[House Hearing, 105 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
RESEARCH BEING CONDUCTED IN NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARIES
=======================================================================
OVERSIGHT HEARING
before the
SUBCOMMITTEE ON FISHERIES CONSERVATION, WILDLIFE AND OCEANS
of the
COMMITTEE ON RESOURCES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED FIFTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
SEPTEMBER 29, 1998, WASHINGTON, DC
__________
Serial No. 105-113
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Resources
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/house
or
Committee address: http://www.house.gov/resources
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
51-770 CC WASHINGTON : 1998
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COMMITTEE ON RESOURCES
DON YOUNG, Alaska, Chairman
W.J. (BILLY) TAUZIN, Louisiana GEORGE MILLER, California
JAMES V. HANSEN, Utah EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts
JIM SAXTON, New Jersey NICK J. RAHALL II, West Virginia
ELTON GALLEGLY, California BRUCE F. VENTO, Minnesota
JOHN J. DUNCAN, Jr., Tennessee DALE E. KILDEE, Michigan
JOEL HEFLEY, Colorado PETER A. DeFAZIO, Oregon
JOHN T. DOOLITTLE, California ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American
WAYNE T. GILCHREST, Maryland Samoa
KEN CALVERT, California NEIL ABERCROMBIE, Hawaii
RICHARD W. POMBO, California SOLOMON P. ORTIZ, Texas
BARBARA CUBIN, Wyoming OWEN B. PICKETT, Virginia
HELEN CHENOWETH, Idaho FRANK PALLONE, Jr., New Jersey
LINDA SMITH, Washington CALVIN M. DOOLEY, California
GEORGE P. RADANOVICH, California CARLOS A. ROMERO-BARCELO, Puerto
WALTER B. JONES, Jr., North Rico
Carolina MAURICE D. HINCHEY, New York
WILLIAM M. (MAC) THORNBERRY, Texas ROBERT A. UNDERWOOD, Guam
JOHN SHADEGG, Arizona SAM FARR, California
JOHN E. ENSIGN, Nevada PATRICK J. KENNEDY, Rhode Island
ROBERT F. SMITH, Oregon ADAM SMITH, Washington
CHRIS CANNON, Utah WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT, Massachusetts
KEVIN BRADY, Texas CHRIS JOHN, Louisiana
JOHN PETERSON, Pennsylvania DONNA CHRISTIAN-GREEN, Virgin
RICK HILL, Montana Islands
BOB SCHAFFER, Colorado RON KIND, Wisconsin
JIM GIBBONS, Nevada LLOYD DOGGETT, Texas
MICHAEL D. CRAPO, Idaho
Lloyd A. Jones, Chief of Staff
Elizabeth Megginson, Chief Counsel
Christine Kennedy, Chief Clerk/Administrator
John Lawrence, Democratic Staff Director
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Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans
JIM SAXTON, New Jersey, Chairman
W.J. (BILLY) TAUZIN, Louisiana FRANK PALLONE, Jr., New Jersey
WAYNE T. GILCHREST, Maryland NEIL ABERCROMBIE, Hawaii
WALTER B. JONES, Jr., North SOLOMON P. ORTIZ, Texas
Carolina SAM FARR, California
JOHN PETERSON, Pennsylvania PATRICK J. KENNEDY, Rhode Island
MICHAEL D. CRAPO, Idaho
Harry Burroughs, Staff Director
Dave Whaley, Legislative Staff
Jean Flemma, Democratic Legislative Staff
C O N T E N T S
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Page
Hearing held September 29, 1998.................................. 1
Statement of Members:
Farr, Hon. Sam, a Representative in Congress from the State
of California.............................................. 2
Gilchrest, Hon. Wayne T., a Representative in Congress from
the State of Maryland...................................... 3
Saxton, Hon. Jim, a Representative in Congress from the State
of New Jersey.............................................. 1
Prepared statement of.................................... 2
Statement of Witnesses:
Earle, Dr. Sylvia A., Explorer-in-Residence, National
Geographic Society......................................... 4
Prepared statement of.................................... 24
Foster, Dr. Nancy, Assistant Administrator, National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration............................. 8
Prepared statement of.................................... 33
Tysall, Terrence, President, Cambrian Foundation............. 9
Prepared statement of.................................... 41
OVERSIGHT HEARING ON RESEARCH BEING CONDUCTED IN NATIONAL MARINE
SANCTUARIES
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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1998
House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Fisheries
Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans, Committee on
Resources, Washington, DC.
The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:06 a.m., in
room 1334, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Jim Saxton
(chairman of the Subcommittee) presiding.
Mr. Saxton. Good morning. The Subcommittee on Fisheries
Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans will come to order.
STATEMENT OF HON. JIM SAXTON, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM
THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY
Mr. Saxton. The National Marine Sanctuaries Act of 1972
authorizes the designation of areas in the marine environment
with nationally significant aesthetic, ecological, historical,
or recreational values as National Marine Sanctuaries.
The primary objective of this law is to protect marine
resources, such as coral reefs, sunken historical vessels or
unique habitats, while facilitating all compatible public and
private uses of those resources. An active research program is
a vital component of the overall conservation and management
programs of these sanctuaries.
Twelve National Marine Sanctuaries have been designated on
the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf Coasts, in Hawaii, and in Guam.
One additional area in the Great Lakes is an active candidate
for designation.
Section 309 of the Sanctuaries Act directed the Secretary
to conduct research, monitoring, evaluation and education
necessary to carry out the purposes and policies of the Act.
These policies and purposes include comprehensive and
coordinated coordination conservation and management of the
sanctuaries; enhancement of public understanding and
appreciation of the marine environment; and, to the extent
compatible with resource protection, facilitation of public and
private uses of sanctuaries.
Limited funds have led NOAA to rely on outside groups to
conduct the bulk of the research that is being done in
sanctuaries. Coordination between researchers and resource
managers has been very productive, as is evident by the number
of outside researchers working in sanctuaries. The research has
provided invaluable information about fish, corals, marine
mammals, habitats, and cultural resources located in the
sanctuaries.
