Assessment and Advancement of Science in the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's Environmental Studies Program

Letter

Download PDF

Paperback - $36.00
Ebook - $29.69

Request an exam or desk copy

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) manages the energy and mineral resources on the outer continental shelf. BOEM's environmental program, by producing environmental studies and conducting environmental assessments, ensures that environmental protection is a critical element of BOEM's decision making. This report addresses BOEM's aspirations to conduct a first-in-class science program within their Environmental Studies Program (ESP).

This report describes attributes identified by the committee of a first-in-class, use-inspired, management-oriented science program (in this case, BOEM's ESP and its connection to the broader BOEM environmental program). The report recommends that BOEM develop procedures and conduct regular evaluations to assess whether and how well its environmental program meets the attributes of a first-in-class program and identify areas for improvement. It also outlines a framework for conducting such an evaluation. The report contains guidance and examples drawn from a workshop series with BOEM's peer agencies and other science programs, as well as other information gathering efforts. The guidance contained in this report is offered to BOEM as a starting point for developing more detailed processes for evaluating and improving its program.

Publication information

70 pages · 6 x 9 · paperback
ISBN Paperback: 0-309-27095-2
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-27097-9
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17226/26368

Suggested citation

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Attributes of a First-in-Class Environmental Program: A Letter Report Prepared for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

Import this citation to:

Craig Johnson

Craig Johnson (Chair) is an independent contractor who helps clients comply with the requirements of the Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, NEPA, Clean Water Act (Section 404), and Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act. In addition to expertise on complying with these statutes, Mr. Johnson specializes in ecological risk assessment, cumulative impact assessment, underwater acoustics, terrestrial acoustics, compensatory mitigation in coastal and marine environments, systematic reviews, and meta-analysis. Prior to entering the consulting field, Mr. Johnson worked for the U.S. government for 35 years. When he retired, he served as the National Marine Fisheries Service’s National Coordinator for Interagency Consultation where he oversaw that agency’s endangered species consultation program. Prior to that he held several posts with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service including Field Supervisor; Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife, and Parks; Endangered Species Division Chief; Fish and Wildlife Biologist; and Biological Technician. Mr. Johnson received his Master’s of Science degree in Natural Resource Management from the State University of New York, College at Cortland (1982) and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the State University of New York, College at Oswego (1977). Mr. Johnson was a former member of the National Academy of Science’s Committee on Offshore Science and Assessment.

Betsy Baker

Betsy Baker is a Global Fellow at the Wilson Center Polar Institute, the Principal of Baker Arctic Consulting, and a Distinguished Scholar at Vermont Law School. She retired in 2020 as Executive Director of the North Pacific Research Board, an Alaska-based marine science funding organization focused on fisheries management and ecosystem research. Her work linking science, law, and policy began as a scientific party member for two geophysical mapping cruises of the Arctic Ocean (USCG Healy 0805 and 0905) and subsequent tenure as a visiting scholar at the US Department of State Office of Ocean and Polar Affairs. There she coordinated the work of oceanographers, geologists, geographers, and lawyers to produce key documents in support of U.S. sovereign rights to the extended continental shelf. Building on three decades as a scholar and professor of international environmental and ocean law, Dr. Baker currently works primarily on Arctic Ocean issues, ranging from the use of indigenous and scientific knowledge in fisheries management to comparative offshore oil and gas regulation, and deep-sea mining. She earned her BA at Northwestern University, her JD at the University of Michigan, and her masters and doctoral degrees in law at Christian Albrechts University in Kiel, Germany following an Alexander von Humboldt Chancellor's Fellowship. She recently concluded two terms as a member of the Polar Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences (2014-2020).

