Background Information on the West Coast Governors Alliance on Ocean Health

About Us

On September 18, 2006 the Governors of California, Oregon and Washington announced the West Coast Governors' Agreement on Ocean Health. The Agreement, now called an Alliance, launched a new, proactive regional collaboration to protect and manage the ocean and coastal resources along the entire West Coast, as called for in the recommendations of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy and the Pew Oceans Commission. Quileute marina

The Agreement seeks to advance the goals of:

Clean coastal waters and beaches
Healthy ocean and coastal habitats
Effective ecosystem-based management
Reduced impacts of offshore development
Increased ocean awareness and literacy among the region’s citizens
Expanded ocean and coastal scientific information, research, and monitoring
Sustainable economic development of coastal communities

The Alliance also underscores the importance of managing activities that affect our oceans on an ecosystem basis. That is, managing human activities and their impact on ocean resources in a way that accounts for the relationships among all ecosystem components, including people and other species and the environment in which we all live.

Agency Leads

The Executive Committee of the WCGA is comprised of three state leads, including the offices of the Governors of California, Oregon, and Washington, and three federal leads, including the Department of Commerce (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of the Interior (Bureau of Ocean Energy Management).The Executive Committee informs and helps guide the timely progress of the Action Coordination Teams on activities in the WCGA Action Plan.

At the request of the three Governors, the Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and its Cabinet Committee on Ocean Policy (COP), James L. Connaughton, pledged to support meaningful collaboration among the West Coast states and federal agencies to address the priorities of the West Coast Governors’ Agreement on Ocean Health. Working through the COP’s Subcommittee on Integrated Management of Ocean Resources, three federal leads were appointed for this purpose.

California Catherine Kuhlman, Deputy Secretary for Ocean and Coastal Matters California Natural Resources Agency		Department of Commerce Will Stelle, Regional Administrator for the Northwest Region National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Oregon Richard Whitman, Natural Resources Policy Advisor Office of the Governor		Environmental Protection Agency Sam Ziegler, Watersheds Office Manager EPA Region
Washington Bob Nichols, Executive Policy Advisor Office of the Governor		Department of the Interior Joan Barminski, Regional Supervisor, Strategic Resources Pacific OCS Region Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

In addition, in 2010, the WCGA partnered with National Sea Grant to hire four fellows to advance ocean and coastal health on the West Coast.