Today we will hear from two groups, the National Geographic
Society and the Cambrian Foundation, which have had
particularly fruitful research partnerships with the sanctuary
program, and we will receive an overview of research in
sanctuaries from NOAA.
I look forward to these witnesses.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Saxton follows:]
Statement of Hon. Jim Saxton, a Representative in Congress from the
State of New Jersey
The National Marine Sanctuaries Act of 1972 authorizes the
designation of areas in the marine environment with nationally
significant aesthetic, ecological, historical, or recreational
values as National Marine Sanctuaries.
The primary objective of this law is to protect marine
resources, such as coral reefs, sunken historical vessels or
unique habitats, while facilitating all ``compatible'' public
and private uses of those resources. An active research program
is a vital component of the overall conservation and management
programs at these sanctuaries.
Twelve National Marine Sanctuaries have been designated on
the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts, in Hawaii and in Guam.
One additional area in the Great Lakes is an active candidate
for designation.
Section 309 of the Sanctuaries Act directed the Secretary
to conduct research, monitoring, evaluation and education
necessary to carry out the purposes and policies of the Act.
These policies and purposes include comprehensive and
coordinated conservation and management of the sanctuaries;
enhancement of public understanding and appreciation of the
marine environment; and, to the extent compatible with resource
protection, facilitation of public and private use of
sanctuaries. Limited funds have led NOAA to rely on outside
groups to conduct the bulk of the research that is being done
in the sanctuaries. Coordination between researchers and
resource managers has been very productive, as is evident by
the number of outside researchers working in sanctuaries. This
research has provided invaluable information about the fish,
corals, marine mammals, habitats, and cultural resources
located in the sanctuaries.
Today we will hear from two groups--the National Geographic
Society and the Cambrian Foundation--which have had
particularly fruitful research partnerships with the sanctuary
program, and we will receive an overview of research in
sanctuaries from NOAA.
I look forward to the witnesses testimony.
Mr. Saxton. Before I recognize my friend, the gentleman
from California, let me just observe that our witnesses today
are quite notable. Dr. Sylvia Earle is with us today. Dr. Earle
has become well-known--extremely well-known, I might add--and
we are particularly honored to have Dr. Earle with us this
morning.
While we were talking just prior to the hearing, we talked
about issues that we deal with, with regard to the ocean on an
ongoing basis, the subject of non point source pollution, which
is well-known to us here; the subject of making sure that we
preserve coastal areas because they are so immensely important
to the ocean environment; and, of course, the marine
sanctuaries program, which we are formally here to discuss
today.
So welcome, Dr. Earle. We appreciate very much that you
have given of your time to us, and we look forward to hearing
from you this morning, along with our other witnesses, of
course.
Mr. Farr, the gentleman from California, for whatever
statement he may wish to make.
STATEMENT OF HON. SAM FARR, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM
THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Mr. Farr. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate
your having this hearing today, and also with Mr. Gilchrest
here. These are the three real strong advocates of good ocean
policy. And I appreciate the opportunity to speak with these
distinguished witnesses.
I just want to welcome to this hearing room Dr. Earle. I
got to know Dr. Earle in 1992 when we inaugurated the National
Marine Sanctuary in Monterey. Monterey Bay National Marine
Sanctuary is the largest of our 12 sanctuaries, and the
phenomenon of this sanctuary is an underwater canyon called the
Monterey Bay Canyon, which is about 12,000 or 13,000 feet deep.
It is essentially the Grand Canyon under the sea, right next to
the shore.
And Dr. Earle's new role with the National Geographic is to
be Explorer-in-Residence of the Oceans. What a great title. I
think we ought to refer to her as Ms. Neptune of the Modern
Era. When we had the National Conference on the Oceans in
Monterey, Dr. Earle and I went to Portugal.
And I think what was so amazing about that opportunity to
be on a dais in Portugal was that she was conducting an
interview with Jacques Cousteau's son who was underwater in the
ocean in Monterey conducting a live, interactive dialogue with
students who were onstage in Lisbon, Portugal.
That technology of bringing scientists and students
together in real life situations is something that no other
science--I mean, if you think about it, we have not yet done
that with space travel. We sort of have timed, set-up
interviews, but this opportunity to have science and discovery
and the inquisitive mind to be linked in real time in real
laboratories was really exciting. And I think our Committee is
blessed with the opportunity to have jurisdiction on those
issues.
So thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Saxton. Thank you. Mr. Gilchrest, the gentlemen from
Kennedyville, on Maryland's Eastern Shore.
STATEMENT OF HON. WAYNE T. GILCHREST, A REPRESENTATIVE IN
CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MARYLAND
Mr. Gilchrest. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I thank Sam for
that introduction to our witnesses. Those words ring true. I
have to go to another hearing that started at 10 a.m. that
deals with another issue on the oceans, and that is
interdicting illegal migrants and drugs.
So it is a slightly different dimension, although I want to
thank all of our witnesses this morning for their dedication to
service in this most extraordinary undertaking, which is to
help us to understand the virtual mechanics of creation and how
those natural processes need to be sustained, now more than
ever, in order for future generations to have the same
prosperity and the same basic blessings of freedom and liberty
that we have now.
And that is going to happen when we understand how we
manage the quickly diminishing natural resources while we are
all collectively marooned on this infinitesimal blue and white
speck in the midst of an infinite hostile environment called
the universe. We've got no place else to go. So as these
resources become diminished and the population increases,
threats and divisive, volatile conflicts are bound to explode.
So we, together, as astronauts on this little spacecraft, some
of those things that we learned in elementary school have to be
revised in our consciousness.
So it's through your efforts to educate the public and
elected officials as to the importance of these things, the
vital importance of sustaining, and then somehow, restoring our
natural resources, will be very, very important. I apologize, I
would like to stay here rather than talk to the Coast Guard
about interdicting drugs. But that's also important.
And I would have missed this opportunity if it were not for
the gentleman from New Jersey insisting that I come down here.
