Enhancing Military Training with Real-World
Coastal Projects

What's New at W.H.Nuckols Consulting
In the News

	Boat U.S. Magazine REPORTS: Rubber Reef Retread July 2009
	Soldiers Radio News Air date September 19, 2008
	German Public TV Special "Schiffe als Riffe"
	Currents The U.S. Navy's Environmental Magazine
	Daily Planet Discovery Channel Canada
	National Public Radio Fallout from Bad '70s Idea: Auto Tires in Ocean Reef
	SWR/German Public Radio interview July 2007
	Australian Radio 6PR Interview June6, 2007
	CNN.com Artificial Tire Reef Article June 5, 2007
	FL Tire Reef Story on Canadian Broadcast Company's "As It Happens"
	National Public Radio Story "Throwing In the Towel on Florida's Tire Reef"
	Florida officials try to shield coral reefs
	Washington DNR trains Navy EOD Divers to Remove Derelict Fishing Gear in Puget Sound, WA (8.7 MB in WMV format video from King5 TV)
	Artificial reef made of tires becomes ecological disaster (Miami Herald Front page story in IE MHT or PDF)
	PRO BONO PROJECT New life at water's edge: By planting oyster reefs in the South River, volunteers try to restore a spoiled resource
	Tire Reef Idea Goes Flat in Florida
	SRTV -Soldiers Radio & Television ARMY Newswatch
	FACEPLATE - The U.S. Navy's Diving Magazine

-more news-

The oceans, our coasts, and the Great Lakes provide jobs, food, energy resources, ecological services, recreation, and tourism opportunities, and play critical roles in our Nation's transportation, economy, and trade, as well as the global mobility of our Armed Forces and the maintenance of international peace and security. We have a stewardship responsibility to maintain healthy, resilient, and sustainable oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes resources for the benefit of this and future generations.

Yet, the oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes are subject to substantial pressures and face significant environmental challenges....(more)

June 12, 2009

Oceans are the Earth's dominant feature. They cover more than 70 percent of the planet's surface and affect our lives in a variety of ways. This month we celebrate the wonder of the oceans, and we commit to protecting and sustaining them for current and future generations.

The oceans are critical to supporting life. From the abyssal plains of the Pacific to the shallow coral reefs and seagrass beds of the Florida Keys, oceans support an incredible diversity of marine life and ecosystems. The base of the oceanic ecosystem provides most of the oxygen we breathe, so oceans are critical to our survival. These bodies of water also drive weather patterns and affect climate.

Our Nation's economy relies heavily on the oceans. Goods and services are transported across them constantly. They support countless jobs in an array of industries, including fishing, tourism, and energy. The economies of entire regions depend on the oceans.

The United States has been a leader in exploring and protecting this critical resource. We have gained new insights into the ocean ecosystems through research and monitoring. We have promoted innovative conservation efforts, such as setting aside special areas as national marine sanctuaries. We have also reduced overfishing, made great strides in reducing coastal pollution, and helped restore endangered species and degraded habitats.

My Administration continues to build upon this progress, and we are taking a more integrated and comprehensive approach to developing a national ocean policy that will ....(more)

Linking Art and Ocean Literacy

Ocean Art Contest cartoon courtesy of Jim Toomey, renowned artist of the cartoon series Sherman's Lagoon

The Ocean Literacy Network has developed seven Essential Principles of ocean literacy.

Coastal America, a partnerhsip of federal government agencies, the Smithsonian and the Coastal Ecosystem Learning Center (CELC) Network are working together to engage thourands of students across the U.S. and Mexico by linking key facts about our world's oceans and coasts with communication through art.

Student artists' understanding of our oceans will increase while they also learn that there are a range of media that can be used to communicate messages to a broad audience. The students' paintings, drawings and photographs will be used to engage the public as the Grand Prize winners’ artwork will be displayed at the Smithsonian, National Museum of Natural Historyfrom December 2008- March 2009.

Five age groups of students from kindergarden through college will compete regionally, then nationally, to have their ocean literacy art selected for display in the Smithsonian.

