GENERAL DOCUMENTS
1991 Flower Garden Banks Final Management Plan and final Environmental Impact Statement (9.6MB pdf)
- original management plan documents leading to the establishment of the sanctuary in 1992. 2012 Management Plan information below.
2008 Condition Report (1.6MB pdf)
- baseline assessment of water quality, habitat, and living resources of the sanctuary
Biological Considerations of the Effects of Spearfishing (207kb pdf)
- a summary of research regarding the impacts of spearfishing on biological communities.
Federal Register Notice of Sanctuary Designation and Regulations, December 5, 1991, 56 FR 63634 (3.8MB pdf)
Goals & Objectives, July 2010 (44kb pdf)
Management Plan Review Fact Sheet (84kb pdf)
National Marine Sanctuaries Act - Federal Register (160kb pdf)
National Marine Sanctuaries Act Legislative History (36kb pdf)
State of the Sanctuary Report 2006 (1.4MB pdf)
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a report on the status of the sanctuary as of 2006 when the sanctuary's Management Plan Review began
A listing of all Federal Register Notices associated with National Marine Sanctuaries is available on the national website at http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/management/fr_notices.html
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2012 MANAGEMENT PLAN
2012 Management Plan (DMP) Low Resolution (2.8MB pdf)
2012 Management Plan (DMP) High Resolution (5.2MB pdf)
2012 Environmental Assessment Low Resolution (1.0MB pdf)
2012 Environmental Assessment High Resolution (2.6MB pdf)
2012 Management Plan by Chapters:
About This Document (71kb pdf)
Table of Contents (107kb pdf)
Executive Summary (115kb pdf)
Introduction (192kb pdf)
Sanctuary Setting (1.6MB pdf)
Action Plans Introduction (121kb pdf)
Sanctuary Expansion Action Plan (308kb pdf)
Education and Outreach Action Plan (204kb pdf)
Research and Monitoring Action Plan (438kb pdf)
Resource Protection Action Plan (231kb pdf)
Visitor Use Action Plan (279kb pdf)
Operations and Administration Action Plan (302kb pdf)
Summary of the Programmatic Environmental Assessment (98kb pdf)
References (72kb pdf)
Appendix I - National Marine Sanctuary Act (421kb pdf)
Appendix II - FGBNMS Regulations (153kb pdf)
Federal Register Notice (244kb pdf) - Final rule; Public Availability of Final Management Plan and Environmental Assessment (April 27, 2012)
REGULATIONS
Regulations, NMSP (364kb pdf) - excerpt from Code of Federal Regulations detailing regulations applicable to the National Marine Sanctuary Program; Flower Garden Banks NMS regulations are in Subpart L (2007)
Regulations, FGBNMS section (60kb pdf) - Updated Subpart L, outlining only regulations specific to Flower Garden Banks NMS (April 2012).
Regulations, Final Rule 2012 (111kb pdf) - Explanation of revisions to FGBNMS regulations in conjunction with release of 2012 Management Plan and Environmental Assessment (April 2012).
Regulations, Stetson Amendment (256kb pdf)
- Federal Register: modifies sanctuary boundaries to include Stetson Bank (1996)
Regulations, No Anchoring Amendment (44kb pdf)
- Federal Register: modifies regulations to allow no anchoring in sanctuary, in accordance with International Maritime Organization's International No Anchoring Area designation (2001)
Regulations, summary (137kb pdf)
- a two page summary of the regulations most likely to be applicable to individual visitors to the sanctuary; not a comprehensive summary (2012)
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PRIORITY ISSUES
Sanctuary Expansion:
Sanctuary Expansion Fact Sheet (576kb pdf)
- summary of boundary expansion issues for the sanctuary and working group strategies to address them
Boundary Expansion Recommendation (3.6MB pdf)
- recommendation from the Sanctuary Advisory Council December 6, 2007
Boundary Expansion Workshop Agenda (220kb pdf)
- agenda from the July 19, 2007 workshop
Boundary Expansion Workshop Minutes (260kb pdf)
- minutes from the July 19, 2007 workshop
Draft Options Document for the FGBNMS Management Plan Revision (1.4MB pdf)
- a document originally sent to the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council in advance of a presentation conducted by G.P. Schmahl at their April 2008 meeting
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WORKSHOP PRESENTATIONS
Boundary Expansion Workshop:
Introduction to the Boundary Expansion Workshop (1.8MB pdf)
- G.P. Schmahl, FGBNMS
Reefs & Banks of Northwestern Gulf of Mexico (7.4MB pdf)
- Dr. Tom Bright, Texas A&M University
Characterization of Selected Banks 1 (1.7MB pdf)
- Greg Boland, Minerals Management Service
Geological Perspective: Alderdice Bank (20.5MB pdf)
- Mark Betts, Devon Energy
Characterization of Selected Banks 2 (2.5MB pdf)
- Emma Hickerson, FGBNMS
Sea turtle & Manta Ray Utilization of the FGBNMS (3.1MB pdf)
- Emma Hickerson, FGBNMS
Research Area Monitoring Workshop:
Biogeographic Monitoring of FGBNMS (2.6MB pdf)
- Chris Caldow, NCCOS
Hydroacoustic Monitoring of Water Column Resources (5.8MB pdf)
- Chris Taylor & Laura Kracker, NCCOS
Drop Camera and Fish-trap Surveys (36.5MB pdf)
- Kevin Rademacher, NOAA Fisheries
Experimental Design and Survey Methods (5.2MB pdf)
- Steve Smith & Jerry Ault, University of Miami, RSMAS
Law Enforcement at the FGBNMS (120kb pdf)
- Charles Tyer, NOAA Office of Law Enforcement
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