MANAGEMENT PLAN REVIEW

The management plan review (MPR) process depends on the active involvement of our constituents and Sanctuary Advisory Council. In preparation for a review of this management plan, the sanctuary staff worked with Council members to update the sanctuary's goals and objectives. This draft was finalized at the Sanctuary Advisory Council meeting in July 2006. A State of the Sanctuary Report (1.4MB pdf) was then released in October 2006 that provides information about the sanctuary, its accomplishments and current resource management issues.

Download a Management Plan Review Fact Sheet (84kb pdf).

For more information about the Sanctuary Advisory Council including membership, meeting schedule, agenda and meeting minutes, please visit the Sanctuary Advisory Council web page.

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What are the Steps for the Review?

I. Public Scoping
Management plan review officially begins with an opportunity for the public to learn about and comment on the current state of sanctuary management and emerging issues facing the sanctuary. At the onset of management plan review, the National Marine Sanctuary Program holds public meetings to "scope out" or get input on resource management issues from resource users, interest groups, government agencies and other members of the public. This input helps define the range of issues that the program needs to address during the management plan review.

Download a Scoping Meeting Fact Sheet (344kb pdf).

Public scoping meeting in Webster, TX. Photo: Joyce & Frank Burek

FGBNMS held three public scoping meetings in October 2006 (Houston/Galveston, Corpus Christi, and New Orleans). The meetings were announced in the Federal Register (36kb pdf) and through various newspapers. More than 50 people attended the public scoping meetings and over 80 written comments were collected. Comment topics included artificial reefs, endangered species, enforcement, harvesting, oil and gas infrastructure, pollutant discharge, regional water quality, shipping and transport, visitor use, wildlife interactions, boundary expansion, habitat connectivity, invasive species, education, global warming, hurricanes and administrative issues. Fishing, boundary expansion, and public outreach and education received more comments than other topics.

Although scoping meetings for Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary have already taken place, your input is still welcome. In fact, you may review a summary of the comments received thus far.

Download the Summary of Public Scoping Comments (188kb pdf)

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II. Characterizing Priority Issues
During the February 2007 Sanctuary Advisory Council meeting, the Council established six (6) working groups to address specific priority issues identified through the public scoping process. Each working group consists of one or more Council members and a supporting sanctuary staff member. Please click on a working group title to learn more about that issue, the working group members, meeting schedule, and issue workshops.

·      Fishing Impacts
·      Impacts from Visitor Use
·      Boundary Expansion
·      Enforcement
·      Education/Outreach
·      Impacts of Pollutant Discharge

Additional issues are addressed primarily by the sanctuary staff:

·      Research
·      Administration
·      Performance Evaluation 

This step in the management plan review is complete when the Working Groups make formal recommendations on management strategies and activities to the Sanctuary Advisory Council. If adopted, the Council will officially propose those management actions to the sanctuary superintendent for inclusion in the management plan.

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III. Draft Management Plan and Draft Environmental Analysis
Sanctuary staff will use the recommendations from the Council to help them develop action plans to address each issue and prepare a draft management plan.

IV. Final Management Plan and Final Environmental Analysis
Formal public hearings and comments on the draft plan will further help staff revise the document into a final management plan, which, once approved, outlines the sanctuary's priorities for the next 5-10 years.

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Sanctuary Updates

If you would like to be added to an electronic list serve for regular announcements about the sanctuary, please send an email to requests@willamette.nos.noaa.gov with the subject Subscribe FGBNMSupdates (this is case and spacing sensitive).

For more information or print copies of specific documents, please email the sanctuary at fgbmanagementplan@noaa.gov.

For a complete listing of downloadable management documents, please visit our Document Library.

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