For Release: Wednesday, September 19, 2007
The New York Ocean and Great Lakes Ecosystem Conservation Council Announces Major Shift in New York State's Approach to Coastal Conservation
Commissioner of Environmental Conservation Pete Grannis and Secretary of State Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez convened the first official meeting of the New York Ocean and Great Lakes Ecosystem Conservation Council today, announcing New York State's adoption of a new approach known as ecosystem-based management to help conserve and protect the State's coastal ecosystems, specifically the Great Lakes, the Atlantic Ocean, and their watersheds.
Ecosystem-based management is an integrated organizational approach to decision making that considers an entire ecological community, including humans, to create a sound blueprint for the near and long-term. Ecosystem-based management is different from typical management practices. It switches the typical regulatory system - which is largely sector-based (e.g., water, transportation, economic growth) and often conflicted - to one that coordinates sectors and government agencies, balances competing uses and focuses on interacting systems. Ecosystem-based management has been endorsed by the Pew Oceans Commission, the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative and more than two hundred of the nation's top coastal scientists.
The Honorable Leon Panetta, Co-Chair of the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative, former Congressman, former White House Chief of Staff, and former Chair of the Pew Oceans Commission, was the featured speaker at the inaugural meeting. A leader in reforming national ocean policy, Panetta was invited by Governor Eliot Spitzer to share his national perspective.
"New York, a State founded on its rich diversity of waterways, islands, and ecosystems, is reaffirming its identity as a coastal State," said Governor Spitzer. "Ecosystem-based management will provide a comprehensive and collaborative approach to protecting and sustaining our valuable environmental assets in such areas as the New York Harbor, the Hudson River Basin, Lake Champlain, Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, and the Atlantic Ocean."
"New York has become the leader in protecting its coastlines and managing the State's critical resources," said Mr. Panetta. "Its establishment of a strong state policy that conserves, maintains, and restores our ocean and coastal resources and encourages the concepts of ecosystem-based management is commendable. New York's important work is being looked to by other states around the country and could influence actions at the national level."
The New York Ocean and Great Lakes Ecosystem Conservation Council is made up of representatives of the Department of Environmental Conservation, Department of Agriculture and Markets, Empire State Development, Office of General Services, Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, Department of State, Department of Transportation, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the State University of New York. Broadly, the Council's goals include:
- Clean coastal waters and beaches
- Safe seafood
- Healthy marine life
- Vibrant coastal communities
- Resilient coastlines
"Typically, state and federal entities have just managed one species at a time, one issue at a time, without looking at the whole ecosystem," said Commissioner Grannis. "Ecosystem-based management will consider all the components -- habitat, water quality, energy, transportation and others -- as we improve our ability to sustain economic and environmental health."
"As the nation's top scientists have recommended, ecosystem-based management holds the greatest promise of restoring clean water and beaches, providing abundant safe seafood and healthy habitats, and generating thriving coastal communities," said Secretary Cortés-Vázquez.
"The ecosystem-based management approach that New York State is embracing will help us restore and protect the ecological and economic value of our ocean and coastal resources and serve as an important model for other states and the federal government to follow," said Sarah Chasis, Ocean Initiative Director, Natural Resources Defense Council.
In 2008, the Council will take steps to fix some of the known ecosystems problems in two key areas of the State which are Long Island's Great South Bay and Sandy Creeks watershed of Eastern Lake Ontario. The Council will integrate the following ecosystem-based management principles into daily decision-making:
- Base decisions on local factors
- Use the most current scientific findings
- Adapt decisions to changing circumstances
- Use measurable objectives to direct and evaluate performance
- Recognize the interconnections among and within ecosystems
- Involve those affected by decisions
The new Council is slated to deliver a report to the Governor and State Legislature by November 2008 regarding how to implement ecosystem-based management across the State.
