R-12-10 The governance role of local authorities in marine spatial planning: a legal assessment of prospects and problems

John Duff
Environmental Earth and Ocean Sciences
University of Massachusetts
100 Morrissey Blvd.
Boston, MA 02125
john.duff@umb.edu
617.287.7445

Efforts to employ marine spatial planning to improve coastal and ocean resource stewardship are underway, but the challenges faced by local governments are not well understood. Duff will examine how federal, state, and local authorities are working together with stakeholders on existing coastal and marine spatial planning in the Northeast states from Maine to New Jersey. The factors that played a role in developing authority-sharing arrangements will be documented and analyzed. The results will help identify and address the problems and legal questions that may arise when using various ecosystem-based approaches to facilitate management in the future.

Northeast Sea Grant Consortium Regional Project