Sanctuary Advisory Council
New
SAC Members Announced
|
Under provisions
of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, the Secretary of Commerce is
authorized to establish Sanctuary Advisory Councils. The Stellwagen
Bank National Marine Sanctuary has established a new Council, announcing
the membership on October 3, 2001. Click
here to view the press release of the membership announcement.
The process to establish
this Council was announced in a Federal
Register notice that was published on May 4th.
The Sanctuary Advisory
Council (SAC) advises the Sanctuary Superintendent and staff on issues
relevant to the effective implementation of the Sanctuary
Management Plan. The Council is the formal organizational link to
the SanctuaryÕs user community and others interested in the management
of this nationally significant area of the marine environment.
Duties of the Council
include:
-
providing advice
and recommendations to the Superintendent regarding management of
the Sanctuary drawing upon the expertise of its members and other
sources;
-
serving as liaisons
between their communities and the Sanctuary, by keeping the Sanctuary
staff informed of issues and concerns, as well as performing outreach
to their respective communities on the Sanctuary's behalf;
-
serving as a
forum for consultation and deliberation among its members and as
a source of consensus advice to the Superintenden
The Council membership
is to be made up of 15 non-governmental voting members and six governmental
ex-officio members (non-voting).
The non-governmental
members are selected to represent local user groups, conservation and
other public interest organizations, scientific and educational organizations,
or members of the public interested in the protection and multiple use
management of Sanctuary resources. Representatives from the following
groups will be chosen:
The governmental
members are to represent agencies with regulatory authorities or other
direct interests in the Sanctuary and its resources. The member organizations
are:
- National Marine
Fisheries Service Northeast Regional Center (federal fisheries and
protected species management);
-
New England
Regional Fishery Management Council (federal fisheries management
planning);
-
U.S. Coast Guard
(federal marine resources and maritime enforcement);
-
Massachusetts
Office of Coastal Zone Management (state-federal ocean management
consistency);
- Massachusetts
Division of Marine Fisheries (state ocean fisheries management); and
- Massachusetts
Division of Law Enforcement (cooperative state-federal environmental
law enforcement).
For more information
about the Stellwagen Bank Sanctuary Advisory Council, please refer to
the Charter.
For a copy of the
press release announcing the Council members, click
here.
If any of the Council
seats should become vacant, the Sanctuary will issue a call for applications
on this website and through the media. To apply for one of the non-governmental
Council seats, see the Requirements
and Application Guidelines
pages on this web site.