Christopher S. Cameron

C. Scott Cameron is a petroleum geologist and principal of GeoLogical Consulting, LLC. He retired in late 2013 as Vice President of Deepwater Exploration and Appraisal for Shell’s Upstream Americas business, after 32 years with Shell companies. His expertise is in geology, exploration, development, and the business of oil and gas exploration and production. From 1999-2013 he led teams that found or acquired, and helped develop several billion barrels of oil equivalent in the deepwater basins of the Americas, rebuilding Shell’s deepwater portfolio. Currently, he is a consulting geologist for Deepwater Technology Services and Alpha Deepwater Services. He is a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG). He is a Trustee Associate and Member of the Corporation of the AAPG Foundation, and also serves as a Trustee of the American Geosciences Institute Foundation. He formerly served as a Board member for the National Ocean Industries Association (until late 2013). He served on the Board on Earth Sciences and Resources (BESR) of the NAS from 2015-2020. Since 2017 he has served on the Committee on Offshore Science and Assessment for the NAS, supporting the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). He holds a Ph.D. from MIT, a M.A. from Rice University, and a B.A. from Brown University, all in geology.

Daniel Costa

Daniel Costa is the Director of the Institute of Marine Sciences and Distinguished Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California at Santa Cruz. Daniel Costa completed a B.A. at UCLA and a Ph.D. at U.C. Santa Cruz followed by postdoctoral research at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. His research focuses on the ecology and physiology of marine mammals and seabirds, taking him to every continent and almost every habitat from the Galapagos to Antarctica. He has worked with a broad range of animals including turtles, penguins’ albatross, seals, sea lions, sirenians, whales and dolphins and has published over 400 scientific papers. His current work is aimed at recording the movement and distribution patterns of marine mammals and seabirds in an effort to understand their habitat needs. This work is helping to identify biodiversity hotspots and the factors that create them. He has been developing tools to identify and create viable Marine Protected Areas for the conservation of highly migratory species. In addition his research is studying the response of marine mammals to underwater sounds and developing ways to assess whether the potential disturbance may result in a population consequence. He has conducted assessments of the effect of oil spills on marine mammals through research supported by NOAA’s Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment Program and as part of the damage assessment for the Exxon Valdez oil spill. He has been very active in graduate education having supervised 22 masters and 30 doctoral students as well as 15 post-doctoral scholars. With Barbara Block he co-founded the Tagging of Pacific Predators program, a multidisciplinary effort to study the movement patterns of 23 species of marine vertebrate predators in the North Pacific Ocean. He is an internationally recognized authority on tracking of marine mammals and birds. He has served as member of a number of international science steering committees including the Integrated Climate and Ecosystem Dynamics program, The Census of Marine Life, Southern Ocean GLOBEC, CLIOTOP, the Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS) and the Integrated Marine Biogeochemistry and Ecosystem Research (IMBER). Dr. Costa is a member of the Ocean Studies Board at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

Richard Merrick

Richard Merrick, prior to retirement, was the Director of Scientific Programs and Chief Science Advisor for NOAA Fisheries from September 2011 until his retirement in January 2017. In this capacity, he led NOAA‘s efforts to provide the science needed to support sustainable fisheries and ecosystems and to continue our country’s progress in ending overfishing, rebuilding fish populations, saving critical species, and preserving vital habitats. As the head of NOAA Fisheries’ scientific operations, Dr. Merrick directed NOAA’s six regional Fisheries Science Centers, including 30 NOAA Fisheries laboratories. He joined NOAA Fisheries in 1985 as an oceanographer at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center conducting ecological field research from then through 1997 in the Aleutian Islands, Bering Sea and Arctic. In 1997, he transferred to the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, (in Woods Hole, MA) where he initially served as Branch Chief for Protected Species, and then as Chief of the Resource Evaluation and Assessment Division where he directed this Center’s assessment, ecological, and social-science research for fish and protected species. He has led various regional and national efforts to improve fishery and protected resources science, and has broad experience in dealing with a wide variety of controversial fishery and protected species. Dr. Merrick’s education includes a Ph.D. in fisheries from the University of Washington (1995); a master’s of science degree in biological oceanography (1985) as well as a master’s degree in marine resource management (1983) from Oregon State University. During his tenure as Chief Science Advisor he worked with the Gulf Research Program of the National Academies in the development of science priorities related to restoration in the Gulf of Mexico after the Deep Water Horizon event.

