File Needs to Be Updated for Year 2000, 2001, & 2002

File needs to be updated for year 2000, 2001, & 2002.

1a / A Brief History (1989 - 1999)

·In 1989, the Governors of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine, and the Premiers of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick convened a conference of over 300 participants to discuss cooperation between the states and provinces in order to sustain biological productivity in the Gulf of Maine. The conference concluded with the signing of an Agreement to cooperatively work to achieve sustainable development in the region, protect natural resources, and maintain the ecological balance of the Gulf through:

-- promotion of research and monitoring

-- reduction of marine debris

-- protection of habitat

-- management of data and information

-- production and dissemination of educational materials

·The Council’s work began with the development and implementation of a ten-year Action Plan, which addressed five major issue categories:

-- Monitoring and Research

-- Coastal and Marine Pollution

-- Protection of Public Health

-- Habitat Protection

-- Education and Participation

·State and provincial Council members were joined by federal partners and non-governmental members with interests in Gulf-wide issues.

·The Council established specific Program Committees to help develop projects and direct Action Plan implementation for Monitoring and Research, Marine Debris Reduction, Data and Information Management, and Public Education.

·The Council convened a second Gulf of Maine Conference in Wolfville, Nova Scotia in 1994 with more than 150 non-governmental environmental and community organizations, following which the Council adopted “habitat” as its unifying program theme for the future and began work on a revised Action Plan.

·In 1994, the U.S. Congress awarded a $1.9 million matching grant to the Council for program development in its five Habitat Priority Focus Areas (see Section 1b).

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Gulf of Maine Chronology

DateActivity

1988

June-AugustState and Provincial agency representatives meet to discuss common environmental concerns in the Gulf of Maine.

AugustGovernors and Premiers establish the Gulf of Maine Working Group.

SeptemberWorking Group agrees upon initial activities of the Gulf Program: development of a “State of the Gulf” report, design of a marine environmental monitoring program; organization of a bilateral Gulf conference. Federal agencies from both countries invited to join Working Group as observers.

OctoberWorking Group begins bi-monthly meeting schedule, alternating meeting location between Boston and Halifax. States receive federal grant from NOAA to support activities of the Gulf Program.

1989

JanuaryDraft of the Agreement on the Conservation of the Marine Environment completed; Gulf conference format discussed.

MarchFirst edition of Program newsletter, Turning the Tide, produced; subsequent quarterly mailings to 3000 readers.

April-SeptemberLanguage of Gulf Agreement is revised and amended; Conference logistics discussed, formalized; design of monitoring program considered; draft of The Gulf of Maine - Sustaining our Common Heritage report reviewed, revised.

SeptemberStates receive second federal grant to continue development of Gulf Program.

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NovemberConference details finalized; post-conference strategy for Gulf Program discussed. Sustaining our Common Heritage published. Monitoring program design contract awarded to consortium of Camp, Dresser and McKee, Inc., Maine Watch Institute, and the New Brunswick Productivity Council.

DecemberGulf Conference held in Portland, Maine; Agreement on the Conservation of the Marine Environment signed by Governors and Premiers.

1990

JanuaryHighlights of Conference and consensus points discussed; Council appointments considered; options for structure of Action Plan reviewed.

MarchComponents of Action Plan debated; progress on monitoring plan reported; first Council meeting agenda drafted.

AprilCouncil meeting agenda finalized; format and content of Action Plan discussed; additional Gulf activities presented.

MayCanadian-American Center completes Gulf Conference proceedings.

JuneCouncil holds first meeting in Halifax.

JulyMaine assumes Chair of Council and Secretariat. Gulf-wide shoreline cleanup wins national award in US. Gulf of Maine satellite photo poster produced.

AugustEnvironmental impacts of finfish culture workshop Proceedings released. NMFS initiates habitat mitigation study for Gulf Program.

SeptemberNew England states receive $97,000 federal grant from NOAA for Gulf Program; states commit $29,000 in matching funds. Edmund S. Muskie Institute and State of Maine initiate non-governmental funding research. Working Group meets in Boston.

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OctoberGulf Program receives $250,000 grant from the US Congress for Gulf Data and Information Management system. Gulf Marine Environmental Monitoring Program receives $30,000 funding from NOAA for pilot project. US Army Corps of Engineers briefed on Gulf of Maine Program activities.

