.
Instead, it called for setting federal research priorities, building a network of buoys to observe ocean and atmospheric conditions, working with local officials to protect coral reefs and giving some fishermen an ownership stake in their fishing grounds as incentive to catch fish in a more sustainable way.
The chairman of the commission on Ocean Policy, retired Adm. James Watkins, said in a statement that it is too soon to know whether the president's executive order will accomplish the commission's goals.
"We need to understand how the plan addresses the multitude of recommendations made by the commission as well as the availability of funding to support these activities," he said.
Funding won't be determined until Congress and the president begin planning for the 2006 fiscal year budget.
Some environmentalists fear that without adequate funding the reorganization will have little effect.
"Honestly, a lot of us in the ocean conservation community are concerned that the bulk of this response is largely window dressing," said Buffy Baumann, of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, a liberal advocacy group. "Unfortunately, money talks and in January we'll see the president's budget and how serious he is about protecting and conserving our oceans."
The commission's report contained 212 recommendations, one of which was to create a $4 billion government trust fund to pay for ocean initiatives over four years. Some commissioners said Friday they had not seen the president's plan and did not yet know how many of their specific recommendations would be implemented.
Some in the environmental community said they are "cautiously optimistic" about Bush's plans. While the ocean advocates said they were impressed that the administration appears to support reversing ocean damage, they voiced concern that its efforts won't go far enough.
The National Resources Defense Council said the president's plan "does not match the seriousness of the problems plaguing our oceans."
Sarah Chasis, director of the council's coastal and water program, added, "Creating a Cabinet-level committee is a good idea, but we need a specific presidential directive to the committee to implement a policy that will restore and protect our oceans. Right now there is no clear mandate for the committee."
The committee will include Cabinet secretaries as well as members of the Marine Mammal Commission, NASA and the National Science Foundation.
Connaughton said the committee will improve communication between the White House and Congress on matters relating to oceans, coral reefs and the Great Lakes.
Great Lakes issues--mainly strategies to control pollution and invasive species--will be led in part by state and local leaders, including Chicago Mayor Richard Daley.
In 2002, Daley created the Great Lakes Cities Initiative to address such issues as pollution and runoff.
"I think Washington is really looking to Mayor Daley as a major leader on Great Lakes issues," said David Ullrich, executive director for the Chicago initiative. "We felt very strongly that it was important to get a local perspective brought to all the various Great Lakes decision-making tables and it is obvious that is happening."
In this photo provided by the White House, President Bush signs an executive order on the establishment of the Committee on Ocean Policy in the Oval Office at the White House Friday, Dec. 17, 2004, in Washington. Attending the signing from left to right: Vice Admiral Conrad Lautenbacher, Jr., Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Commerce Secretary Donald Evans, Chairman Jim Connaughton, Council on Environmental Quality; Assistant Secretary of Policy, Management, and Budget, Dept. of the Interior, Lynn Scarlett and Admiral James D. Watkins, Chairman, U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy. (AP Photo/White House, Paul Morse).
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...hicagotrib/bushcreatespanelonoceansgreatlakes
USCOP Home Page: http://www.oceancommission.gov
Preliminary Report Home Page:
http://www.oceancommission.gov/documents/prelimreport/welcome.html
Complete Report (4.9MB pdf):
http://www.oceancommission.gov/documents/prelimreport/00_complete_prelim_report.pdf
Chapter 1 (488KB pdf): States that the US MO retail trade is worth $3 billion. Also mentions the aquarium trade being partly responsible for releasing non-native species.
http://www.oceancommission.gov/documents/prelimreport/chapter01.pdf
Chapter 17 (328KB pdf): Aquarists releasing non-native species mentioned. See Recommendation 17-3.
http://www.oceancommission.gov/documents/prelimreport/chapter17.pdf
Chapter 21 (168KB pdf): Detrimental effects of fishing (fisheries) on corals (not sure if this includes MO trade) see Recommendation 21-2. Sustainable harvest of coral reef resources by the MO trade, suggestion for it to be modeled after the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998, see Recommendation 21-3.
http://www.oceancommission.gov/documents/prelimreport/chapter21.pdf
Chapter 22 (152KB pdf): Increased funding for marine aquaculture, see Recommendation 22-3.
http://www.oceancommission.gov/documents/prelimreport/chapter22.pdf
MASNA Industry and Ocean Conservation Website: http://www.masna.org/iloc/index.php
