Ian A. Bowles, Secretary
Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
100 Cambridge Street, Suite 900
Boston, MA 02114
Dear Secretary Bowles,
Thank you for providing us the opportunity to comment on this important plan. My name is Matthew Boger with the Ocean Conservancy and a member of the Massachusetts Ocean Coalition. We represent a Coalition of over 25 environmental organizations including the Ocean Conservancy, MA Audubon, and the Conservation Law Foundation.
First and foremost, we would like to applaud Governor Patrick, Secretary Bowles, and this Commission for starting this process of creating the first in the nation ocean management plan. These listening sessions are a necessary step in helping to determine the many uses of our ocean and to ensure that the ocean's natural habitat is preserved and protected.
The MA Ocean Coalition believes there are 5 principles that a viable Ocean Plan must meet:
1. Use the best available scientific understanding of ocean wildlife and underwater habitats.
2. Develop an open process for incorporating new information and collecting data that doesn't already exist.
3. Balance the uses of the ocean with protections for marine wildlife and habitat. The ocean plan should develop a way to determine what uses are compatible with each other and the unique habitats on which they take place and the species they may affect.
4. Identify and protect special, sensitive or unique estuarine and marine habitats. Any use of the ocean should not alter or endanger the ecology of the ocean.
5. Identify areas for locating appropriate scale renewable energy facilities. Appropriate scale will be an important term to define and should relate specifically to the habitat and resources defining different areas within Massachusetts' ocean waters.
We look forward to participating in this process as the ocean plan is formulated and working with the Commission, the Science Advisory Council, and the six working groups. Please use us as a resource. We will be active throughout the planning process and look forward to continuing this open dialog.
Thank you for this opportunity.
Sincerely,
Matthew Boger
Massachusetts Ocean Coalition
© 2008 Massachusetts Ocean Action Coalition
Conservation Law Foundation | Mass Audubon