NOAA'sNational Centers for Coastal Ocean Sciencealong with the University of the Virgin Islands and the NOAA Integrated Ocean Observing System organized a day-long session at the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) scientific conference to provide ideas and solutions in support of effective coastal and marine spatial planning (CMSP). The session included 17 presentations from an assortment of local territorial and federal agencies, universities and non-governmental agencies. Two presentations were given by NCCOS members to impart experience with a regional biogeographic analytical framework for addressing local and regional CMSP priorities, and useful analytical approaches for communicating uncertainty in marine data and for modeling dynamic ecosystems. After the meeting, NCCOS members along with partners (CRCP, SECART) participated in a discussion with Puerto Rico