The Great Seal of the Shinnecock Indian Nation. (Credit Shinnecock Indian Nation)

NCCOS and NOAA’s North Atlantic Regional Collaboration Team (NART) relayed the relevance of the agency’s work and mission to leaders from Native American tribes throughout the Northeastern U.S.  At a recent roundtable summit, NCCOS Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) Program Manager, Quay Dortch, and other NOAA representatives met with members of the Shinnecock Indian Nation to discuss how NOAA programs might help them preserve tribal cultural practices.

Dr. Quay Dortch, NCCOS HAB Program Manager (Credit NOAA)

Dr. Dortch spoke on U.S. coastal HABs and NOAA’s response, discussing NOAA HAB Programs such as ECOHAB (to determine HAB causes and impacts), MERHAB (to improve HAB monitoring), PCMHAB (for HAB prevention, control, mitigation), rapid Event Response (to help state and local officials respond to blooms), operational HAB Forecasting, and research (both intramural and extramural).

NCCOS sponsored graduate student Andrew Griffith (Stony Brook University) gave an overview presentation on HABs in Shinnecock Bay, Long Island, NY.  Other NOAA representatives discussed agency programs  addressing impacts of sea level rise, coastal habitat restoration, water quality monitoring, climate change/fish migration, and extreme weather preparedness. A representative of New York Sea Grant and the U.S. Geological Survey also spoke.

The NOAA/Shinnecock Nation roundtable took place February 15, 2018, at the Resilience in the Coastal Community and Ecosystem Community Center, Southampton, NY. The Shinnecock Indian Nation is a federally recognized tribe of historically Algonquian-speaking Native Americans based at the eastern end of Long Island, NY. NOAA NART is expanding its tribal engagement activities with Native American Tribes.

For more information, contact Quay.Dortch@noaa.gov.