[Laughter.]
And Jim, I am going to take a couple of these things, if
it's all right, since they have some interesting things on the
inside. Thank you.
Mr. Saxton. Thank you very much, Mr. Gilchrest.
Welcome to all of our witnesses this morning. Let me try to
frame at least how I see us proceeding this morning, and
perhaps frame the issues. In a very nice article about Dr.
Earle, Roger Rosenblatt writes, when speaking of the oceans,
``it defines and characterizes,'' he says, ``the Earth, one
flowing body of water with different names and climates and
covering almost 75 percent of the planet. The oceans encompass
97 percent by volume of all the Earth's living space. Nearly
half the world's population lives within 60 miles.''
And then he goes on in another paragraph to talk about Dr.
Earle and the book that she has authored, `` `Sea Change,' ''
and he says, ``In her book, `Sea Change,' and before
legislators and others in power, Dr. Earle argues that the
oceans give us a 4 billion-year-old legacy, the living history
of the world, and that we are blithely squandering our
inheritance.''
I wanted to say that because I take every opportunity to
try to convey to the public the importance of the issues that
we deal with, many of which are often taken for granted.
Dr. Earle, welcome. We look forward to your perspective
this morning, and the time is yours.
STATEMENT OF SYLVIA A. EARLE, EXPLORER-IN-RESIDENCE, NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
Dr. Earle. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the
Committee, staff, and those who are here to watch the action
take place. Yes, I am here as the Explorer-in-Residence of the
National Geographic, but I am here in part as an ambassador for
the fish and the other creatures out there who don't have a
voice of their own.
I am also here in my capacity as a businesswoman. I am the
founder and currently the chairman of Deep Ocean Exploration
and Research, and founder of another small company and a member
of several corporate boards. This has given me a perspective of
the importance of protecting the assets, that a sound economy
depends on a sound environment.
And Roger Rosenblatt was right, you know. We are
squandering the assets. And the sooner that we, as a nation,
can face up to the importance of taking care of those assets,
taking care of the systems that are at the heart and soul of
certainly the environment, but just as convincingly, the heart
and soul of our economy, the better off our future looks.
But I am here primarily today in my capacity as director of
the Sustainable Seas Expeditions, a private-public partnership
that is aimed at exploring and conducting research in this
nation's 12 national marine sanctuaries, those young, but
promising, counterparts of the National Parks; and to develop,
in cooperation with the National Geographic and with others, a
vigorous program of research and exploration, of public
outreach and education.
The primary partner in the research and exploration
aspects, and other aspects as well, of the Sustainable Seas
Expeditions is NOAA, the agency within the Department of
Commerce with oversight of the marine sanctuaries.
But as well, the U.S. Navy has come on board with a
commitment for ship time, and we are exploring other avenues of
collaboration with the Navy; with NASA; with the Department of
Transportation; the EPA; and private institutions, including
the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute and the Monterey
Bay Aquarium; Woodshole Oceanographic Institution; Harbor
Branch Oceanographic Institution; Mote Marine Laboratory; the
Center for Marine Conservation; the Jason Foundation; the New
England Aquarium; and others.
It's amazing. It seems that this whole idea of coordinating
an expedition to explore our own aquatic backyard is serving as
a kind of lightning rod, a powerful catalyst that appears to be
unleashing pent up interest in ocean research and exploration
with an underlying mission; and that is to establish a solid,
factual base to support what common sense should tell us is in
the nation's economic and environmental best interests, the
protection of those natural productive ecosystems such as those
now embraced in the 12 national marine sanctuaries.
We can be, and we are, in fact, extremely effective at
extracting and consuming the ocean's living wealth, but we know
very little about how to restore depleted species and damaged
systems, other than to protect the source, that essence of what
is now embodied in the sanctuary program.
But one problem in achieving protection for the nation's
ocean assets is that old bugaboo, funding; and $12 million or
now, even $14 million to service 12 marine sanctuaries
embracing some 18,000 square miles is a fraction of what is
required to do justice to the issues at hand.
I'm mindful that as important as the little Sojourner was
in exploring that other planet, Mars, at a cost of $25 million,
what a similar commitment would do for the marine sanctuary
program. Twenty-five million dollars would take care of about 2
years of funding for our sanctuary program at its present
level.
The Sustainable Seas Expeditions were conceived when I was
here in Washington serving as the chief scientist of NOAA in
the early 1990's. At the time, I guess I had a wake-up call, a
serious one, when I was asked to go with then Secretary of
Commerce Mosbacher and about 100 U.S. businessmen and
Congressmen to go over to the Persian Gulf to look at the
aftermath of the Gulf War.
Most of the people on board were there to look at restoring
the economy of that war-torn country. What really impressed me
was the way that we human beings--one in particular in this
case, Saddam Hussein--was able to bring about the collapse of
what many regard as the cradle of human civilization and turn
it almost overnight into a graveyard.
I was also impressed by the reaction of the businessmen,
those hard-headed number-crunchers, and the Congressmen, also
hard-headed number crunchers, thinking about what it takes to
restore the economy. It got right back to the business of clean
air, clean water, a place to live, the resources that are at
the heart and soul of having a restoration or a continuation of
a sound economy.
Well, back home here in Washington, I certainly became
inspired to do whatever I could to do what can be done at this
point in history to protect the nation's underwater assets. But
I was struck--and I have been, I guess most of my professional
life--about our lack of access to the sea; how our inability to
get much below 100 feet where divers conveniently can go, does
limit our capability.
I was also struck by the fact--am still--about the lack of
awareness that people seem to have about the existence of the
marine sanctuary program or that this country has jurisdiction
over an area underwater that exceeds the amount that is above
water, that is, that which is embraced within the exclusive
economic zone, the EEZ, that extends from the coastline out to
200 miles.
The lack of knowledge about the oceans really inspired the
expedition and the need to do something. Again, Saddam Hussein
can do something negative as one person that affects the planet
as a whole. Maybe individuals can take action themselves to
make a difference in a positive sense, I reasoned.
