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OR&R Weekly Report

The Office of Response and Restoration publishes this weekly round-up of news and information of interest to our partners, stakeholders, and team members. Click to subscribe

Individual presents on NOAA's role in oil spill response in front of presentation attendees.

NOV. 25, 2024 — In mid-November 2024, a Scientific Support Coordinator from OR&R’s Emergency Response Division participated in a Republic of Korea - U.S. Joint Maritime Oil Spill Response Subject Matter Expert Exchange Workshop held in Busan, Republic of Korea (ROK).

 An individual stands next to a diesel fuel spill in a marsh channel.

NOV. 25, 2024 — On November 5-7, Texas and federal trustees met at the Fisheries Center in Athens, Texas for the bi-annual Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) Texas Trustee Summit. Trustees included members from NOAA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Department of Interior, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Texas Office of Attorney General, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and Texas General Land Office.

Scenic view of a natural conservation area in Washington.

NOV. 25, 2024 - Staff from the NOAA Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R)’s Disaster Preparedness Program and Emergency Response Division attended the first in-person convening of the Coastal Inundation Community of Practice in Seattle, Washington from November 12-15, 2024.

Group picture of the 2024 Washington Marine Debris Action Plan workshop participants.

NOV. 25, 2024 — On October 22-23, the NOAA Marine Debris Program within the Office of Response and Restoration hosted an in-person workshop for participants of the Washington Marine Debris Action Plan.

August 2019

Person at lectern.

AUGUST 26, 2019 — On August 13, the NOAA Marine Debris Program's California Regional Coordinator, Sherry Lippiatt, presented on marine debris prevention strategies at the California Resource Recovery Association Conference.

Oil slick as seen from a boat.

AUGUST 26, 2019 — The Deepwater Horizon oil spill lasted for 87 days, discharged millions of barrels into the Gulf of Mexico, and posed unprecedented challenges for oil spill experts. 

People sitting around tables looking at a screen in the front of the room.

AUGUST 19, 2019 — On July 31, the National Ocean Service (NOS) Zero Waste Team, comprised of 13 representatives from NOS program offices and NOS headquarters, came together at the first Zero Waste Workshop in Silver Spring, Maryland.

People working on a beach, digging in the sand.

AUGUST 19, 2019 — On August 6, the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s Northeast Regional Coordinator, Demi Fox, joined partners at the Center for Coastal Studies and the Provincetown Harbormaster’s Office for a marine debris cleanup in the Provincetown intertidal area known as the “west end flats.”

AUGUST 19, 2019 — On August 9 the Office of Response and Restoration’s Emergency Response Division participated in a Hawaiian Electric Company worst-case oil spill exercise held in Honolulu, Hawaii. 

Uniformed Coast Guard members look at a demonstration given by those not in uniform.

AUGUST 19, 2019 — OR&R’s Emergency Response Division, with assistance from partners with the NOAA Pacific Services Center and NOAA Pacific Fisheries Science Center, hosted visitors from the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Sector Honolulu Incident Management Team at the Inouye Regional Center in Honolulu, Hawaii on August 14. 

Woman speaking to people listening at tables.

AUGUST 19, 2019 — OR&R’s Simeon Hahn of the Assessment and Restoration Division organized and led the Delaware River Urban Water Federal Partnership meeting at the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) office in Dover, Delaware, on Aug 7. 

People talking in a semi-circle.

AUGUST 19, 2019 — On August 8, the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s Director, Nancy Wallace, spoke to a group of seven foreign journalists from Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Indonesia during a State Department-sponsored reporting tour covering American policy topics: "The U.S. Vision for the Indo-Pacific Region.”

Beach scene with debris on the sand.

AUGUST 12, 2019 — On July 22-26, the NOAA Marine Debris Program's Chief Scientist, Amy V. Uhrin, traveled to Honolulu, Hawai'I, to meet with Program partners in the region and participate in the Hawai'i Marine Debris Action Plan Research Workshop.

Person giving a presentation.

AUGUST 12, 2019 — On July 25-26, over 50 researchers participated in the 2019 Hawai'i Marine Debris Action Plan Research Workshop, hosted by the NOAA Marine Debris Program and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Building complex along a lakefront.

AUGUST 12, 2019 — On August 5, the Western Regional Center in Seattle was visited by a delegation of congressional travelers from Washington, D.C.  

Three people posing for a photo.

AUGUST 5, 2019 — As part of the US National Response Team (NRT) – Panama Canal Authority (ACP) Subcommittee, NOAA helped plan, execute, and evaluate the annual EcoCanal ’19 exercise.

