WASHINGTON - January 13 - The following is a statement from Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, on the government reorganization plan announced by President Obama.

“Streamlining government to better serve the American people is a worthy undertaking. But we are extremely troubled by the proposal to relocate the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) within the Department of Interior.

“This is not merely some technical, bureaucratic shift. The move could erode the capabilities and mute the voice of the government’s primary agency for protecting our oceans and the ecosystems and economies that depend on them.

“We understand the president’s interest in creating a more nimble, coherent entity for economic policy; but that can be done without sacrificing the scientific and environmental strengths of NOAA, and the independent perspectives it brings to critical issues.”