Denise J. Reed

Denise Reed is a coastal expert and Research Professor Gratis at the University of New Orleans. Dr. Reed is internationally recognized for her expertise in coastal marsh sustainability and the role of human activities in modifying coastal systems. She has served on many boards and panels addressing the role of science in guiding coastal restoration and policy including the National Academies Committee on Independent Scientific Review of Everglades Restoration Progress. Additionally, she has been a member of the USACE Environmental Advisory Board and currently serves on the NOAA Science Advisory Board. Dr. Reed received her B.S. in Geography from Sidney Sussex College and her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge.

Rebecca R. Rubin

Rebecca Rubin is a Senior Executive Consultant at Marstel-Day LLC, an environmental consulting enterprise that she founded and managed from 2002-2021as an expression of her commitment to the conservation of natural resources, especially habitat and open space, energy, water, and the resolution of issues at their intersections. She has extensive experience in program evaluation, policy analysis and strategic planning for public and private sector clients. She currently serves on the boards of The Nature Conservancy of Virginia and the Virginia League of Conservation Voters. She formerly served on the Virginia Air Pollution Control Board and is the former board chair of the National Wildlife Refuge Association. Prior to founding Marstel-Day, she served as the Director of the Army’s Environmental Policy Institute and before that as a member of the professional research staff at the Institute for Defense Analyses. She was a committee member on two National Research Council committees: Alternatives for Controlling the Release of Solid Materials from NuRC-Licensed Facilities; and, Evaluation of the Landscape Conservation Cooperatives. Ms. Rubin has a M.A. in international security from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

Kevin Stokesbury

Kevin Stokesbury is a professor in the Department of Fisheries Oceanography, School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST), at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. His research examines the marine ecology of invertebrates and fish, their spatial distribution, population dynamics and the impacts of fishing and energy development. For the past 20 years his work has focused on the sea scallop resource, including stock assessment, rotational fishery management strategies, growth and mortality estimates, gear development and environmental assessment. He began using his scallop survey research to examine the habitats being considered for Windfarm development in 2012 and is now leading the examination of the before-after-control-impact studies for macro-epibenthic invertebrates in the Vineyard Wind area. Most of his research is collaborative with the fishing industries of Canada and the United States and he was awarded the David H. Wallace Award from the National Shellfish Association (2013) and the Standard-Times Southcoast Man of the Year (2018) for his two decades of science in the public interest, and the connections he has made between fishermen and science. His research has been published in 68 scientific papers and 5 book chapters. He was the founding chair of the Department of Fisheries Oceanography at SMAST from 2005 to 2016. He serves on several ICES committees including Chair of the Scallop Assessment Working Group from 2013 to 2018, and Chair of the Nephrops Benchmark Workshop in 2009. He also served on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine steering committee for “Fisheries Research and Monitoring for Atlantic Offshore Development – A Workshop.” He was a subject editor for Ecological Applications for 10 years and currently is on the Journal of Shellfish Research and Reviews in Marine Fisheries and Aquaculture editorial boards. Before joining the faculty at UMASS, Dartmouth, Dr. Stokesbury served as an Adjunct Assistant Professor and Co-principle Investigator on the SEA Herring Project at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks’ Institute of Marine Science. He received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. from Acadia University in Nova Scotia, Canada, and went on to earn his Ph.D. from Universite Laval in Quebec, Canada.

Trisha K. Watson

Trisha Kehaulani Watson-Sproat, JD, PhD, is owner and CEO of Honua Consulting, the largest Hawaiian-owned cultural resource management and community planning company in Hawai‘i, which she founded in 2004. Born and raised on the Island of O‘ahu, she completed her bachelor’s degrees in Sociology and American Studies in 1999 at the University of Hawai‘i, Manoa before completing her master’s degree in American Studies at Washington State University, where she studied environmental justice and ecofeminism. She completed her JD and the Environmental Law Program at the William S. Richardson School of Law in 2003. She then earned a PhD in American Studies in 2008, focusing on Indigenous epistemologies in the Pacific before continuing into a career in historic preservation, community planning, and resource management. In 2017, she helped found ‘Aina Momona, an Indigenous-led community organization dedicated to restoration efforts in rural communities. She is president of the Kalihi-Palama Culture and Arts Society, and her writings on community, culture, and conservation have appeared in numerous publications around the world. She has received multiple awards and recognitions for her community work.

