Vol. 1, No. 2
Headline Back Issues
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Council recruits members for Business Advisory Committee Saint John, New Brunswick -- Area business leaders and Gulf of Maine Council members met here in April to explore what role businesses could play in the Council's efforts to support a sustainable Gulf of Maine ecosystem. The luncheon meeting, hosted by New Brunswick private sector Council Member Edward MacLean, drew 13 executives from the St. John region. Bernard Theriault, Council Secretariat and Minister of New Brunswick's Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, addressed the group. Similar meetings are under way throughout the Gulf as the Council seeks to expand membership in its Business Advisory Committee. The Council is recruiting businesses that are concerned with the Gulf environment and are seeking a role in its stewardship. The Business Advisory Com-mittee advises the Council on projects and policy relevant to the business community, helps increase public and corporate awareness of the Gulf, and offers businesses the opportunity to participate in or sponsor Council projects and programs. For more information on the Business Advisory Committee, contact Sally Schmalz at (617) 728-0542. Council Secretariat moves to Massachusetts Boston, Massachusetts -- The office of the Secretariat for the Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment will move from Fredericton, New Brunswick to Boston, Massachusetts, where it will operate beginning June 13. The Secretariat, which supplies administrative, organizational, and reporting services, rotates annually among the Council's five jurisdictions. Massachusetts' Executive Office of Environmental Affairs Secretary Trudy Coxe will serve in the position of Secretariat. The Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management Office will provide staff. The Secretariat can be reached at (617) 727-9530, ext. 210. Sea grant fellow seeks data on coastal habitat program Boston, Massachusetts -- Sea grant fellow Chris Cornelisen is compiling information for an Internet-available database on coastal habitat restoration programs in the Gulf of Maine. Cornelisen's research encompasses restoration work under way in Maine, Massachusetts, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, and Nova Scotia. To contribute to the database, call him at the Massachusetts Coastal Zone Manage-ment Office in Boston at (617) 727-9530, ext. 249. Refurbished Council home page a welcome site Durham, New Hampshire -- The Gulf of Maine Council's Information Management Committee recently redesigned the Council's home page making it easier to use and providing more links to Gulf-related information. The web site address for the home page, which is based at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, is http://gulfofmaine.unh.edu/cme.html. The home page offers access to Council announcements and to the Environmental Data and Information Management System [EDIMS] that contains documents, resource directories, and databases relating to the Gulf and likely to be of interest to state and provincial planners, marine environment and resource managers, marine scientists and engineers, and others interested in or working on Gulf of Maine issues. The site also includes a Gulf of Maine calendar; a Coastal Habitat Restoration Database Submission Form; a document library; and electronic data in both real-time and archive form. Coast Way would promote Gulf's natural, cultural heritage Portland, Maine -- Supporters of a Gulf of Maine Coast Way say the proposed system linking natural and historical heritage sites from Nova Scotia to Massachusetts would promote eco-tourism while encouraging sustainable use of the Gulf's resources. Representatives from government agencies, the tourism industry, conservation groups, and non-governmental organizations in the states and provinces bordering the Gulf discussed the proposal at an April meeting in Portland The proposed Coast Way would connect existing trails, scenic drives, and byways in the Gulf's five jurisdictions -- Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. Special signs would mark the Coast Way system, which would also incorporate an Internet site, guidebook, map, and a set of informational audiotapes. Promoters of the Coast Way planned to present their proposal and funding request to state and provincial governments and the Gulf of Maine Council in June. Marine Protected Areas to help with Gulf management Freeport, Maine -- Stakeholders from the Gulf's five jurisdictions met here in April to discuss how Marine Protected Areas can serve as a tool in managing the Gulf's natural resources. Those attending the Marine Protected Areas workshop, sponsored by the Gulf of Maine Council, included environmental agency officials, harvesters, scientists, and representatives of non-governmental organizations. Marine Protected Areas are intertidal or subtidal terrain protected by any legislation, regulation, or ordinance to conserve nature or to promote sustainable use of natural ecosystems. An ecosystem consists of the interconnected physical, chemical, and biological components of a natural feature, such as a body of water. Workshop organizer Sam Brody, a planner for the Maine Coastal Program at the state Planning Office, said attendees established an ad-hoc committee to collaborate with the Gulf of Maine Council on developing a network of Marine Protected Areas in the Gulf. Brody noted that a future program will incorporate educational, recreational, and scientific components, and will also address conservation of regionally significant habitats in the Gulf -- its wide variety of resident plant and animal species. |
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Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine