Biography

Grover Fugate was Executive Director of the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC). In this role of 34 years, Grover was responsible for overseeing the development of all policies and programs for the state’s coastal program. He recently was the project manager for the Council’s new Shoreline Change Special Area Management Plan (SAMP), which is a forward-looking plan at how climate change will impact Rhode Islands’ shoreline. The plan is designed to look at developing appropriate responses to this threat, while protecting the state’s coastal infrastructure.

Due to his leadership with the Beach and Ocean SAMP projects and other coastal planning efforts, Grover has earned many significant awards, including the 2018 Regional Adaptation Leadership Award from the American Society of Adaptation Professionals; two prestigious, 2017 Peter Benchley Ocean Awards- one for ‘Excellence in Solutions’ for the Rhode Island Ocean Special Area Management Plan, and the second as a team member for the New England Regional Ocean Plan. He has also been awarded the 2017 New England Environment Business Council, Ira W. Leighton, Jr. Outstanding Environmental – Energy Technology Achievement Award for the Block Island Wind Farm Project; the 2016 Congressional Service Award for the Ocean SAMP; the 2010 Susan Snow‐Cotter Award for Excellence in Ocean and Coastal Resource Management from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). He was also the recipient of the 2010 Regional Sea Grant Outstanding Outreach Award, the 2008 Coastal America Award for Habitat Restoration, and the 2008 Rhode Island Sea Grant Lifetime Achievement Award.

In addition to his duties as Executive Director, he also served as the state Co-Lead to the Ocean Planning initiative for the Northeast Regional Ocean Council, and also was the state Co-Lead for the Regional Planning Body, established under President Obama’s Executive Order on the National Ocean Policy. Grover is the author of academic journal articles on coastal and natural resources management issues, and was adjunct faculty at the University of Rhode Island in the Department of Ocean Engineering and College of the Environment and Life Sciences (CELS), The Masters of Environmental Science and Management (MESM) program. He was also a guest lecturer at Roger Williams University Law School on Coastal and Marine Law.