As many of you know, the National Marine Sanctuary Program recently released a draft proposal to revive a public sanctuary nomination process. National marine sanctuaries are a key component of our nation’s commitment to conserve the ocean and Great Lakes for future generations. As supporters and friends of the National Marine Sanctuary System, we hope that you will review the letter below and consider lending your support by adding your name and/or the name of your organization as a signatory.

Numerous external reviews have concluded that NOAA’s sanctuary program is fundamentally well-conceived, covers gaps in other federal laws, and that existing sanctuaries are making progress towards long-term protection of marine ecosystems and cultural resources. Since 1995, community leaders, academics, elected officials, and concerned citizens have been unable to formally request that NOAA consider new sites for sanctuary designation, and re-establishing a formal, public process for these inquiries is critical. There are no direct costs associated with re-establishing a public sanctuary nomination process.
 
Please feel free to pass this message along to anyone you think may be interested – a strong network of active supporters, acting in unison, represents the best chance of effectively utilizing place-based ocean governance to reinvigorate coastal communities nationwide. In addition, we encourage you to include similar messages in your own comments on the draft proposal; sample text and further details are available at: http://nmsfocean.org/article/2013/06/27/sanctuary-nomination-process.

Please contact Jeb Berman or Jason Patlis at 301.608.3040 if you have any questions about the draft proposal or sanctuary nomination process.

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Sample Letter

Matt Brookhart
Chief, Policy & Planning Division
Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
1305 East-West Highway, 11th Floor
Silver Spring, MD 29010
 
Dear Mr. Brookhart:
 
We write in strong support of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s proposed rule (Docket NOAA-NOS-2013-0091) to re-establish a sanctuary nomination process and amend regulations concerning that process.
 
Sanctuaries are a key component of our nation’s commitment to conserve our ocean and Great Lakes for future generations, and we very much support efforts to reinvigorate the National Marine Sanctuary System. Public participation is a hallmark of NOAA’s sanctuary program, and we support the development of a public sanctuary nomination process as a critical element of the sanctuary system’s intensive engagement effort with coastal communities.
 
This proposed rule brings us one step closer to restoring to the public a meaningful opportunity to identify nationally significant ocean areas and formally propose protections for them through designation as national marine sanctuaries. We support it for two main reasons.
 
First, support for new sanctuaries is high among diverse constituencies across the nation. Since 1995, community leaders, academics, elected officials, and concerned citizens have been unable to formally request that NOAA consider new sites for sanctuary designation, and we are pleased that the agency is seeking to remedy this situation by re-establishing a formal, public process for these inquiries.
 
Second, the National Marine Sanctuaries Act offers one of the most effective approaches available for comprehensive protection of specific areas in the ocean and Great Lakes – and the statute is the only existing federal law structured with this end firmly in mind. Unlike most other ocean resource laws, which focus on controlling specific activities or managing specific species, the NMSA protects nationally significant places, along with the natural, historical, and cultural riches that make them worth preserving for this and future generations. Numerous external reviews have concluded that NOAA’s sanctuary program is fundamentally well-conceived, covers gaps in other federal laws, and that existing sanctuaries are making progress towards long-term protection of marine ecosystems and cultural resources. As recently as April 2013, reactivation of a public process to evaluate areas that may be considered for sanctuary designation was identified as a fundamental step to help recover and sustain ocean resources and the communities that depend on them.
 
In short, restoring a public sanctuary nomination process is critically important. We hope our comments are helpful as you begin to refine this proposed rule and develop final criteria and a process by which the public may nominate sites for eligibility for national marine sanctuary designation.
 
Thank you for your support and for all you do to improve the health of our ocean,
 
Steve Olson, Vice President, Federal Relations, Association of Zoos & Aquariums
David Helvarg, Executive Director, Blue Frontier Campaign
Miyoko Sakashita, Oceans Director, Center for Biological Diversity
Mayor Justin M. Nickels, City of Manitowoc, WI
Linda Krop, Chief Counsel, Environmental Defense Center, Santa Barbara, CA
Bruce Popham, President, Marathon Boat Yard Marine Center, Marathon, FL
Lance Morgan, President, Marine Conservation Institute
Jason M. Patlis, President and CEO, National Marine Sanctuary Foundation
Sarah Chasis, Director, Oceans Program, Natural Resources Defense Council
Janis Searles Jones, Executive Vice President, Policy and Programs, Ocean Conservancy
Bob Hollis, Chairman, Oceanic Worldwide
Kameran L. Onley, Director, U.S. Marine Policy, The Nature Conservancy
Tom Raftican, President, The Sportfishing Conservancy
Jim Moriarty, CEO, Surfrider Foundation
Norma Bishop, CEO, Wisconsin Maritime Museum
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