NovemberCouncil on Marine Environment holds second meeting in Ogunquit, Maine. Gulf Program finance network and education and participation task forces created. Draft Action Plan approved for public release. Environmental Monitoring Program “Gulfwatch” pilot project approved. Working Group meets. Gulf of Maine Finance Network and Marine Education Task Force created.

DecemberCanadian Green Plan released.

1991

JanuaryGulf Science Workshop held in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. NMFS Habitat Mitigation report released. Non-governmental sources of funding report released. Working Group meets.

FebruaryMonitoring program implementation strategy drafted, reviewed. Gulf Program receives $10,000 from Environment Canada. Funding the Gulf of Maine Program report released.

MarchAction Plan comments reviewed, Plan revised. EPA and Congressional staff briefed on Gulf Program activities. Education and Participation Task Force meets. Atlantic Coastal Action Plan (ACAP) formed. Working Group meets in St. Stephen, New Brunswick.

AprilGulf Program awarded $15,000 grant from EPA. Finance Network and Education and Participation Task Forces meet. NOAA staff briefing on Gulf Program held in Washington.

MayFinance Network and Education and Participation Task Forces finalize recommendations. Action Plan revisions completed. Gulf-wide electronic bulletin board system outlined.

JuneGulfwatch field sampling protocol workshops held. Working Group meets in Halifax.

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JulyCouncil meets in Bar Harbor; approves Gulf of Maine Action Plan. New Brunswick assumes Chair of Council and Secretariat. First Gulf of Maine Visionary Awards announced. Gulf of Maine video, “Our Common Heritage” is produced and distributed. Council of Maritime Premiers, Land Registration & Information Service, hosts Coastal Zone Information Management Workshop.

AugustGulf of Maine Data and Information Management Committee meets. Gulfwatch Pilot Project deploys mussels around Gulf of Maine. Environment Canada releases second version of “Catalogue of Environmental Data in Atlantic Canada”.

SeptemberPublic Education and Participation Committee meets for the first time. Coastal Convergence 91, a citizens’ forum on coastal issues, is held in St. Andrews, New Brunswick. Two Gulf Bays initiate water quality protection programs, the Casco Bay and the Massachusetts Bay Program. Public Education and Participation Committee holds first meeting. Massachusetts receives $240,000 grant from NOAA for Data and Information Management System.

OctoberUS states involved in Gulf of Maine Program receive $250,000 grant from the US Department of Commerce. Working Group meets in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Coastal Convergence participants form coastal network.

NovemberGulfwatch mussels are collected. Environment Canada initiates Atlantic Canada Coastal Action Plan.

DecemberCouncil and Working Group meet in St. John, New Brunswick. Council agrees to recommend to the governors and premiers that its membership be expanded to include non-governmental members. Gulfwatch mussels are sent to Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection for analysis. New Brunswick Commission on Land Use and the Rural Environment is announced.

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1992

JanuaryThe Marine Law Institute and the Oceans Institute of Canada release report entitled “Assessing US and Canadian Laws and Programs Affecting the Marine and Coastal Environment of the Gulf of Maine”.

FebruaryGulf of Maine Working Group meets in Portsmouth, N.H. US State Department lends staff person to Gulf of Maine Program.

AprilEnvironment Canada hosts Gulf of Maine Action Plan Workshop in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Working Group meets in Halifax. Gulf of Maine Marine Education and Participation Workshop is held in Portland, Maine. “Clean the Bay” campaign is launched.

JuneCouncil member Richard Silkman speaks to meeting of national foundations on Gulf of Maine biodiversity. Governors and Premiers agree to expand Council to include one non-government member from each jurisdiction. Governor of Massachusetts and Premier of New Brunswick appoint non-government Council members.

JulyCouncil meeting in St. Andrews, New Brunswick. Council expanded to include one non-governmental member from each State and Province. Council adopts resolution to prohibit new combined sewer overflows. Massachusetts assumes the Secretariat. Portland Marine Debris Strategy Development initiated. Visionary Awards announced. Gulf of Maine Watershed map available.

AugustMussels deployed in twelve sites throughout the Gulf in the second year of the Gulfwatch Program. New Hampshire’s Great Bay National Wildlife Refuge transferred from the Air Force to the Department of the Interior. Piscataqua River equipment deployment exercise for oil spill response held in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

SeptemberMonitoring Committee meets in St. Andrews, New Brunswick; Gulfwatch report finalized.

