National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration June 19, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 supports effective management and sound science to preserve, sustain, and restore valuable coral reef ecosystems. The NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP or Program) is a partnership among four NOAA Line Offices (i.e., the National Ocean Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service, and the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research) working on coral reef issues. The program carries out, directly and in partnership with scientific, private, government and nongovernmental groups, a wide range of coral reef-related activities, including mapping and monitoring, management and capacity building, strategic research, and education and outreach. In order to evaluate and improve the success of its efforts to understand and conserve coral reefs, the CRCP is undertaking a comprehensive external review of the program. To this end, the CRCP is seeking external feedback, including public comment, on the program's approach to balancing competing priorities. An independent contractor will summarize all comments received in response to this request and will provide them to an expert review panel scheduled to convene in late September 2007.