Improving Interactions Between Coastal Science and Policy: Proceedings of the Gulf of Maine Symposium (1995)

David Townsend

University of Maine

In November 1990, Public Law 101-593 was signed into law. It authorized the establishment of nine Regional Marine Research (RMR) Programs around the country to (1) set priorities for regional marine and coastal research in support of efforts to safeguard the water quality and ecosystem health of each region, and (2) carry out such research through grants and improved coordination. The Gulf of Maine is one of the nine regions.

Each Regional Program is directed by an appointed board of 11 members. NOAA and EPA oversee the program nationally, and the administrators of the two agencies appoint three and two members, respectively, to each regional board. State governors in each region (in this case, Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire) appoint six board members. The board's chair is a Sea Grant Director in the region, who is one of the NOAA appointees. The members of the Gulf of Maine RMR Board are (with one vacancy to be appointed by Massachusetts)

Dr. Ronald C. Baird, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (NOAA Appointee)

Dr. David S. Bartlett, University of New Hampshire (N.H. Appointee)

Mr. William Brennan, Maine Department of Marine Resources (Maine Appointee)

Dr. Matthew Liebman, EPA Northeast Regional Office (EPA Appointee)

Mr. John Nelson, N.H. Division of Marine Fisheries (N.H. Appointee)

Dr. John B. Pearce, National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Appointee)

Dr. Judith Pederson, Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management Office (Mass. Appointee)

Dr. Donald Phelps, EPA Narragansett Marine Laboratory (EPA Appointee)

Dr. James Storer, Maine Marine Research Board (Maine Appointee)

Dr. Robert E. Wall, Chair, University of Maine Sea Grant College Program (NOAA Appointee)

Dr. David W. Townsend, Executive Director, University of Maine

The Gulf of Maine RMR Board has overall responsibility for the management and content of this program. The University of Maine serves as the administrative home and grantee institution for the program through an agreement between it and the board. Administrative costs are covered by NOAA funding.

A research plan, laying out the goals of the Gulf of Maine RMR Program, was developed in accord with the authorizing legislation, and with input from the Gulf of Maine scientific community through the Regional Association for Research on the Gulf of Maine. The plan includes a description of research needs and priorities for the next decade. It was reviewed by major interest groups in the region, and was subsequently approved by the NOAA/EPA RMRP Executive Council.

The Gulf of Maine RMRP Goals/Priorities—The 10-year goal of the Gulf of Maine Regional Marine Research Program is to work toward a suite of models that collectively simulate how the Gulf of Maine ecosystem, and its interacting components, function naturally and under stress.

Themes/Critical Research Needs—The primary objectives, during the early stages of the development of the Gulf of Maine RMR Program, will be to support research projects that meet initially-identified, high priority needs for scientific information, as laid out in the RMRP Gulf of Maine Research Plan (1992). These needs focus on:

• patterns and mechanisms of transport of contaminants, including nutrients, and their effects on living marine resources; and

• physical, chemical, and biological controls on noxious/excessive phytoplankton phenomena.

Strategy—The early development of a working model of the circulation of the Gulf of Maine was identified as a critical, initial research objective. Such a model will then provide a basis for follow-up research in other areas, such as studies of pollutant transport, nutrient budgets, and plankton spatial patterns, which will be necessary components of any future ecosystem models.

• The Gulf of Maine Research Plan was developed in 1991-1992, with the assistance of the Regional Association for Research on the Gulf of Maine (RARGOM), and was submitted to NOAA in June 1992. The plan was approved by NOAA and EPA in Fall 1992.

• The first request for proposals was issued in June 1992; proposals were selected for funding starting June 1, 1993.

• The second RFP was issued in February 1993; proposals were selected for funding starting September 1, 1993.

• The third RFP was issued in January 1994; the anticipated funding start date was September 1, 1994.

• An RFP was issued in June 1994 for a Data Information Management System.

Gordon Wallace

University of Massachusetts

The Regional Association for Research on the Gulf of Maine (RARGOM) is a nonpartisan representative of the marine scientific community and its scientific interests relative to oceanography, ecology, natural resources, and environmental quality in the Gulf region. It is established and maintained by free association among member institutions. The purpose of the association is to foster quality scientific research on the Gulf of Maine through increased communications and collaborations among the region's institutions. More specifically, the association has as its objectives the promotion of efficient use of resources through coordination of marine research and monitoring in the Gulf of Maine; enhancement of scientific planning and inter-institutional communication by facilitating the availability of research funds and facilities to scientists at member institutions; the planning, organization, and implementation of long-range and interdisciplinary research programs in the Gulf of Maine; communication of the need for and results of scientific research on the Gulf of Maine to the user community and the public at large; and providing scientific and technical advice and planning for federal, regional, state, and local agencies and organizations. In support of these objectives, RARGOM has entered into a three-way agreement with the Regional Marine Research Board and the Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment that, while recognizing the independent missions of each, facilitates the communication, integration, and cross-fertilization of ideas that are of mutual benefit to each. In support of these objectives, RARGOM has generated the widely distributed Gulf of Maine Research

Plan and co-sponsored an ongoing series of regional workshops on topics of mutual interest to the association, the Regional Marine Research Board, and the Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment.