NOPP Program Update: March 2017

The official end of winter marks the conclusion of another busy month for the NOPP Office coordinating and supporting:

1. Ocean Research Advisory Panel (ORAP) teleconference webinar. The panel continued its discussion on ocean policy priorities and recommendations for the current administration.
2. The NOPP Committee March meeting revolved mainly around refining research topic language and establishing a timeline for this year’s Broad Agency Announcement (BAA).

The NOPP Office attended:

1. The Gulf of Mexico Congressional Briefing titled “Are we better informed today than before Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon Disaster? A discussion on the state of coastal observing in the Gulf of Mexico”. The briefing was sponsored by Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) and organized by the IOOS Association and the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System.

   

2. Consortium for Ocean Leadership Public Policy Forum titled “Feeding the Future: An Ocean of Opportunity”. The Forum involved a wide-ranging collection of speakers from academia and industry. Representatives from Congress including Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (OR-1), Congressman Jared Polis (CO-2), and Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) were also present and spoke to the key role oceans play in food security.
3. Bureau of Ocean Energy and Management (BOEM) Standing Committee on Offshore Science and Assessment (COSA) Webinar. COSA members reviewed BOEM’s Environmental Studies Program Strategic Framework and provided comments to improve the strategic goals and proposal review process.

   

4. Annual National Science Foundation Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Mini-Symposium on Ecological Change. Researchers from several LTER sites presented long-term research results detailing how ecosystems are changing from coast to coast. Topics ranged from wildfire impacts on Arctic climate, seagrass restoration and carbon sequestration in Virginia, and the recovery of U.S. Northeast forests from acid rain.
5. A hearing in front of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology titled “Climate Science: Assumptions, Policy Implications, and the Scientific Method”.

The NOPP Office is now accepting applications for the Fall 2017 NOPP Science and Policy Communications Fellow. The NOPP Fellow Program is designed to give soon-to-be or recent MA or MS graduates the opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills to address ocean science and policy communication challenges and coordinate activities that play a role in marine and coastal policy development, research efforts, partnership development, and STEM outreach. The deadline for applications is April 30^th.

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