And thus, was launched the concept here, something that is
in parallel, I think, comparable in some ways to the Lewis and
Clark Expedition over two centuries ago, where the idea of
going out to explore the American West so that we could better
understand how the Nation could take responsibility for that
vast area. We have an equally vast, a greater area that now
awaits us a few feet off the shore.
And with new technologies that have been developed in
recent years, including one that we want to adapt for this
Sustainable Seas Expedition, the little deep worker. It is
capable of going down to 2,000 feet and is so simple to operate
that even scientists can get in and take off and explore on
their own.
We have enlisted the aid of the marine sanctuary program
and the research coordinator, Dr. Steven Giddings, and his
staff and the managers of the sanctuary program, to help
develop a program of research and exploration that will extend
over the next 5 years, with initial funding from the Richard
and Rhoda Goldman Foundation. Five million dollars has been set
aside and channeled through the National Geographic Society to
get us on our way.
But other funding is building, so that in the several
months, the 5 months since the expeditions were launched,
funding that essentially has doubled our capacity to do what we
set out to do when the program was launched back in April now
seems possible.
We have assembled a technical advisory committee for
science and another one for education that will help to guide
us along the way. A call for collaboration that was issued in
early August resulted in more than 60 proposals that came by
the end of August, the first week, actually, in September, of
people from around the country associated with many scientific
institutions who were inspired to do what they can using
funding sources that they are coming up with to work with us to
explore our own aquatic backyard through the sanctuary program.
We want to leverage private funds to go even further than
this. Our success will be measured by our ability to think of
new ways to work together, to share talent and equipment,
breaking down the institutional barriers and building on the
discoveries as they come about.
We really need your assistance in helping us to achieve our
goals by encouraging public agencies to match the funds that we
are raising on our own and the resources that we are deriving
from private initiatives. We need you to encourage the
development of new ways to accomplish individual program
objectives through joint ventures. And certainly, we need your
leadership to inspire involvement of the public in this new era
of ocean exploration.
Many of our current ocean problems, such as storm water
pollution--I attended a conference yesterday in Long Beach,
largely attended by, as far as Federal agencies are concerned,
representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency. But
there were a lot of private institutions there as well looking
at non point sources of pollution that ultimately flow into the
sea.
It is hard to get our arms around these issues, but this is
our charge at this point in history, as never before. We not
only have the opportunity, but the obligation to act, to do
what we can to protect the resources so important to all of us.
You know, right now there are several pieces of legislation
that are pending that have passed the House, passed the Senate,
and are in conference, but are in danger of being allowed to
slip by unless quickly some action is taken.
The Coral Reef bill is a great opportunity for support of
ocean exploration and research. The Clean Water Initiative
relates to the business I was up to yesterday with the storm
water, but it is much more all-embracing than that. And
certainly, the Oceans Act that is now in conference. If we can
get behind these important pieces of legislation and push them
over the edge, we will have accomplished a great deal during
this Year of the Oceans, to get behind what it takes to do in
other ways what the Sustainable Seas Expeditions is all about.
We are embarking on a new program of exploration, public
education, research that can lead to better conservation. And
at the same time, with this building of a better kind of
partnership between public agencies and private institutions,
we can change how we protect the ocean and strengthen the
National Marine Sanctuaries program. These expeditions can act
as they already have shown some capacity for doing, as a
catalyst to be the public and private sector to work together
in ways that can accomplish more than Federal funds alone can
achieve.
I really, with my whole heart, look forward to working with
you in any way that I can to inspire a sea change of attitude
about the way we look after our oceans.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Earle may be found at end of
hearing.]
Dr. Earle. And Mr. Chairman, I brought a short video clip
with me that was prepared by the National Geographic that
describes the Sustainable Seas Expeditions, and I would like,
if possible, to share that with you and members of the
Committee at this time.
Mr. Saxton. Thank you very much. Obviously, we are all
prepared for that, and we look forward to seeing it.
Dr. Earle. Thank you.
[Video.]
Mr. Saxton. Thank you.
In the film, we got a glimpse of the role of NOAA, and
here, I suspect, to tell us about that and some other things,
is Dr. Nancy Foster. Dr. Foster, the floor is yours.
STATEMENT OF NANCY FOSTER, ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR, NATIONAL
OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION
Dr. Foster. Good morning. I am Nancy Foster, as you said. I
am the Assistant Administrator for the National Ocean Service,
and I want to tell you that I am not sure which is worse,
following Sylvia or following a National Geographic video.
[Laughter.]
But here I am. First, what I would like to do is talk a
little bit about research partnerships in the National Marine
Sanctuary program and why they are important to us. These kinds
of partnerships are indispensable to us as we go about doing
our business, and I think it is particularly relevant that we
are highlighting them at this point in time, as Sylvia said,
the Year of the Ocean, coming so closely on the heels of the
National Ocean Conference.
One of the key elements that the President spoke of was the
exploration of the ocean using advanced underwater technology,
which is exactly what our Sustainable Seas Expedition is going
to do. And you certainly know, as well as I do, that this kind
of knowledge about the ocean is only going to be gained today
through the types of public and private partnerships that you
are hearing about.
Partnerships are critical to us in several ways. One, they
allow us to do things that we could never possibly do with
appropriated dollars alone. They help us get the scientific
information that we need to understand these complex marine
ecosystems, and they also help provide the technical
capabilities that we need in order to manage them effectively.
But in addition to this, they also help us strengthen
public awareness of the critical importance of this kind of
research to the long-term conservation of these resources that
the public is so concerned about.
We need scientific information to make sound decisions, to
implement our field operations, and also to evaluate the
effectiveness of the management strategies that we are
employing at the present time.
Now, I can't emphasize strongly enough that a program like
ours can never do what needs to be done on its own. And that's
where the value of partnerships really stands out. And we've
just done something that hopefully will help us be a much more
effective partner. We are completing, for the first time, a
National Marine Sanctuary Research Plan, and this is going to
strengthen our ability to attract cooperation and, hopefully,
resources from the myriad of other NOAA programs that are
relevant to the sanctuary program.
