National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is a federal agency, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. It includes several line offices with distinct or overlapping missions, including:

  • National Ocean Service - develops charts, tracks tides, and completes damage assessment related to oil spills and waste sites.
  • National Marine Fisheries Service - regulates endangered species under ESA, Negotiates the harvest of fisheries, studies fisheries and their habitats, and restores habitat.
  • National Weather Service - predicts the weather including rainfall and downstream effects on flooding.
  • National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service - Manages GPS and weather satellites, and has a really big budget to manage that infrastructure.
  • Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research
  • Office of Marine and Aviation Operations - which operates a fleet of ships and airplanes through its own uniformed service, the NOAA Corps.

These are called "line offices" and each has its own "Assistant Administrator" or "AA" and they are led by the "Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere". Each line office may have its own system of Assistant Regional Administrators and regional staff in addition to headquarters programs (which may in turn have their own regions!)

The largest NOAA Office in the Salish Sea is at Sand Point in Seattle. There is an office in Lacey, and labs at Mukilteo and Manchester. Here are some workgroups particularly active in the Salish Sea ecosystem management.

NOS Assessment and Restoration Division

NOAA Restoration Center

NW Fisheries Science Center

The Fish Ecology Division focuses on understanding the complex ecological linkages between commercially and recreationally important marine and anadromous fishery resources of the Pacific Northwest and their habitats.

The Watershed Program conducts research on the ecology and management of freshwater and estuarine ecosystems to assist with the management and recovery of NOAA trust resources. Program scientists provide technical support to NOAA Fisheries policy makers and regulatory staff, and collaborate with other agencies, tribes, and educational institutions on research and outreach related to the management of Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.).

Other Pages

The following pages have a NOAA category:

The following documents have a NOAA category: