Program Committees of the Southeast New England Program

Steering Committee: This group includes staff level representatives of government agencies, non-profit organizations, and non-governmental organizations.

Organizations participating on the Steering Committee include:

Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe
Army Corp of Engineers
Association to Preserve Cape Cod
Buzzards Bay Coalition
Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program (NEP)
Cape Cod Commission
Cape Cod Conservation District
EPA, Region 1
EPA, Atlantic Ecology Division
Fish and Wildlife Service
Martha's Vineyard Commission
Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe
Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management
Massachusetts Department of Ecological Restoration
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection
Massachusetts Natural Resources Conservation Service
Narragansett Bay National Estuary Program (NEP)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission
Rhode Island National Resource Conservation Service
Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council
Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management
Save the Bay
Save Buzzards Bay
The Nature Conservancy – Massachusetts
The Nature Conservancy – Rhode Island
United States Geological Survey

Policy Committee (Margherita Pryor, EPA Lead):

Interact with Senior Leadership to define and establish program goals, partners, and procedures to best implement the SNEP vision and inform decision-making
Explore common issues related to program implementation such as fiscal and management capacity, develop and recommend solutions to the Steering Committee for implementation.
Work with the full Steering Committee and Senior Leadership to assess needs and identify viable approaches to enable SNEP to better understand and address priority issues.

Sub-Committees: These subcommittees are topic-based and represented by relevant expertise and local knowledge Representatives from the Steering Committee and other experts participate in each subcommittee.

Monitoring Subcommittee (Bryan Dore, EPA Lead):

Investigate prospects to align and connect efforts for regional long term monitoring capability in areas such as technology/BMP performance, ecosystem response, real-time data capture, standardized protocols and indicators, and data management.
Identify common monitoring gaps and needs within the Region, including filling data gaps, applying new technology, standardizing methods and data management protocols, and ensuring user accessibility;
Contribute to long-term monitoring capacity throughout region by sharing data, developing common indicators, and working with funded projects and recipients to design and implement robust, scientifically sound monitoring of environmental results.

Ecosystem Subcommittee (Karen Simpson, EPA Lead):

Enable and implement restoration and conservation efforts that integrate habitat and water quality at the ecosystem or watershed scale and incorporate ecosystem services valuation into all levels of decision-making with particular attention to nutrient sources impacting coastal ecosystems
Explore ways to build management and science infrastructure that supports ecosystem-based approaches to:
- Restore and maintain ecological resilience through effective, sustainable partnerships across institutional, state, and jurisdictional boundaries
- Integrate programs for maximum environmental and public benefit, especially with respect to climate change
- Encourage, pilot, and apply innovations in technology