Now, one very important component of this research plan is
monitoring. We are going to be establishing a nationwide
systemwide strategy setting up criteria and standards for not
only data quality, but also data comparability. And we are
excited about this, because our newly established National
Ocean Service Science Office is working with the sanctuary
program to develop this monitoring strategy. We want to make
sure that what we do in sanctuaries is compatible with the
other monitoring programs that we have, both in NOS and in
NOAA, things like monitoring for harmful algal blooms and our
national status and trends program.
I couldn't speak here without mentioning one of our special
projects in the sanctuary program. You are going to be hearing
from our friends in the Cambrian Foundation about the
cooperative effort surrounding our Monitor Project. I think
it's fair to say that no other sanctuary epitomizes
partnerships in the way that this one does. And it's no
exaggeration for me to say that since the very beginning back
in the 70's when this sanctuary was formed, we would never have
been able to protect this special ship, were it not for
partnerships, people willing to help us.
And today, I think I can safely say that we would have very
little chance of saving this ship were it not for special
partners like the Cambrian Foundation and the U.S. Navy, the
Mariner's Museum in Norfolk, and just countless other folks who
have given time and resources and energy to the ship.
So, in conclusion, I would just say that NOAA has long
recognized the value of research partnerships, and we look
forward to the coming year when we are implementing this
research plan and establishing new partnerships and creative
partnerships. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Foster may be found at end
of hearing.]
Mr. Saxton. Thank you very much.
We are going to move right along now to Terrence Tysall,
who has been doing some work deeply below the sea, from what we
hear.
STATEMENT OF TERRENCE TYSALL, PRESIDENT, CAMBRIAN FOUNDATION
Mr. Tysall. Well, deep is certainly a relative term, and
sitting at this table, I don't think I can use that particular
term. But gentlemen and ladies, everyone involved, I
appreciate, first of all, the opportunity to come up here and
speak. I am really resentful of the opportunity to speak behind
these two heavy-hitters. I feel like a lead in band for a big
concert or something; it's kind of sad, but I will do my best.
One of the things that Representative Gilchrest mentioned
earlier and has been echoed by Dr. Earle and Dr. Foster
consistently is cooperation. I am not going to beat the horse,
but it is absolutely essential. The existence of the Cambrian
Foundation is based on it.
What we do, the analogy that we repeatedly use in our tours
across the country to speak to people, is the story from our
youths about Stone Soup. I pretty much hop from place to place
with my rock, which is the only asset that I have, and I take
this stone and I go to village to village or from sanctuary to
sanctuary and try to get people motivated to work together.
The underlying motivation of this for me personally is the
fact that as a young man growing up in school, I was struck
with a lot of the 1950's movies, the International Geophysical
Year in 1955, and they promised us by the time that I was going
to get old that we would have communities on the bottom of the
sea and I would be a marine biologist and we'd be doing these
wonderful things. And it's kind of sad. I grew up and
supposedly there was nothing left to explore. I didn't quite
have the grades to do some of it, and the next thing I know,
there is no funding for research and things like that.
So what we decided to do was take the bull by the horns, so
to speak, and realize that things can be done. Obviously, a
scientific point of view is absolutely essential in any of
these things, but it's the whole thing of developing a
partnership. I learned a great lesson from the explorer that
went before all of us, and that is Jacques Cousteau. Mr.
Cousteau obviously went out there; he never claimed to be a
highly degreed individual, but he was an explorer and he
brought the scientists along.
So, in our short 4-year existence, really, following in his
footsteps, we've done work in Belize, been the first people to
journey to the bottom of the Blue Hole of Belize, which is
about 410 feet on scuba, to get data and collect things that
you plain cannot do with submersibles; to explore caves and get
information on our sea level changes over the millennia.
So what we've tried to do with situations like the Monitor
is take that selfish interest of hey, we'd like to go see this
wonderful thing that NOAA is protecting for us and protect it.
And constantly, what we heard was we don't have the funding, we
can't do it. And so it started as almost a grass roots thing
with the Monitor Marine Sanctuary manager, Mr. John Broadwater.
We said fine, John, you have needs that you need; how can we
help? And it's almost a scientific lend-lease. They give us the
ability to dive and to work in these places and we try to give
them as much usable data as possible.
Because we can sit and complain about problems, and we can
point them out, which is our American birthright, it seems
lately, that here is a problem, here is a problem. I'd like to
do that, but I'd also like to help everybody solve them.
So what I would like to do very briefly is I want to show a
5-minute video. I will narrate over the top of it. It's going
to show some of our ideas working on the U.S.S. Monitor. For
those of you that don't know, the Monitor is obviously a Union
Civil War ironclad, quite pivotal in the Civil War, sunk
actually on the first day of 1862. And she sits at 240 feet,
which causes a snicker, because as they say, effective work by
scuba divers can't be done past 100. So we'll see if we can
show some difference.
Now obviously, on this video you saw the Cambrian
Foundation. No way, shape or form us taking credit for this
whole thing; we are a partner.
[Video.]
I appreciate it. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Tysall may be found at end
of hearing.]
Mr. Saxton. Well, thank you very much, all three. Let me
start with a rather broad, general question and then any of you
can respond to it that wish to. My experience with ocean
management and trying to make progress to alleviate ocean
mismanagement has, as you might guess, been primarily on the
East Coast of the United States, for obvious reasons.
Every year for the last 14 years, 500 or 600 of my friends
get together at a lobster bake and we have a great time. This
year, individual after individual who attended the function
came to me and said, look at that ocean, isn't it beautiful. It
looks as blue as if we were in the Caribbean somewhere.
And when I heard that, I thought back to the summers of
1987 and 1988 when people didn't come and say, look at the
beautiful ocean. They said, let me out of here, I don't want to
be near it, because they were afraid. There were algaeblooms,
there was medical waste, there were dolphins floating up out of
the ocean onto the beaches. And it was, in the Northeast, at
least, not a very pleasant set of circumstances.
