CZMA at 50 Podcast Series

For 50 years, the Coastal Zone Management Act has guided and informed how the United States manages its coasts. In this The Capitol Beach podcast series, join CSO’s Derek Brockbank as he talks with some of the people responsible for implementing the law over the past 50 years, to share its history, its purpose, and its future.

Why the CZMA is Important? With Dr. Rick Spinrad and Tony MacDonald

If you work on the coast, you should know about the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA). And who better to provide an overview of the CZMA than NOAA Administrator, Dr. Rick Spinrad, and former CSO Executive Director and current Director of the Urban Coast Institute at Monmouth University, Tony MacDonald? Rick and Tony join The Capitol Beach to provide perspective on one of our nation’s landmark conservation laws as it celebrates its 50th anniversary and they launch a 5-part series that explores the CZMA’s past, present and future.

 

CZMA History – How it Passed & How it’s Changed with NOAA's David Kaiser

To really understand the Coastal Zone Management Act, you need to know how it came to be and how it has evolved. David Kaiser with NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management joins The Capitol Beach to bring us back to the 1970s (and earlier) and explains how some of the icons of coastal policy and management got the CZMA passed and implemented.

 

Into the Weeds – What Does Each Section of the CZMA Do?

Like most major legislation, the Coastal Zone Management Act includes multiple sections that are often just referred to by number (306, 306a, 309, 310, etc.) by the federal and state staff charged with administering the law. Joelle Gore with NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management and Braxton Davis, the coastal zone manager for North Carolina, explain what some of the most critical sections of the CZMA do, and explain how coastal resources are directly affected by the details of the law.

 

CZMA and the National Estuarine Research Reserve System

In addition to establishing the framework for coastal management in the US, the Coastal Zone Management Act authorized the National Estuarine Research Reserve System. Erica Seiden with NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management and Rebecca Roth with the National Estuarine Research Reserve Association (NERRA) join The Capitol Beach to share the origins of the “NERRS” and explain how the partnership and collaborative approach of the CZMA is fundamental to how the NERRS operate.

 

CZMA looking forward, what’s needed for the next 50 years of Coastal Zone Management?

As we look back on 50 years of the Coastal Zone Management Act, we can’t help but note the challenges facing our coastlines today seem more dire than they’ve ever been. Does the CZMA have the foresight and flexibility to guide coastal managers for the next 50 years? Or will fundamental changes be needed? Keelin Kuipers, the Deputy Director of NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management and Rachel Keylon with Coastal States Organization share how coastal management might need to shift and what may be in store for the CZMA.