U.S. Coral Reef Task Force to Focus on Conservation

WASHINGTON (February 20, 2018) - The Department of the Interior and the Department of Commerce, through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, will host the 39^th biannual meeting of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force this week. The public business meeting will be held on February 22, 2018, at the Interior headquarters in Washington, D.C.  Douglas Domenech, Interior Assistant Secretary Insular and International Affairs, and W. Russell Callender, Ph.D., Assistant NOAA Administrator for the National Ocean Service, will co-chair the business meeting.

The meeting will emphasize the importance of coral reef conservation, focus on the impacts of recent natural disasters on coral reefs, explore cutting-edge research in natural disaster recovery and resilience of coral reefs and highlight plans for 2018 as the” International Year of the Reef.”  

The U.S. Coral Reef Task Force (USCRTF) includes leaders of 12 Federal agencies with coral reef responsibilities; the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Puerto Rico; the U.S. states of Hawaii and Florida; and the three freely associated states of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, and Palau. The task force was created by Executive Order 13089.  Its primary mission is to promote the conservation and sustainable use of coral reefs globally. The USCRTF also helps build partnerships, strategies, and support for on-the-ground action to conserve coral reefs.    

WHAT:          39^th Biannual U.S. Coral Reef Task Force Meeting

WHEN:          Public Sessions on February 22,

8:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. and 2:00 - 5:00 p.m. EST 

with public comment from 2:00 -2:30 p.m. EST

WHO:             Interior Assistant Secretary Insular and International Affairs Doug Domenech;

Commerce Assistant Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere Rear Admiral Tim Gallaudet (USN Ret.);

Assistant NOAA Administrator for the National Ocean Service W. Russell Callender, Ph.D.;

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) Ryan Fisher;

Acting Assistant Attorney General for Environment and Natural Resources Jeffrey Wood;  

U.S. Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo of Guam;

Governor-appointed Coral Reef Points of Contact from the U.S. coral reef jurisdictions; and

Other Officials from Interior,  Commerce/NOAA, State Department, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Defense, U.S. Coast Guard, Department of Justice, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Science Foundation, and state and territorial agencies.

WHERE:        U.S. Department of the Interior

Sydney B. Yates Auditorium

                        1849 C Street, N.W.

                        Washington, D.C. 20240

• ID and security check required
• All participants are required to register at www.coralreef.gov/

AGENDA:          Online at www.coralreef.gov/.

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