And so we began, here in this room and in one down the
hall, at least, we began to look at how we could solve some of
these problems. And I guess I want to make two points. The
first point is that we did so, because the public said they
would not put up with anymore of the kinds of circumstances
that existed.
And the second point is that, in spite of the fact that we
can brag about what we did, we did all the easy stuff first. We
dealt with point sources of pollution, basically. We stopped
dumping New York and North Jersey sludge in the ocean. We
stopped all the chemical dumping in the ocean. We stopped all
the offshore wood burning. We made garbage barges put nets over
the barges. We passed a law to require that medical waste be
tracked from cradle to grave, so to speak. And we took care of
all the things that we could kind of get our arms around.
And the second point I guess I want to make is that now we
still have the most difficult part of the job ahead of us
because the pollution that is getting to the ocean today gets
there because of our everyday lives, not because of some
inexpensive way of disposing of medical waste or garbage that
is falling off of barges or burning wood offshore or dumping
chemicals in the ocean or dumping sludge in the ocean. It comes
from a very different source.
So the second point I would like you to address is, I
believe we were successful in dealing with many of the point
sources in the East Coast, because the public said you've got
to do something and there was great public sentiment to do
something, so we set out to do that something and it dealt with
the easier part of the problem.
So the question is how can we work together as partners,
which is what we've talked about here a lot today, to mobilize
public sen-
timent so that we can take care of the more difficult of these
issues.
Dr. Earle. Well, that's an easy question. Do you want to go
first.
Dr. Foster. No, you can go.
Dr. Earle. The key to solving this really tough problem is
in letting people know that there is a problem, in identifying
the nature of the issues. And this goes back to establishing
the baseline information that is required to show the changes
over time.
Unfortunately, we did not start a monitoring program back
when we were kids that would give us before and after
consequences of our increasing population and increasing
pressures on the ocean, increasing contamination of the water
system, land and sea.
But we can retrieve through archival sources some
information and we can start right now with an increasingly
effective system of baseline monitoring, establishing
underwater observatories, if you will. And it seems that the
National Marine Sanctuaries are a logical place to really
emphasize such monitoring.
Of course, some of this has been going on through NOAA and
other agencies, the EPA. Some of it has been undertaken in
terms of individual scientific projects. But I think that we
are looking now at an opportunity to pull things together, both
in terms of developing the knowledge base, a starting point, a
new starting point, so that 5 years, 15, 50, 500 years from
now, we can look back to this era as a time when we seriously
began to assess the state of the oceans from the inside out,
using, of course, the new modern techniques that NASA has
provided from overview surveillance, but coupling that with
underwater observations and instruments that we place
specifically in areas where we want to get good, solid
information, and link it all together with some consistent
means of establishing assessment.
That's what Dr. Foster was referring to in her remarks. And
we are so fortunate to have Dr. Foster as the person who is
really working with us with the Sustainable Seas Expedition,
the liaison for NOAA, as one who was once the head of the
National Marine Sanctuary program and is certainly well
acquainted with the issues.
I think, if I can just take another moment, that this needs
to be coupled further with not just what we are putting into
the ocean, but also assessment of what we are taking out.
It is the combination of how we are affecting the
ecosystems of the sea as a whole through the chemical changes
that are taking place by our actions on land and the awareness
that what we see now, although it has improved--you are
absolutely right, Mr. Chairman, it has improved in the last few
years through actions that have been taken, which is good news.
The scary news is that, despite those positive things,
there is this profound ignorance of the nature of the oceans as
a whole, plus the awareness that our numbers are increasing in
the very areas that are going to have the most impact on the
coastline and the offshore areas beyond.
But we need to understand what we are doing to the ocean
wildlife, that which makes the oceans resilient and capable of
dealing with the changes that we are imposing through pollution
and other issues. We are destabilizing the ability of the sea
to recover as it historically has been able to, both by what we
are putting in, but also by what we are taking out.
Mr. Saxton. Dr. Foster.
Dr. Foster. Yes, just a couple of thoughts. Over the past
year, going out and trying to meet with constituents, I've been
impressed with how sophisticated the public has become. And one
of the first questions that they always say, or one of the
first points they make is why can't you guys in the Federal
Government get your act together? You know, get your act
together and then come and talk to me, because I think they are
tired of having the same conversation with so many agencies.
And I think that's one thing that we've really been working
on the past 2 or 3 years, and I think that will make a
difference, because it strengthens the involvement and the work
that leads toward resolution of these issues.
The other thing that I think is critical is that we work on
a new dialogue, if you will, with the public, a new way of
involving them. The government is so comfortable doing business
the way we've always done it. I decide what the issue is, I
write a paper, I give it to you, you review it, and then I do
whatever.
And we are trying to convince people that we are serious
about getting them involved from the very beginning, having
them help you design possible activities and then hold them
accountable, as well as the government agencies, for going away
from the table and seeing that something happens. I think
people respond very well to that getting involved with us.
Mr. Saxton. Thank you. Mr. Tysall, do you have----
Mr. Tysall. Absolutely. I think everyone mentioned a key
word here, and that is awareness. The big thing that we are
talking about here is obviously lots of research programs and
funding for these research programs.
But in our personal existence with the Cambrian Foundation,
if we don't get the word out, if we don't get this awareness to
the general public, to our people that make our very existence
possible, they don't know what's going on. And I think there's
a big gulf, a separation between the academic community, the
government, and the regular folks.
And I'm not sitting here saying I'm a representative of the
working joe or anything, but I know what it's like. I know the
fact--and this is certainly not to cast stones--but in 1990, we
were not allowed to conduct activities on the Monitor. It was
forbidden by the government. They said, oh, you cannot, you
don't have the ability to do that.
Well, it took a lot of head banging to get this to happen.
Now, what's neat is we can put all that stupidity behind us
from other people that let that happen and it's over and done
with. We can get down and get to work.
And every member of a Cambrian Foundation team are people
who are taking time out of their days, that are literally
risking their lives here, guys. We are talking people that
don't have the pressure hull of a submersible to rely on, that
all these dissolved gases and all these dangerous conditions
face them every time they go down on the Monitor.
