Pink coral at Rose Atoll in National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa. Photo courtesy NOAA.
Agency taking comments to help shape the nomination and designation process
By Summit Voice
FRISCO — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration wants to take a grassroots approach to designating new national marine sanctuaries, so the agency is launching a round of public input to update the criteria for the process.
The Office of National Marine Sanctuaries in 1995 deactivated the previous process for nominating national marine sanctuaries. Since then, members of Congress, state officials, tribes, non-governmental organizations, and others have expressed interest in pursuing new national marine sanctuaries.
NOAA will finalize the proposed process and criteria upon receiving public comment. NOAA will then consider whether to begin accepting nominations for new sanctuaries.
The National Marine Sanctuaries Act in 1972 gave NOAA a mandate to identify, designate, and protect marine areas of special national significance. The public’s involvement in shaping the mechanisms used to nominate new sanctuaries will help NOAA in this mission.
“National marine sanctuaries support local economies by ensuring a healthy and productive ocean,” said Holly A. Bamford, Ph.D., assistant NOAA administrator for the National Ocean Service. “Our goal is to establish a process communities can use to recommend areas of the marine environment that could benefit from designation as a sanctuary, and we’re asking the public to tell us what they think that criteria should be.”
Reestablishing the nomination process will not affect the public’s current use of the marine environment. NOAA may implement regulations only when an area is designated as a national marine sanctuary — a process that is highly public and participatory and typically takes years to complete.
Comments can be submitted electronically via the Federal eRulemaking Portal http://www.regulations.gov. Under Keyword or ID, type in NOAA-NOS-2013-0091. Click the “Comment Now!” icon, complete the required fields and enter or attach your comments. To read the full Federal Register notice, visit: http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov
All comments must be received by August 27.
