Today, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA -04) spoke at the third Managing Our Nation’s Fisheries Conference coordinated by the Regional Fishery Management Councils and hosted by the Pacific Fishery Management Council. During his remarks, Chairman Hastings discussed the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, President Obama’s National Ocean Policy, and the… Read more »

Yesterday, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs held an oversight hearing examining the spending priorities outlined in the President’s FY2014 budget requests for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), the Office of Insular Affairs (OIA), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife… Read more »

The Natural Resources Morning News Round-up:  E&E – John McArdle: “Administration's final ocean plan sparks Hill debate on whether it streamlines or burdens agencies” E&E – Phil Taylor: “House Republicans introduce bill to approve U.S.-Mexico transboundary agreement” Billings Gazette – Rob Chaney: “Tribal ownership,… Read more »

Dear Chairwoman Sutley and Director Holdren: Over the past two years, the Obama Administration has repeatedly limited public transparency and frustrated attempts to obtain information about the cost, legal authority, activities, and staffing involved with developing and implementing regional ocean zoning plans and other parts of the National Ocean Policy. The Administration's final plan… Read more »

The Natural Resources Morning News Round-up:  Washington Post – Juliet Eilperin: “White House finalizes national ocean policy” Fairfield Sun Times: “Daines Co-Sponsors Legislation To Restore Active Forest Management, Help Schools & Counties” Associated Press: “North Dakota February oil production sets record” … Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) released the following statement after President Obama released the final implementation plan for the National Ocean Policy and mandatory ocean zoning initiative. “This final implementation plan raises more questions than answers and provides even less information on what the Obama Administration will impose under the… Read more »

As many media outlets have pointed out, the one issue most notably absent from President Obama’s inaugural address this week was jobs. With unemployment at 7.8 percent and the economy and jobs still topping the list of Americans’ greatest concerns, it’s baffling why the President chose not to mention this in his first speech of his second term.   Even more baffling, is why the Obama… Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) today sent a letter to the co-chairs of President Obama’s National Ocean Council to repeat his request that the Obama Administration answer outstanding questions and document requests regarding President Obama’s National Ocean Policy and mandatory ocean zoning initiative before finalizing the draft implementation plan. Click… Read more »

Dear Chairwoman Sutley and Director Holdren: More than two years have passed since President Obama unilaterally issued a new National Ocean Policy that created an expansive federal bureaucracy to manage ocean activities and resources without any specific Congressional approval, and more than eight months have passed since a draft plan was released containing more than 50 proposed actions… Read more »

Obama's national ocean policy threatens jobs and economic activities onshore and off By House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings Foxnews.com June 19, 2012 In the famous poem “Paul Revere’s Ride,” Revere instructs his fellow patriots to use lanterns to signal whether there’s an attack coming by land or sea. While we may no longer have to fear the British, Americans… Read more »