Art is entereted at the Coastal Ecosystem Learning Center (CELC) nearest you. For a complete listing of participating CELCs click here. Entry deadline was May 30, 2008.

Regional Qualifiers Art can be viewed on the Coastal America website by clicking HERE

NATIONAL WINNERS and their
Winning Art was announced on September 26, 2008

Contest rules are at www.CoastalAmerica.gov

Link to YouTube Video Immigration Questions for Presidential Candidiates

or

Link to the Rebublican Canidate's Responses to the Video on the CNN YouTube Debate

September 2007 video in support of an extention of Guest Worker Provisions that were ready to sunset

• H2-B Immigration Policy Issues
  
• "Man in the Sea" military diver memorial
• Oyster Restoration in the Chesapeake Bay
  
• Hurricane Katrina Fisheries Disaster Relief
• FDA Blue Crab Common Name Registration
  
• Fair Living Conditions for Tenants in D.C.
• (more info about pro bono projects)

Each year W.H. Nuckols Consulting takes on a few new pro bono efforts. Existing clients typically receive preference, however new cases are considered and emergency situations, such as the Hurricane Katrina disaster, cause a reallocation of priorities.

Apply for pro bono help
Click Here

Will Nuckols and the Man in the Sea Memorial
statue in minature

The USN Washington Navy Yard Shore Infrastructure Committee will meet on the proposed memorial design on August 11, 2009.

Removal of the F/V Ocean Clipper from the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge

St.Paul Island supports major fur seal rookeries. These rookeries are essential habitat for the breeding adults as well as the vulnerable life stages of the pups. The F/V Ocean Clipper ran aground on March 18, 1987.

The abandoned vessel is currently located in the middle of the second largest fur seal breeding area on St. Paul. The wreck is getting to the point where it has become a death trap for fur seal pups which end up getting inside through holes in the hull and then cannot get out.

A military training exercise is being targeted as a way to address the removal of this boat from the prime seal pup habitat.

Removal of derelict vessels in Alaska will bebefit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Wildlife Refuges and NOAA trust resources

(more information on the derelict vessel project- COMING SOON!)

Analyzing the anticipated responses of mid Atlantic local communities to the long-term threat of sea level rise

EPA Map of Lands Vulnerable to Sea Level Rise

Data courtesy Maps of Lands Vulnerable to Sea Level Rise: Modeled Elevations along the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf Coasts

Additional sea level rise information at
www.epa.gov/globalwarming/sealevelrise

Ocean Exploration

Will Nuckols, Principal, and Sylvia Earle, National Geographic Explorer in Residence, discuss forming partnerships with DoD to combine federal and civilian deep diving assets.

Wetlands Restoration

Revegetating the Poplar Island Environmental Restoration Site

Poplar Island Phase Two
(more info)

Supporting Federal Programs

Pictured: Will Nuckols attending a 2009 Coastal America national team meeting at the Council on Environmental on Environmental Quality, Executive Office of the President, with Nancy Sutley, Chair, CEQ, and private sector representatives from the Coastal Wetlands Restoration Partnership.

(click here for more information about program support)

Progress Toward the Wetlands Goal
White House 2005 Wetlands Report

Conserving America’s Wetlands

Tracking the Implementation of the Goal

Download the report (PDF, 2.3 MB)
Download the Executive Summary (PDF, 250K)
Press Release (PDF, 70K)

White House 2008 Wetlands Report

Marine Debris Prevention and Cleanup in Florida
Cleaning Up a Failed Artificial Tire Reef

Navy Divers Survey the Tire Field	Tires Cover Over 30 Acres of Seafloor

A unique federal/state/county partnership has formed to save adjacant coral reefs from further damage and recycle the tires for constructuve use
Link to 2006 NPR Story or 2007 NPR Story
Link to Miami Herald Story (IE MHT or PDF)

Regional Restoration Planning

Working with the USACE, examining regional restoration options for the beneficial use of dredged material
http://www.nan.usace.army.mil/business/prjlinks/dmmp/index.htm

(Down load the draft DMMP beneficial use report)

Improving Fish Habitat Through Delerict Dam Removals