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OctoberPublic Education and Participation Committee meets in Portland, Maine; State of the Gulf reporting discussed. Habitat workshop in St. Andrews, New Brunswick. Working Group meets in Portland, Maine. Approval of Priority Habitat Program. User needs analysis, database directory, and Environmental Data and Information Management System (EDIMS) unveiled. Portland Marine Debris project started. Conuslant oil spill drill held.

NovemberTurning the Tide, Vol. 4, No. 4 published. Data and Information Management Committee meets in Boston, Massachusetts; further development of EDIMS prototype discussed. First Gulf of Maine personnel exchange between Maine and New Brunswick on guidelines regarding the digging of pits and quarries. Massachusetts CZM announces two key federal consistency decisions regarding proposed Fan Pier Federal Court House and Massachusetts Bay disposal site. Maine initiates Damariscotta River Estuary Project. Stellwagen Bank in southwest Gulf of Maine off of Massachusetts is designated a National Marine Sanctuary.

DecemberCouncil and Working Group meet in Boston, Massachusetts; Council endorses strategy for fundraising and welcomes new Council members; Action Plan re-evaluation considered. Portland Marine Debris Council formed. New Brunswick announces five new ecological reserves and release of $35,000 for survey of point source pollution inventory. 1991 Gulfwatch report released. Proceedings from 1991 Gulf of Maine Scientific Workshop published.

1993

JanuaryCouncil signs documents for tax-exempt status. US-Canadian Strategic Environmental Assessment Workshop held in Halifax, Nova Scotia; plans for US-Canadian collaborative venture discussed. Maine and New Hampshire Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program releases volunteer water quality monitors handbook.

FebruaryGulf of Maine Partnership Workshop held in Portland, Maine; presentations on other regional organizations and identification of challenges of regional cooperation. Aquaculture and

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Environment Interaction Workshop held in St. Andrews, New Brunswick. Gulf of Maine Watershed map reprinted. Gulf of Maine US Congressional briefing held in Washington, D.C. Environment Canada representative gives presentation on Gulf of Maine Action Plan in Hanoi, Vietnam. Gulf of Maine written and telephone survey published.

MarchWorking Group meets in Halifax, Nova Scotia; Action Plan re-evaluation process approved. Turning the Tide, Vol. 5, No. 1 published. Gulf of Maine workshop held at Tufts University New England Environmental Network in Medford, Massachusetts. Sustainable development conference held in Brunswick, Maine. Massachusetts Bays Symposium held in Boston, Massachusetts. Gulf of Maine Council participates in Boston International Seafood Show. Canadian Atlantic Coastal Action Program (ACAP) completes community vision statements for several sites which sets the goals and objectives for their local environmental management plans. Data and Information Management Committee meets in conjunction with federal/provincial Atlantic (Canada) Coastal Zone Information Steering Committee in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

AprilConference on vision for cooperation between public and private sectors in Penobscot Bay held in Searsport, Maine. Citizen based water quality monitoring initiated in a number of ACAP sites including the Annapolis, St. John and St. Croix estuaries.

MayCollaboration of Community Foundations holds second Gulf-wide forum. Annual meeting of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers held in Stowe, Vermont; resolution endorsing the Gulf of Maine Council and directing the Council to draft new protocols for signature by the Governors and Premiers.

JuneFirst Gulf of Maine fact sheet drafted. Shellfish Habitat Restoration Workshop in St. Andrews, New Brunswick; fourteen recommendations for restoring shellfish habitat are produced. Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary dedication ceremonies in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Natural Areas Conference held in Orono, Maine. “Oceans Day” celebrated in Halifax/Dartmouth.

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JulyCouncil and Working Group meet in Plymouth, Massachusetts; Council approves recommendations to restore shellfish habitats. Joint statement among Gulf of Maine Regional Marine Research Board, Regional Association for Research on the Gulf of Maine, and the Council is endorsed. Council endorses effort to pass US federal legislation authorizing a federal Gulf of Maine Program. Nova Scotia assumes Council Chair and Secretariat. Turning the Tide, Vol. 5. No. 2 & 3 published.

AugustMonitoring Committee meets.

SeptemberSubmerged Lands Conference held in New Brunswick.

