Northeast Regional Sea Grant Consortium Honors McCann

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Ocean SAMP: Rhode Island Ocean Special Area Management Plan
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Jennifer McCann

Narragansett — Jennifer McCann, extension director for Rhode Island Sea Grant and a coastal manager at CRC, was recognized by the Northeast Regional Sea Grant Consortium for her work in training practitioners locally, throughout the U.S. and around the world in marine spatial planning.

McCann received the region’s individual award for “Outstanding Outreach Achievement” at the consortium’s meeting Nov. 18 in New Bedford, Mass.

Rick DeVoe, South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium director, nominated McCann for the award. He cited her work in not only helping to create the R.I. Ocean Special Area Management Plan, but also in bringing lessons learned from that project to practitioners in the U.S. and around the world at the 2012 Baird Symposium on International Marine Spatial Planning. That symposium was a first step toward developing an international community of marine spatial planners, which McCann has supported through a series of communications efforts, including a blog, a video series and a practitioners guide.

“What is so valuable about McCann’s program is that it not only addresses the needs of practitioners today, but it is actively working to build tomorrow’s ocean leaders,” DeVoe wrote.

An extensive survey after the symposium showed that McCann’s efforts are paying off. All respondents reported being more inspired and/or empowered to advance their MSP effort after attending the symposium, and a third reported concrete gains, such as engaging stakeholders with more confidence and success, and making a greater effort to gain political support for their projects. Over half of respondents have focused more attention on identifying and defining key drivers and issues.

DeVoe wrote that he sought out McCann in order to strategize MSP opportunities for the South Carolina Sea Grant program and the South Atlantic Alliance. McCann has also provided tailored MSP technical assistance to the Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, Connecticut, and New York Sea Grant programs.

Rhode Island Sea Grant is part of the National Sea Grant College Program and is located at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography.