Part
1
Introduction
Authority
for Designation
Title
III of the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act of
1972, 16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq., as amended (MPRSA)
(the Act), authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to designate
discrete marine areas of special national significance as national
marine sanctuaries. The purpose is to promote comprehensive
long-term management of their conservation, recreational, ecological,
historical, research, educational, or aesthetic values. National
marine sanctuaries may be designated in those areas of coastal
and ocean waters, the Great Lakes and their connecting waters,
and submerged lands over which the United States exercises jurisdiction,
consistent with international law. National marine sanctuaries
are built around the existence of distinctive natural and cultural
resources whose protection and beneficial use require comprehensive
planning and management. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) administers the National Marine Sanctuary
Program through the Sanctuaries and Reserves Division (SRD),
in the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM).
Mission
and Goals of the National Marine Sanctuary Program
In
accordance with Title III of the MPRSA, the mission of the National
Marine Sanctuary Program is to identify, designate, and comprehensively
manage nationally-significant marine areas, based on the criteria
noted above. National marine sanctuaries are established for
the long-term benefit, use and enjoyment by the public. To meet
these objectives, the following National Marine Sanctuary Program
goals have been established:
1. Enhance
resource protection through comprehensive and coordinated conservation
and management tailored to specific resources that complements
existing regulatory authorities;
2. Support,
promote, and coordinate scientific research on, and monitoring
of, the site-specific marine resources to improve management
decisionmaking in national marine sanctuaries;
3. Enhance
public awareness, understanding, and wise use of the marine
environment through public interpretive, educational, and recreational
programs; and
4. Facilitate,
to the extent compatible with the primary objective of resource
protection, multiple uses of national marine sanctuaries.
Terms
of Designation
Section
304(a)(4) [16 U.S.C. 1434(a)(4)] of MPRSA provides that as a
condition for establishing a national marine sanctuary, the
Secretary of Commerce must set forth the terms of the designation.
The terms must include: (a) the geographic area included within
the proposed Sanctuary; (b) the characteristics of the area
that give it conservation, recreational, ecological, historical,
research, educational or aesthetic value; and (c) the types
of activities that will be subject to regulation in order to
protect those characteristics. The terms of the designation
may only be modified by the same procedure through which the
original designation was made.
Status
of the National Marine Sanctuary Program
Thirteen
national marine sanctuaries have been established since the
Program's inception in 1972 (Figure 1):
• The
Monitor National Marine Sanctuary serves to protect the wreck
of the Civil War ironclad, U.S.S. MONITOR. It was designated
in January 1975, and is one square nautical mile in diameter.
The Sanctuary is located 16 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras,
North Carolina.
• The
Key Largo National Marine Sanctuary was designated in December
1975, and provides protection and management to a 100 square-nautical-mile
area of tropical coral reefs south of Miami, Florida. The Sanctuary
is a seaward extension of the John Pennekamp State Coral Reef
Park.
• The
Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary was designated in
September 1980, and encompasses 1,252 square nautical miles
off the coast of Santa Barbara, California. The Sanctuary surrounds
the four northern Channel Islands and Santa Barbara Island,
and provides protection to valuable habitats for marine mammals,
including extensive pinniped assemblages, and seabirds.
• The
Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary was designated in January
1981 and consists of a submerged section of the Florida reef
southwest of Big Pine Key. The five square-nautical-mile site
includes a beautiful "spur and groove" coral formation supporting
a diverse marine community and a wide variety of human uses.
• The
Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary, designated in January
1981, is a submerged live bottom area located on the South Atlantic
continental shelf due east of Sapelo Island, Georgia. The Sanctuary
encompasses about 17 square nautical miles, and protects a highly
productive and unusual habitat for a wide variety of species
including corals, tropical fish, and endangered and threatened
sea turtles.
• The
Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary was designated
in January 1981, and encompasses 948 square nautical miles off
the northern coast of San Francisco, California. The Sanctuary
includes important habitats for a diverse array of marine mammals
and seabirds, as well as pelagic fish, plants, and benthic biota.
• The
Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary in American Samoa was
designated in April 1986. The 163-acre bay site contains deepwater
coral terrace formations that are unique to the high islands
of the tropical Pacific. The Sanctuary protects habitat for
a diverse array of marine flora and fauna, including the endangered
hawksbill sea turtle and the threatened green sea turtle.
• The
Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary, located approximately
20 miles west of Point Reyes, California, was designated in
May 1989. The 397 square-nautical-mile site surrounds a granitic
formation which provides habitat for an unusual assortment of
marine and intertidal species, including colonies of purple
hydrocorals. Abundant fish species attract feeding cetaceans
and seabirds.
• The
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary was Congressionally-designated
in November 1990, and encompasses approximately 2600 square
nautical miles of coral reefs, seagrass beds, and related shoreline
habitats off Florida. NOAA is required to complete a comprehensive
management plan including implementing
regulations
by May 1993. Upon its completion, existing National Marine Sanctuaries
at Key Largo and Looe Key will be incorporated into this plan.
• The
Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary encompasses approximately
42 square nautical miles surrounding two separate submerged
features, the East and the West Flower Garden Banks, situated
over 100 miles off the coast of Texas. Designated in January
1992, the Sanctuary protects the northernmost coral reefs on
the North American continental shelf.
• The
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary encompasses 4,024 square
nautical miles of coastal and ocean waters off Monterey, California.
Designated in September 1992, the Sanctuary protects a a variety
of nearshore and offshore habitats, including Monterey Canyon,
which measures over 10,000 feet in depth at its seaward edge.
Abundant marine mammals, birds, fish, invertebrates and floral
and faunal communities depend upon these habitats, and are important
to central and northern California.
• The
Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary was Congressionally
designated in November 1992 and encompasses 638 square nautical
miles of biologically productive waters between Cape Cod and
Cape Ann, Massachusetts. The Bank feature supports plankton,
invertebrate and fish species important to a variety of marine
mammals, including humpback, fin, sei, and northern right whales.
The Bank is heavily used for both fishing and whalewatching
activities.
• The
Hawaiian Islands National Marine Sanctuary was Congressionally
designated in November 1992. The Sanctuary includes waters within
the 100-fathom isobath of the islands of Molokai, Lanai, Maui,
and a portion of Kaui. Among Sanctuary purposes are protection
of humpback whales and identification of additional marine resources
and ecosystems of national significance. Unless determined to
be unsuitable, waters around the island of Kahoolawe will be
added to the Sanctuary in January 1996.
In
addition to Stellwagen Bank, the Sanctuaries and Reserves Division
is actively developing designation documents for four additional
proposed Sanctuaries. The proposed Sanctuaries are: Northwest
Straits, Washington; Olympic Coast, Washington; Norfolk Canyon,
Virginia; and Thunder Bay, Michigan.
History
of the Proposal
In
January 1982, NOAA published a Program Development Plan (PDP)
for the National Marine Sanctuary Program, describing the Program's
mission and goals; site identification procedures and criteria;
and establishing a sanctuary nomination and designation process.
Pursuant to the PDP and Program regulations, NOAA initiated
a public process in February 1982 to establish a Site Evaluation
List (SEL), to be comprised of highly-qualified marine sites
meeting Program criteria for further evaluation as possible
national marine sanctuaries. Potential SEL sites were identified
and recommended to NOAA by regional resource evaluation teams,
in accordance with the Program's mission and goals, as set forth
in the PDP and in Program regulations.
A
marine area of approximately 500 square miles (1294.99 sq. km)
surrounding Stellwagen Bank (offshore Massachusetts) was nominated
jointly by Defenders of Wildlife, Inc. and Dr. Charles A. Mayo,
of the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies, to the North
Atlantic Regional Resource Evaluation Team for its consideration.
The nomination was subsequently recommended by the evaluation
team to NOAA for placement on the proposed SEL. A proposed SEL,
including the Stellwagen Bank site, was published on March 1,
1983 (48 FR 8527); and, following a public comment period,
the final SEL was published August 4, 1983 (48 FR 35568).
The
Secretary of Commerce (acting through NOAA), will from time
to time select sites from the SEL as Active Candidates, which
formally initiates evaluation of a site for possible designation,
through implementation of the National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA) process. Prior to the 1988 Congressional amendments
to Title III of the MPRSA, there was no time limit on NOAA's
consideration of a site for national marine sanctuary designation.
However, the 1988 amendments to the National Marine Sanctuary
Program (Title II of Pub. L. 100-627, codified at 16 U.S.C.
1431 et seq.) establish (at Section 304(b)) a
finite period of time (i.e., 30 months) from the time of Active
Candidacy to a notice of designation (or findings regarding
why such notice has not been published).
Additionally,
the 1988 Amendments specifically require (Section 304(e)) that
a prospectus on the Stellwagen Bank proposal be submitted to
Congress for its review and comment no later than September
30, 1990. The prospectus on a proposed national marine sanctuary
contains, among other information, the draft environmental impact
statement and the draft management plan (DEIS/MP). To meet this
Congressionally-mandated deadline, NOAA elevated the Stellwagen
Bank proposal to Active Candidate status on April 19, 1989 (54
FR 15787).
Following
the Federal Register notice announcing Stellwagen
Bank as an Active Candidate for National Marine Sanctuary designation,
NOAA conducted four public scoping meetings during the week
of June 12-16, 1989 at Provincetown, MA; Portsmouth, NH; Gloucester,
MA; and Boston, MA. The purpose of the meetings was to gather
information and comments from individuals, organizations, and
government agencies on the range and significance of issues
related to the Sanctuary proposal. Attendees were provided information
sheets on the study area for the proposal, and were asked to
comment on identified management issues; to suggest additional
issues for examination; and to provide information useful for
NOAA's evaluation of the site's potential as a National Marine
Sanctuary.
Significant
concerns were identified through this process regarding possible
threats to the Stellwagen Bank environment from proposed human
activities. Natural resources at risk include the Bank feature
itself, as well as commercially-important fisheries and endangered
cetaceans.
The
DEIS/MP on the proposed Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary,
and the Prospectus to Congress were published on February 8,
1991, initiating a 60-day public comment period, and a 45-day
Congressional review period. during this period, a series of
public hearings were conducted (March 11-18, 1991) in Portsmouth,
NH; Gloucester, MA; Duxbury, MA; Provincetown, MA; and Washington,
DC. Approximately 225 persons attended the public hearings,
and over 860 written comments were received during this period.
Additionally, petitions signed by more than 20,000 persons supporting
designation of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
were also received by NOAA by the comment deadline of April
9, 1991.
Prior
to the issuance of this FEIS/MP, the U.S. Congress passed and
the President signed into law the National Marine Sanctuaries
Amendments Act of 1992, which reauthorizes and amends Title
III of the MPRSA (P. L. 102-587, Nov. 4, 1992). Section 2202
of P. L. 102-587 designates the Stellwagen Bank National Marine
Sanctuary; establishes a Sanctuary boundary; prohibits the exploration
for and mining of sand and gravel and other minerals in the
Sanctuary; requires consultation with the Secretary of Commerce
by Federal agencies proposing agency actions in the vicinity
of the Sanctuary that may affect Sanctuary resources; authorizes
funding levels for fiscal years 1993 and 1994; and directs the
Secretary of Commerce to consider establishment of a satellite
Sanctuary office in Provincetown, Gloucester or Hull, MA.
Purpose
and Need for Designation
The
combination of physical and oceanographic characteristics over
and around the Stellwagen Bank feature produces two distinct
peak productivity periods annually. This occurs when overturn
and mixing of coastal waters with nutrient-rich waters from
deeper strata result in a complex system of overlapping mid-water
and benthic habitats. This cyclic biological productivity supports
a large variety of fishery resources, including mackerel, bluefin
tuna, bluefish, shad, menhaden, herring, cod, haddock, flounders,
quahog, and sea scallop. Large populations of the predominant
forage fish, the sand lance, support larger fish species and
seasonal populations of cetaceans. Sand lance are also responsible
for seasonal concentrations of a variety of seabirds. Several
species of cetaceans have been recorded at Stellwagen Bank,
including Atlantic white-sided dolphins, white-beaked dolphins,
harbor porpoises, orca whales, pilot whales, minke whales, humpback
whales, fin whales, sei whales, and northern right whales. The
latter four species are Federally-listed as "endangered."
The
proximity to land and accessibility of this biologically rich
and diverse system have resulted in extensive levels of human
activities. The primary commercial use of the Bank's resources
is fishing, which has occurred in the area for several generations.
More recently, commercial whalewatching also has become a principal
commercial activity. Whalewatchers visiting the Stellwagen Bank
region number more than 1.25 million a year, involving more
than 40 vessels.
Commercial
vessel traffic lanes in and out of Boston Harbor traverse directly
across the Bank feature. Waters near the Stellwagen Bank have
been and continue to be used for disposal of dredged materials.
There are also activities currently underway to establish an
extended outfall tunnel, ending approximately 15 miles from
Stellwagen Bank, to carry and release treated wastewater effluent
from Boston Harbor.
Public
awareness of and attention to coastal management issues, and
the desire to ensure the future of such areas for commercial,
recreational, and other uses, have highlighted both the importance
of the Stellwagen Bank system and the current lack of comprehensive
and coordinated management for this area. The Sanctuary occurs
in Federal waters not fully protected from potentially harmful
activities, and lacking the benefits of coordinated, multiple-use
management. Sanctuary designation will provide both the coordination
of ongoing and planned human activities, and the mechanism for
ensuring long-term protection of the system, through regulatory,
research, monitoring, and interpretive/educational programs.
On
October 7, 1992, Congress passed legislation reauthorizing and
amending Title III of the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries
Act (Title III). This legislation was signed into law on November
4, 1992 (P. L. 102-587). Title III, as amended, designates the
Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, and additionally
mandates the adoption of a Sanctuary boundary described in this
document as boundary alternative 5; prohibits the exploration
for, and mining of, sand and gravel and other minerals in the
Sanctuary; requires consultation with the Secretary of Commerce
by Federal agencies proposing agency actions in the vicinity
of the Sanctuary that may affect Sanctuary resources; authorizes
fiscal years 1993 and 1994 funding levels for the Sanctuary;
and directs the Secretary of Commerce to consider establishment
of a satellite Sanctuary office in Provincetown, Gloucester
or Hull, MA (Section 2202).
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