USM prof testifies at Senate hearing

The Subcommittee on Science, Oceans, Fisheries, and Weather of the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation held a hearing July 23 on America’s waterfronts. The “America’s Waterfronts: Addressing Economic, Recreational, and Environmental Challenges” hearing focused on the state of American waterfronts, balancing stakeholder needs, and maximizing benefits from the nation’s water and coastal resources. “The economic and environmental (and) well being of all our nation’s waterfronts benefit us all and the shared stewardship is a responsibility we should accept,” Mike J. Friis of the National Working Waterfront Network, testified. Local, state, tribal and federal collaboration and cooperation is “necessary to be able to revitalize and enhance our working waterfronts and build local capacity. Coordination allows for sharing of expertise and resources to realize the most successful impact, he said. Dr. Monty Graham of the University of Southern Mississippi said the timing of the hearing was “fortuitous” for Mississippi in that it is currently working to strengthen its coastal communities and waterfronts to create a “resilience-based” economy. “Mississippi is at the critical point of making large decisions that will move the coastal working waterfront away from a disaster-based economy to a resilience-based economy through workforce and economic diversification,” Graham said. (Source: Work Boat 07/25/19) Graham is the Associate Vice President for Research, Coastal Operations at USM (USM’s Graham, full testimony is linked to his name in the story above.)