Northeasterly Destinations
APRIL 13, 2020 — Collin Buckner is a Disaster Planning Associate with the DPP. Located in Mobile, Alabama at the Disaster Response Center (DRC), Collin is responsible for coordination efforts throughout the Northeast as well as the Gulf of Mexico.
It has been more than a month since Collin traveled to the northeast United States to work with some of our key NOAA partners. The mission’s purpose was not only to deliver presentations about NOAA’s Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) but to learn more about potential areas where the DPP could collaborate to enhance regional preparedness.
First stop, the University of New Hampshire’s Coastal Response Research Center (CRRC). The Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R), as well as the DPP, have a long-standing partnership with the CRRC that continues to grow. After leaving the CRRC, Collin’s next stop was the Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) where we are planning to partnership with the Office of Coastal Management on a future training and readiness exercise. Collin learned more about the importance of the Great Bay NEER, their collaboration efforts, accomplishments, goals, challenges, and planning related to disaster preparedness. Collin commented, “Being part of conversations related to various concerns impacting regions of the country is one of the most interesting parts of my job.”
Collin’s next stop was the Northeast Regional NERR meeting at Waquoit Bay NERR in Falmouth, Massachusetts. Again, the meeting was a two-way engagement. We learned of their activities and challenges and they learned more about what NOAA could do in partnership toward common goals.
Collin’s final stop was the Barnstable County Regional Emergency Planning Committee (BCREPC) meeting which consists of state and federal partners. Again, the purpose and intent was to inform partners about the roles, missions, and capabilities offered by NOAA and the DPP.
A lot in our world has changed since the month before. Some of the plans formulated then will have to be postponed for now as our efforts are focused on a very real immediate threat. The DPP continues to expand its regional partnerships and collaboration efforts through workshops, trainings, exercises, as well as sharing capabilities and expertise at the local, state, and federal levels.
For further information, contact Collin.Buckner@noaa.gov.