Vegetation at the edge of a body of water.

AUGUST 5, 2019 — On July 26, the Marine Debris Program’s Gulf of Mexico Regional Coordinator, Caitlin Wessel, participated in a NOAA-funded marine debris removal and restoration project at the Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) in Weeks Bay, Alabama.

Group of people posing for a photo in a courtyard.

AUGUST 5, 2019 — On July 30 -August 1, the OR&R Diversity and Inclusion committee (D&I) met in Silver Spring, Maryland, to develop an action plan for the next two years.

July 2019

Group of people seated in a conference room.

JULY 29, 2019 — On July 23, Steve Morrison of the Marine Debris Program joined other staff from across NOAA in a meeting with representatives of Taiwan’s Ocean Conservation Administration, Ocean Affairs Council.

Four people seated at a long table.

JULY 29, 2019 — On July 18, OR&R’s division chiefs met with staff from members of Congress in California and Florida to discuss our activities in their states.

Person presenting in front of a screen.

JULY 29, 2019 — On July 23, the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s (MDP) Northeast Regional Coordinator, Demi Fox, and Communications and Education Specialist, Jennifer Simms, led a workshop titled: How to Talk Trash: Lessons from NOAA’s Marine Debris Program at the annual National Marine Educators Association conference at the University of New Hampshire. 

People walking along a beach.

JULY 29, 2019 — On July 23-25, OR&R’s Emergency Response Division conducted Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Techniques (SCAT) Team Member Training in the Arctic hosted by Alaska Clean Seas at their training facility in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.

Group of people looking out over a body of water.

JULY 29, 2019 — The week of July 22, NOAA OR&R staff held their annual Science of Oil Spills (SOS) training in Independence, at the Educational Service Center of Northeast Ohio.

Suitcase with flip-flops, sunglasses, hat, etc.

 JULY 22, 2019 — Last week, over 50 OR&R participants gathered to discuss some of the ethical questions about travel and tourism.

People posing with crab pots and debris.

JULY 22, 2019 — On July 13, Charles Grisafi, Florida and Caribbean Regional Coordinator for the NOAA Marine Debris Program, participated in a special “bonus” Ghost Trap Rodeo event in Tampa Bay.

Two people sitting on a stage in front of a screen.

JULY 22, 2019 — On July 16 the OR&R Disaster Preparedness Program chief, Kate Wheelock, attended the Professional Services Council (PSC) membership meeting where she presented lessons learned from the 2018 hurricanes that devastated the mid-Atlantic coast.

Large group posing for photo on a lawn.

JULY 22, 2019 — On July 10 and 11, the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s Northeast Regional Coordinator, Demi Fox, attended a Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment meeting in Halifax, Nova Scotia to update the Council on U.S.-Canada collaborations to prevent and remove marine debris throughout the bi-national region.

JULY 22, 2019 — OR&R sponsored a NRDA (Natural Resource Damage Assessment) workshop through Coastal Response Research Center (CRRC) in Hawaii from July 16-18.

Four photos of a large rock, taken in 1991, 19193, 2008, and 2019.

JULY 15, 2019 — Early morning on Thursday July 4, during a minus tide, Skipper David Janka (Auklet Charters, Cordova, Alaska) stepped ashore at a cove on Knight Island in Prince William Sound and took the 30th annual photograph of a scene known as “Mearns Rock”.

Woman lecturing to a group.

JULY 15, 2019 — On June 26 in Oakland, California, the Marine Debris Program convened a group of 20 California non-profit and agency partners for a training workshop delivered by Root Solutions.

Man lecturing students who are seated on a couch.

JULY 15, 2019 — On July 8 - 9, OR&R’s LT Michael Doig and LT Joshua Valdivia, of the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) provided spill response training for USCG Sector Sault Ste. Marie. This was the last of 5 classes conducted around USCG District 9. 

A group of people posing for photo on a lawn.

JULY 15, 2019 —The OR&R Emergency Response Division sponsored a June 25-26 workshop titled “Leveraging Science and Academic Engagement” in Tiburon, California.

Crabber Outreach Workshop program cover.

JULY 15, 2019 — On June 26, the NOAA Marine Debris Program Pacific Northwest Coordinator joined 40 current and future Puget Sound Dungeness crabbers in a well-attended workshop to learn how to catch more crabs and lose less crab pots.

June 2019

Woman presenting from a lectern next to a large screen.

JULY 1, 2019 — On June 17 - 19, partners representing diverse stakeholders from Virginia, Delaware, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Washington, DC gathered at the 2019 Mid-Atlantic Marine Debris Summit in Arlington, Virginia.

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