CRC has forged a global reputation as a trusted and innovative leader in assisting coastal communities with coastal and ocean planning, or marine spatial planning (MSP). These efforts focus on the long-term management and protection of marine resources and activities. For example, CRC facilitated for the State the development of the 2010 Rhode Island Special Area Management Plan (Ocean SAMP).
The Ocean SAMP guides Rhode Island’s decisions about marine assets such as offshore wind farms and commercial transportation routes, and is an internationally recognized model for MSP policy and practice. CRC is also providing planning tools and techniques to a growing network of coastal and ocean practitioners so they can implement Ocean SAMP-like projects in their own places.