The National Marine Fisheries Service is holding a series of public meetings to discuss its proposed rule regarding Hawaiian Monk Seal critical habitat. The proposed rule is here. The rule's background is:
In the notice of the proposed rulemaking, we propose to revise the current critical habitat for the Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi)
Marine spatial planning and ocean governance is a very hot issue these days. Professor Robin Craig from Florida State University College of Law posted an upcoming law review article on the subject, entitled: Ocean Governance for the 21st Century: Making Marine Zoning Climate Change Adaptable. It is available on SSRN here.
More and more Americans are
Lots of ocean environmental issues in the news today.
The Star Advertiser reports that Japanese researchers discovered rare earth minerals in the Pacific Ocean, apparently beyond the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone. Several interviewed, including my former colleague Robert Harris, have expressed some concerns about the environmental impacts of such action. This is an interesting discovery
Per Cruise Law News, environmental groups filed a federal lawsuit seeking to require cruise ships to slow down in order to avoid whale strikes. Apparently, the suit seeks to compel the government to regulate ship speed in California's four national marine sanctuaries.
I'll post the complaint when it is available from the court.
The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting today about a new venture aiming to create a community 12 nautical miles off the coast of California. The community would include barges and towers and is billed as "Burning Man Meets Silicon Valley Meets the Water."
Of course, the maritime wonk in me has some questions. Presumably, they chose
This post is entirely off topic, but hopefully, will capture some of the images during a recent trip to Southeast Asia for my other job, the Coast Guard Reserve. It was a work trip, not a tourist one, but I took a few pictures when I could.
Sunset at the Foreign Correspondent’s Club in Phnom
I've been asked to speak to the State and Local Government Section of the American Bar Association's Spring Meeting in Portland next week. I'll be presenting on Regional Land Use Controls, using Hawaii's Land Use Commission as a starting point to explore some lessons learned with land use controls above the county level.
If you
