In response to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s federal funding opportunity ("FFO") to support Regional Ocean Partnerships ("ROPs"), the West Coast Governors’ Agreement on Ocean Health ("WCGA") will hold workshops in California, Oregon, and Washington next month to help develop its proposal for a portion of the funding.  The WCGA is the ROP for the West Coast and as such will be engaging tribal governments, state and federal agencies, scientists and technical experts, and stakeholders to identify regional coastal and marine spatial planning priorities and needs that will support a coordinated response to the FFO.  Prior to the meetings, the WCGA will prepare a scoping document that will provide the foundation for workshop discussions.  The deadline for WCGA’s submission is December 10, 2010, so these meetings will be an essential way to engage in the process.

The meetings will take place at the following times and locations:

California Workshop:  Friday November 12, 2010, from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, 50 California Street, Suite 2600, San Francisco, CA 94111 (lunch will be provided).

Oregon Workshop:  Monday November 15, 2010, from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the Oregon Coast Community College, Central Campus, 400 SE College Way, Room 140, Newport, OR 97366 (lunch will be provided).

Washington Workshop:  Tuesday November 16, 2010, from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the Heritage Room at Capitol Lake, 604 Water Street, Olympia, WA 98501 (lunch will be provided).

Everyone is invited to attend the workshops, but space is limited.  Please RSVP by emailing the WCGA Coordinator, Lisa DeBruckere, at lisad@createstrat.com