Assessment and Advancement of Science in the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's Environmental Studies Program Workshop Series: Day 3

June 24, 2021

11:00 AM - 6:00 PM (EDT)

Past

Agenda

Download the Agenda

Materials

About

A committee of the National Academies is conducting a workshop series related to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s aspiration to achieve “first in class” status for their environmental program. The workshop series provides a forum for invited representatives from science programs to share practices related to how they plan and evaluate their program design, their products, and their impact.

The workshop series will be held on Tuesday, June 22 and Thursday, June 24. Speakers originally scheduled for June 18 have been rescheduled following the pronouncement of the observation of the Juneteenth holiday. Presentations are expected on June 24 from:

NSF Division of Ocean Sciences
NASA Science Mission Directorate
FDA Office of Regulatory Science and Innovation
North Slope Borough Department of Wildlife Management
Sound and Marine Life Joint Industry Programme
Atlantic Frontier Environmental Network
Navy Living Marine Resources
ONR Marine Mammals and Biology

The workshop will be open to public viewing—please register to receive meeting information. Meeting recordings will be posted as they become available.

Additional Information

Is it a Closed Session event?

Not Closed

Contact

Emily Twigg

(202) 334-2351
etwigg@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Log In

Sign in to access your saved publications, downloads, and email preferences.

Former MyNAP users: You'll need to reset your password on your first login to MyAcademies. Click "Forgot password" below to receive a reset link via email. Having trouble? Visit our FAQ page to contact support.

Members of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, or National Academy of Medicine should log in through their respective Academy portals.

Email (required)
Password (required)

Don't have an account?

Register

Email (required)
New password (required)
Retype password (required) Password must be at least 8 characters
I accept the terms of use
terms of use

Thank You

Thank you for creating a MyAcademies account!

Enjoy free access to thousands of National Academies' publications, a 10% discount off every purchase, and build your personal library.

Forgot Password

Enter the email address for your MyAcademies (formerly MyNAP) account to receive password reset instructions.

Reset Requested

We sent password reset instructions to your email . Follow the link in that email to create a new password. Didn't receive it? Check your spam folder or contact us for assistance.

Reset Password

New password (required)
Retype password (required) Password must be at least 8 characters

Reset Password

Your password has been reset.

Log In

Verify email

Verify Your Email Address

We sent a verification link to your email. Please check your inbox (and spam folder) and follow the link to verify your email address. If you did not receive the email, you can request a new verification link below

Subscribe

First Name
Last Name
Email (required)
I agree to receive emails from the National Academies (required)

We respect your privacy and will never share your information.

Assessment and Advancement of Science in the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's Environmental Studies Program

Featured publication

Description

Contributors

Committee

Sponsors

Staff

Parent projects

Ocean Studies Board

Major units and sub-units

Contact

Contact us

Provide feedback

Request materials

More like this

Review of the draft United by Nature assessment

Modernizing Mathematics Education for Grades 9-14

Health Care Financing to Improve Availability of Affordable Contraception: Identifying Promising Practices

Earth Systems and Resources Program Area

Review of the draft United by Nature assessment

Center for Health, People, and Places (CHPP)

Extreme Weather Events and Insurance Webinar Series

Future pathways for the BGC Argo program: A Workshop

Review of the draft United by Nature assessment

Publication information

Suggested citation

Materials

About

Additional Information

Contact

Emily Twigg

Disclaimer

My Academies

Assessment and Advancement of Science in the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's Environmental Studies Program

Dropdown items

Featured publication

Attributes of a First-in-Class Environmental Program: A Letter Report Prepared for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

Description

Contributors

Committee

Sponsors

Staff

Parent projects

Ocean Studies Board

Major units and sub-units

Contact

Contact us

Provide feedback

Request materials

More like this

Review of the draft United by Nature assessment

Modernizing Mathematics Education for Grades 9-14

Health Care Financing to Improve Availability of Affordable Contraception: Identifying Promising Practices

Earth Systems and Resources Program Area

Review of the draft United by Nature assessment

Center for Health, People, and Places (CHPP)

Extreme Weather Events and Insurance Webinar Series

Future pathways for the BGC Argo program: A Workshop

Review of the draft United by Nature assessment