New England Program

Overview

In early 2010, COMPASS' New England program moved to Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts.  Our work focuses on facilitating regional dialogue about ecosystem-based management (EBM) and coastal and marine spatial planning (CMSP). The latter is especially relevant as the region develops a framework to promote more consistent, integrated management throughout the New England States.

Sample Activities

Understanding Ecosystem Health to Advance Marine Ecosystem Based Management in the Gulf of Maine

COMPASS, the Northeast Regional Ocean Council and the Massachusetts Ocean Partnership are planning the first Regional Ecosystem Health Indicators Conference to be held on March 30 and 31, 2011. The goals of the initiative are two-fold: to strengthen coordination and integration of regional indicator initiatives to better meet users' needs and find efficiencies of scale; and to stengthen regional indicator communication methods and products. 

Ecosystem Based Management Roadmap 

COMPASS partnered with Waterview Consulting to create the Ecosystem Based Management Roadmap. This document provides a concise introduction to the concept and practice of EBM, a launching point for implementing EBM and a touchstone for all EBM participants and stakeholders.  Users will find EBM case studies, methods, decision-support tools and data to address the eight Core Elements of EBM: Cumulative Impacts, Tradeoffs Among Human Activities, Adaptive Management, Network of People and Information, Nature's Services, Scientific Evidence, Geographic Scales and Ecological Linkages.

For questions about the New England program, contact COMPASS executive director Brooke Simler Smith.  To see what we're working on in other regions, visit the Oregon Program or California Program.