[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 180 (Monday, September 19, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57180-57181]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-20212]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Public Meeting and Listening Session for Developing the National 
Ocean Service Strategic Plan

AGENCY: National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and opportunity to comment.

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SUMMARY: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National 
Ocean Service (NOS) is currently developing a new strategic plan. NOS 
will hold a public meeting to solicit early input to inform the 
development of this plan.

DATES: The virtual public meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 
27, 2022, from 3-4:30 p.m. eastern daylight time (EDT). NOAA may end 
the meeting before 4:30 p.m. EDT if all participants have concluded 
their oral comments.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held virtually using Adobe Connect. 
Participants may also join the meeting by phone using this toll-free 
number: 877-462-2185 with a passcode of 9687178. To register for the 
meeting please use this link https://noaabroadcast.adobeconnect.com/e31ixeyt0hw6/event/registration.html.
    To provide oral comment during the virtual listening session, 
please sign up prior to the meeting by selecting the option to speak 
when you pre-register, or by contacting Michelle Rome by email at 
[email protected] or phone at 240-533-0669. Please indicate what 
topic(s) you would like to comment on, including: ``Conserve, Restore, 
Connect,'' ``Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, and 
Accessibility,'' ``Coastal Resilience,'' ``New Blue Economy,'' and 
``Other Input.'' Participants may also sign-up to speak during the 
meeting. However, priority will be given to participants who pre-
register to speak.
    The meeting is accessible to people with disabilities. Closed 
captioning will be available. Requests for other auxiliary aids should 
be sent to [email protected] or by phone at 240-533-0669 by 
September 21, 2022.
    Please note that the meeting will not be recorded. However, public 
comments, including any associated names, will be captured in the 
minutes of the meeting, will be maintained by the NOS as part of its 
administrative record, and may be subject to public release pursuant to 
the Freedom of Information Act. By signing up to provide a comment, you 
agree that these communications, including your name and comment, will 
be maintained as described here.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Michelle Rome, Executive Officer, 
NOS Assistant Administrator's Office, by email at 
[email protected] or phone at 240-533-0669.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NOS is developing a new strategic plan for 
2024-2029. The strategic plan will define a future course as NOS 
continues to play a critical role in filling important needs for our 
national and coastal communities, including tackling the climate 
crisis, understanding and reversing declining ecosystem functions, and 
meeting the ever-expanding needs for authoritative environmental 
information.
    This new plan also represents an opportunity for NOS to refresh our 
priorities, track our progress toward our goals, and align with the 
Department of Commerce (DOC) and NOAA strategic plans. Connecting these 
efforts, both across the agency and with partners, will allow us to 
achieve a greater impact through collaboration and information sharing.
    We are seeking early input from the public as we begin to develop 
and define our long-term goals, objectives, and opportunities. In 
addition, we welcome your views on how external partnerships can help 
us better achieve our mission within NOS. Please consider the four 
priorities below and bring your ideas to the NOS Strategic Planning 
Listening Session on September 27, 2022. Participants are encouraged to 
sign-up to speak prior to the meeting by selecting the option to speak 
when you pre-register through this link https://noaabroadcast.adobeconnect.com/e31ixeyt0hw6/event/registration.html, or 
by contacting Michelle Rome by email at [email protected] or phone 
at 240-533-0669.
    Conserve, Restore, Connect: America's ocean and coasts are facing 
significant and increasing pressures from human activity and climate 
change. NOS would like to hear your ideas on what is most needed to 
mitigate stressors, enhance degraded ecosystems, restore lost benefits, 
and provide value-added products and services that facilitate 
sustainable use, especially within marine protected areas. How can NOS 
data, observations, and scientific expertise be best utilized to 
achieve these aims? We'd also like to hear from you on how conserving 
and restoring ecosystems can address the causes and effects of the 
climate crisis.
    Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, and Accessibility: 
Diversity, equity, inclusion, justice and accessibility are fundamental 
principles that underpin NOS values and how we conduct our mission, 
guiding our actions today and into the future. To ensure our mission 
benefits more communities across the nation and serves all people 
fairly and responsibly, NOS is interested in hearing your thoughts on 
how we can improve our efforts to equitably provide our data, products, 
and services. We'd also like your thoughts on how we can better 
leverage the various expertise and abilities of our external partners 
and additional organizations to attract, recruit and retain a diverse, 
highly-capable workforce, especially for future mission needs.
    Coastal Resilience: U.S. coastal States, territories, communities, 
economies, and ecosystems are facing an array of event-based and long-
term coastal hazards, including the impacts of changing water levels, 
land subsidence, marine debris, oil and chemical spills, harmful algal 
blooms, ocean acidification, and marine heat waves. Risk-informed 
decision making requires accurate and authoritative data, observations, 
modeling, mapping, and services that quantify and clearly communicate 
the drivers of coastal flood risk. NOS addresses this need by providing 
equitable access to actionable, authoritative data, products, and 
services relevant to coastal conditions and change that helps 
communities plan for both the near- and long-term resilience and 
adaptation of the nation's coasts in a changing climate. How can NOS 
coastal and ocean data, modeling, predictions, training, grants, tools, 
services, and products better support communities to prepare for 
increased near and long-term threats? How can we help ensure the 
equitable delivery of resilience information and resources to 
historically underserved communities?
    New Blue Economy: NOS envisions a sustainable and equitable ocean 
and coastal economy that optimizes advances in science and technology 
to create value-added, data-driven economic opportunities and solutions 
to pressing societal needs. The New Blue Economy is focused on applying 
science and technology, especially the vast amounts of data and 
information they yield, to catalyze public and private sector 
innovation. By promoting U.S. development of new and improved data-
derived products and services, NOS hopes to ensure that the nation has 
access to better tools to inform decision making across all Blue 
Economy sectors.

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How can NOS better support and accelerate the growth of the New Blue 
Economy? How can NOS support efforts to ensure there is a diverse and 
available talent pool and workforce that is essential to the success of 
the New Blue Economy?

Nicole R. LeBoeuf,
Assistant Administrator for Ocean Services and Coastal Zone Management, 
National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2022-20212 Filed 9-16-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-JE-P