And no one is asking for a hero's welcome, but these are
people that take time away from their jobs at Disney World in
Florida, take time away from their dive shops in Virginia, take
time away from their job at Boeing out in Seattle, or people
from Canada, Mexico, Great Britain. All these people that take
time, take vacation time to come out and help make sure that
this particular piece of history, or in the case of the monk
seal study, this information gets done.
And we are not playing pseudo-scientist. We just want to
help the scientists get the data. And it's important and it
doesn't lessen anybody's role. And it's really neat, because
it's that whole thing of blending. Because as we all know, we
can all get so much more done working together rather than
pulling apart.
Dr. Earle. Mr. Chairman, if I might add a bit to this. One
of the reasons that I think the partnership with the National
Geographic is so important in this respect is the power of that
institution to communicate to the public at large, as well as,
of course, to the scientific community, a part of the public at
large.
But consider that the magazine that published a great
overview article about the marine sanctuaries last March
reaches millions of people. There is a project in the works now
to look at Monterey for a television program, which will reach,
maybe before its lifetime comes to an end, hundreds of millions
of people.
I am producing a book in collaboration with--well, through
the National Geographic that will published next year that will
reach yet another audience. The magazine, the lectures, the
many avenues that that institution has really provides an
amplifier to all of this in terms of a bridge to the general
public.
Just as in the early days of the National Park Service and
the whole idea of protection was greatly helped by the
influence of the National Geographic, through the many articles
and meetings and other ways of communicating to the public, so
now is there an opportunity for ocean care and the National
Marine Sanctuary program to gain a boost from the input of
organizations, in this case, very notably, the National
Geographic Society.
The Center for Marine Conservation is another example of a
private membership organization that's been around for 25 years
devoted to ocean conservation, but a major part of their
program has been to communicate with the general public and to
arouse their support for the National Marine Sanctuary program
and all that embraces.
I think there are many opportunities here, but it takes the
leadership of the Federal Government that has the jurisdiction
over these areas to provide the backbone that will then be
joined by these various private partners.
Mr. Saxton. Thank you. Mr. Farr.
Mr. Farr. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am very intrigued by
your analogy to the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and I was
thinking on your comment about sound economy depends on sound
environment. That California, with 32 million people and sort
of a nation-state economy, has done something about
understanding its environment.
Every city, county in the State is required to have an
analysis of the hazardous hazard zones, flood and earthquake
and other kinds. They have done an analysis of all the historic
buildings that are in their jurisdiction, analysis of all the
open space. We have really gone down to micromanaging and
identifying every river, valley, mountain, watershed system,
which then allows us to attack the problem of nonpoint source.
But then when we get into the oceans, your analogy is that
we are not there. I mean, we were further along 200 years ago
preparing for the Lewis and Clark Expedition than we are today.
I wonder, it would be interesting to see what the Federal
dollars committed to the Lewis and Clark Expedition would be
today, if we had to make the same type of monetary commitment
to exploration. I am sure it would exceed the amount that you
requested.
One of the things that I want to ask you about is
identifying this need. I mean, when Lewis and Clark went out
thinking of exploring that land, nobody invented jeeps or
snowmobiles or video cameras or GPS systems or appropriate
clothing. They didn't have any Zodiac rafts to go down those
rivers.
I mean, what are the types of equipment that we need to do
this exploration, to thoroughly make it user-friendly and not
just stationed. I know that the titanium subs are so expensive,
we can't do it. But are there less than those types of vehicles
that could be available in every marine sanctuary?
You know, we don't even have the equipment. We don't even
have the jeep that the National Park Service or the Forest
Service has, or the truck, to explore what we have
responsibility for, to access it. What are those kinds of
equipment that we need to have, if you had that list?
Dr. Earle. Well, thank you for that question.
[Laughter.]
Yes, we are really fortunate to have come along when new
equipment has given us access as never before, but it's a
tease. It just gives us a taste of what the potential really
is. In August, I had an opportunity to spend a week in
Aquarius, our underwater counterpart of the Space Station,
sitting down in the Florida Keys in 60 feet of water with five
colleagues.
And our mission was to try to do what people take for
granted they can do when they go out in the forest or in the
desert. We spent a week exploring and monitoring the area and
looking at places that Dr. Steve Giddings had established 4
years before as baseline transects, places that were documented
with video cameras to then go back and see what it was like 4
years later. And we'll go back again in the future, presumably,
to those same places, something that we ought to be replicating
in many parts of the ocean. But here, at least, is a starting
point in this one site.
But it's the only site, not only in this country, but in
the world where there is an underwater laboratory, a working
underwater laboratory where scientists can go and spend the
kind of time that we take for granted we can apply when we go
visit any part of the land. I mean, we had a day and night
living underwater, sometimes as much as 10 hours a day that we
could actually go out in the sea.
But people do that all the time in the desert or in the
forest or, if you want to go visit New York, you expect to be
able to walk the streets and not just take 20-minute excursions
a few feet from your hotel or your car. But in the ocean, we
are really constrained.
Now, my colleague here from the Cambrian Foundation has
described some really great techniques for taking individual
divers down, but these are systems available to not everybody.
Mr. Farr. We need systems like that in place where
scientists are going to be attracted to go, and I presume that
the marine sanctuaries and other areas are--you know the spots
that you would like to go into. But we can't make them
accessible, or you have to make it by reservation, you have to
have funding. It seems to me to go in the ocean is about like
having to climb Mt. Everest. You have to put together an
incredible financing and scheduling of materiel and money.
If we had enough money for research in this research
account, what I'm trying to say is, $25 million doesn't seem to
me like even a drop in the bucket.
Dr. Earle. It's frustrating. I wouldn't take a penny away
from what we are investing in space technology or the space
research, the program as a whole. I just wish there were equal
numbers of pennies applied to ocean technology, ocean research.
Mr. Farr. Well, what are the essentials? I'm just trying to
see what we basically need. Do you have a list, if you had your
shopping list of just equipment needs?