OctoberWorking Group meets in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Collaboration on the Gulf of Maine: A Workshop for NGOs held at Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve in Wells, Maine. Canadian federal agencies in Atlantic region meet to explore opportunities for involvement in Gulf of Maine Program. Dredging and Ocean Dumping Conference held.

NovemberData and Information Management Workshop held. Rockland Harbor Marine Debris Council report released. RARGOM’s circulation modeling of the Gulf of Maine workshop held. CZM workshop held in New Brunswick.

DecemberCouncil and Working Group meets in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Association of US Delegates to the Gulf of Maine Council holds first meeting. Association of Canadian Delegates to the Gulf of Maine Council holds first meeting.

1994

FebruaryPiscataqua Region Marine Debris Council initiated. Workshop for funders held.

MarchCouncil receives gift of $10,000 from Eastman Gelatine Corp. of Peabody, Massachusetts, to print Sea Beside the Sea brochure.

AprilCouncil and Working Group meets in Brunswick, Maine to Bowdoin College Gulf of Maine Institute. Workshop on Gulf of Maine habitat research needs held in West Boothbay Harbor by RARGOM, the Marine Research Board and the Council.

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MayGulf Program awarded $107,700 from NOAA and $60,000 from the US State Department to analyze most pressing marine water pollution issues in the Gulf and develop point source inventory.

JuneCouncil and Working Group meets in St. Andrews, New Brunswick. Annual New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers Conference adopted resolutions on Oceans and Sustainable Development and Fisheries and Community Adjustments. Gulfwatch annual summaries released. Data and Information Management System 5-year Plan released.

AugustCouncil and Working Group meets in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Sustaining Our Common Heritage Conference held. State of the Gulf fact sheet released. Identification of Species for Priority Habitat released. States receive $32,500 from NOAA to support Wolfville conference. Council receives $2,000 gift from Maine Yankee.

SeptemberProvincetown Marine Debris Task Force report released. Public Education and Participation Committee meets in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

OctoberWorking Group meets in Boston, Massachusetts. Point Source Inventory of Land-based Sources of Pollution released. “Understanding the Gulf of Maine’s Regional Business Climate” symposium held with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Meeting of the Gulf of Maine Business Initiative with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

NovemberImproving Interaction between Sciences and Policy in the Gulf of Maine Conference held. Data and Information Management Committee (DIMC) meets in Durham, New Hampshire.

DecemberCouncil and Working Group meets in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Council identifies “habitat” as its program focus. Council adopts protocols on information exchange, coastal management, habitat, and volunteers. EDIMS presentation.

1995

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JanuarySummary Report of Activities. Council, RARGOM, and the Regional Marine Research Board meet. US Association of Delegates and the acting Chair of the Gulf of Maine Council sign a grant award from the US Environmental Protection Agency for $1.9 million to fund projects in the Gulf of Maine. Public Education and Participation Committee meets in Falmouth, Maine.

FebruaryNOAA presentation. Monitoring Committee meets in Durham, New Hampshire. Marine Debris Mini-grants Program announced.

MarchWorking Group meets in St. John, New Brunswick.

AprilCouncil and Working Group meets in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Data and Information Management Committee meets in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

MayWorking Group meets in Cape Elizabeth to develop 1995-96 Annual Work Plan recommendations.

JuneCouncil and Working Group meets in Portsmouth, New Hampshire; Secretariat rotates to Maine from New Hampshire. Report on Economic Prospects for the Gulf of Maine presented. Council awards 14 marine debris mini-grants.

JulyGulf of Maine secretariat completes five-year circuit. Maine assumes Chair of Council and Secretariat for second time. Don Pohl hired as Executive Director of the U.S. Association of Delegates to the Gulf of Maine.

SeptemberMaine Coastal Program, working in cooperation with Council priorities, funded Study of The Common Loon in support of Council priorities. The Gulf of Maine Environmental Atlas released.

OctoberWorking Group meets in Halifax, Nova Scotia. A Sea Beside the Sea brochure released.

NovemberPublic Education and Participation Committee meets in Falmouth, Maine.

DecemberCouncil and Working Group meet in Portland, Maine. Wild Gulf Almanac released. 1995 Visionary Awards announced. “The Economic Prospect of the Gulf of Maine” released. Council awards %50,000 in small grants to 13 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) throughout the Gulf region. Secretariat publishes GOM Reference Handbook. The US GOM Association, Data Information and Management Committee, and Public Education and Participation Committee meet in Portland, Maine.