Notice of Request for Public Comment on the Draft National Coral Reef Resilience Strategy

Issuing agencies

Abstract

NOAA announces the request for written public comments on the draft National Coral Reef Resilience Strategy (National Strategy) in accordance with the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 (CRCA), as reauthorized and amended by the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023. NOAA administers the Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP), which is implemented in the coastal areas and marine waters of Florida, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Gulf of Mexico, Hawaii, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, the U.S. Pacific Remote Island Area, and targeted international regions, including the wider Caribbean, the Coral Triangle, the South Pacific, and Micronesia. The reauthorized CRCA directs NOAA to develop the National Strategy within two years of enactment. The National Strategy will replace the existing CRCP Strategic Plan (2018). The intended effect of this notice is to initiate a period of public review and comment on the National Strategy.