SAMP stakeholders to meet Oct. 29

Susan A. Baird

10/22/2008

NARRAGANSETT – Fishermen, boaters, developers, environmentalists and others interested in the R.I. Ocean Special Area Management Plan (SAMP) project are invited to attend the first meeting of a new stakeholders’ group, which will gather next Wednesday at the University of Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay campus.
“The Ocean SAMP … will make Rhode Island the first state in the nation to zone its offshore waters for current uses – such as commercial fishing; habitat protection for fish, marine animals, and birds; and marine transportation – and potential new activities, including renewable energy development,” the R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) said in announcing the group’s formation.
The R.I. Ocean SAMP will define use zones for about 1,547 square miles of state and federal waters off the coast of Rhode Island. It is being developed by a team of scientists, engineers and other researchers (READ MORE), with input from the public and various experts and stakeholders.

“Public involvement will help shape the policy and is crucial to the success of the Ocean SAMP,” the team said on its Web site. “All Rhode Islanders are invited to share their insights and concerns about offshore renewable energy and the Ocean SAMP with the project management team.”
The the CRMC – which is leading the Ocean State’s SAMP effort – already has been seeking public input on how to manage other “special areas” across the state. For instance at a public hearing last week at Middletown Town Hall, the agency collected comment from Newport, Middletown and Portsmouth residents about the Aquidneck Island regional SAMP.
Now, the CRMC is forming an ongoing stakeholder group, to “create a forum that engages key constituencies and the public in the development of the Ocean SAMP,” the agency said.
“During this two-year process, the stakeholder group members will learn about the technological and scientific information being collected to create an Ocean SAMP, be able to voice their concerns and issues, and provide thoughtful input on the process and products,” the CRMC added. All stakeholder sessions will be open to the public.
The first R.I. Ocean SAMP stakeholders’ meeting will be next Wednesday, Oct. 29, from 6 to 8:30 p.m., in the Hazard room of the URI Coastal Institute building, on the Graduate School of Oceanography’s Narragansett Bay campus. Directions to the campus are available online from URI.
The SAMP team is based on the Bay campus, in the Rhode Island Sea Grant offices at the URI Coastal Resources Center.
The R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) is leading the effort to develop a R.I. Ocean Special Area Management Plan (SAMP), which also has the support of the URI Coastal Resources Center and Rhode Island Sea Grant, as well as the participation of the U.S. Minerals Management Service, Army Corp of Engineers, R.I. Department of Environmental Management (DEM) and other agencies with authority in state and federal offshore waters. Additional information is available at SeaGrant.gso.uri.edu/OceanSamp.