Today the US National Ocean Council announced that it is seeking public input as it develops strategic action plans for nine priority objectives described in the Final Recommendations of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force.  These objectives seek to address some of the most pressing challenges facing the ocean, our coasts, and the Great Lakes.Public comments will be accepted through April 29, 2011.  Draft strategic action plans will be released in the summer of 2011, and will also be available for public comment.

To provide comment, please visit this website and choose which of the nine action areas listed you wish to address. Three questions are posed to guide your input:

• What near-term, mid-term, and long-term actions would most effectively help the Nation achieve this policy objective?
• What are some of the major obstacles to achieving this objective; are there opportunities this objective can further, including transformative changes in how we address the stewardship of the oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes?
• What milestones and performance measures would be most useful for measuring progress toward achieving this priority objective?

To submit your comments, please click here.