From the President’s Office – 7/10/09
Filed under: About,From The President's Office,News & Resources
I knew when President Barack Obama took office that some major changes were going to occur in this town, especially with respect to colleagues and friends taking important leadership positions here within the federal government. I was absolutely delighted to learn the news yesterday that Marcia McNutt has been nominated as the next Director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Science Advisor to the Secretary of Interior. This is wonderful news for USGS, because their new leader is someone who has always been such a forward strategic thinker and a person who knows how to get things done. And, it is great for the ocean community because I am confident that Marcia will make certain that the oceans will always be a significant component in the strategy for accomplishing the USGS mission. We are very fortunate to have Marcia’s intellect, expertise, and experience here in Washington particularly at this time given that the Obama Administration has highlighted priorities such as climate change and energy security front and center, as vital components of his administration’s agenda. I am sure that you will all join me in congratulating Marcia on her nomination.
As many of you already know, I have been asked to make a presentation next week on behalf of the ocean sciences community to representatives of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force led by the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality. The Task Force includes senior officials from all of the federal agencies. They have been charged by President Obama to develop recommendations for a national policy for our ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems and to recommend an effective framework for coastal and marine spatial planning. I am very pleased that the Task Force has looked to Ocean Leadership as a voice of the ocean science community, and I look forward to discussing with them the critical role sound ocean science plays in planning and implementing sound national ocean policy. My presentation, along with the committee’s deliberations, will be available in the coming weeks on the Task Force web site which is being developed. We will let you know when that site is up and running so that each of you has the opportunity for input to the Task Force.
Needless to say, it is an extremely busy time here at Ocean Leadership, but there is a lot of excitement and enthusiasm since it is clear that we all can have a real impact on the direction this country is taking in ocean policy.