Dr. Earle. Absolutely. Where might I begin? The
possibilities range from establishing a network of underwater
observatories. There is already a national plan developing
along these lines through the National Underwater Research
Program, in working with institutions such as the Monterey Bay
Aquarium Research Institute, and Rutgers University, to build
on existing work that has been invested already.
But some of these can be done with remotely operated
systems. Some are best accomplished with the human presence. I
think the combination is very much in order. We have one deep
diving submersible now in operation for this country, the
Alvin. I mean, there are other submersibles, but this is for
scientific research.
There are a few that can go to 1,000 feet, some that can be
leased for access somewhat deeper. But we just lost the Sea
Cliff, this nation's only vehicle, operated by the Navy in this
case, for access to about half the ocean's depth. It's being
delivered to Woods Hole and possibly may be in a sense merged
with the Alvin to give us deeper access.
But it's like having one jeep for all of North America or
rather, for the oceans of the world. In all of the world, there
are four other manned submersibles capable of going to half the
ocean's depth, one in France, two in Russia, one in Japan. One
remotely operated vehicle, developed by Japan, has the
capability of going to the deepest part of the sea, and it did
so this year, down to seven miles.
Where are we, as a nation? We have our eyes focused on the
heavens above and we should, but at the same time, what about
the depths below? Why aren't we there in the leadership role of
applying the technology that we have in hand, and use it for
understanding our ocean, our life support system.
You know, it governs climate, weather. It takes care of so
much that is vital to our survival, and yet we are hampered by
our ignorance of this vast inner space. So there are
institutions such as Woods Hole, such as MIT, such as private
companies that are investing in the development of offshore
resources, in terms of the research institutions, of exploring
and understanding. But where is the national commitment to
couple with this?
Mr. Farr. You know, we didn't get into space by private
investment.
Dr. Earle. That's right.
Mr. Farr. And we shouldn't get into the national oceans,
the international oceans and depend just entirely on private
investment. I think there is a role here for the Federal
Government.
And let me just segue to Nancy Foster. There are two things
I wanted to ask you, Nancy. What has the administration done in
bringing those requests to Congress; and two, what is the
status of those funds, those deliverables that the President
gave at the Monterey conference?
One of the things, just in light of this discussion, he
promised out of $225 million that he was going to commit, $194
of that is committed to three ships. Those are surface
vehicles, not underwater vehicles. I mean, in your role, is
NOAA bringing to the attention of the Congress the things that
Dr. Earle talked about. I don't see those requests coming to
Congress.
Dr. Foster. Well, I have to admit we have not done a very
good job of this in the past. It has not been a budget
priority. I think we are seeing some changes in that. I think
that one big boost was the National Ocean Conference, because
the President and Vice President actually made commitments. I
think that it's possible that you will see some improvement in
the 2000 budget. Could I also--go ahead.
Mr. Farr. I mean, the deliverables were made last June.
Some of those were not dependent on--I thought they were like,
things we could do now.
Dr. Foster. There are some things that we could do now, and
we are doing some things. In 1999, there will be some slight
shifts in focus in some of the existing budget that will get
things underway. So there are two categories of things: the
things that we can begin now and the things that will be
dependent upon future budgets.
Mr. Farr. Well, on behalf, I hope, of the consent of the
Chair, but could you deliver to the Committee the promises made
and promises kept list.
Dr. Foster. Yes, I could, I think.
Mr. Farr. Thank you.
Dr. Foster. Could I also just add one thing to what Sylvia
was saying about equipment. You know, it is even more basic
than what she was talking about. We, in the sanctuary program,
and NOAA in general, actually have difficulties getting those
surface platforms that you were talking about. I mean, getting
access to the sites that we manage. So it goes from basic all
the way to sophisticated.
Mr. Farr. Terrence, what is the motivation for the Cambrian
Foundation or Institute to do the exploration? And is it only
for the Monitor, or do you have other?
Mr. Tysall. Absolutely not. Mr. Farr, it's simple, speaking
on the basic end of the table. But in the situation with the
Monitor, there is a situation down there and there is a
timetable. And this timetable is not going to wait on
government bureaucracy; it's not going to wait on the fact that
this defense or this election or whatever. The fact is that the
oceans were there and they're going to deteriorate that wreck.
Now that's not pointing fingers, because none of us can
control that. But the fact is, it's a personal involvement in
this case that started this whole thing, because you get down
there and you see this----
Mr. Farr. But does your money depend on matching from any
other, like Federal? Is it seed money, or is it just, we're
going to do this, no conditions?
Mr. Tysall. I certainly hope this doesn't undermine our
credibility with this group, but the Cambrian Foundation paid
its first salary this year of $853 to buy me health insurance,
and that was it. And the reason this is, is because on one of
our other projects trying to work with the Naval Historical
Center, I was bitten by a bug in the Solomon's and nearly
kicked.
So we are in a situation where this needs to be done, and
we are willing. And I'm not trying to come across like oh, this
self-sacrificing group. But literally, these are people paying
their own way. I mean, how would we all feel if the Monitor
protection--you know, everybody says, each member of the
general public could pay two cents or something.
Well, I've got 40 or 50 people that are each paying $1,000,
plus losing time away from their jobs, and then on top of that,
risking their lives. And please, the Cambrian Foundation isn't
about that; it's about that cooperation.
But there are a lot of people like us out there. And we are
talking about $25 million. I could make the Cambrian Foundation
operate indefinitely on a million dollar endowment. But we can
take what we have, to give you an idea of NOAA--and please,
this is not denigrating the National Oceanic Administration at
all--but they were asked to put a team on the U.S.S. Monitor,
and there was very little funding available.
And NOAA, that is supposed to be the icon of ocean
exploration for our country, wasn't even able to have the
divers trained. They had to approach outside civilian sources,
which we donated. We donated all that training.
Mr. Saxton. Let me try to focus on this general issue that
we have been discussing here, Mr. Farr and our witnesses,
relative to the commitment that the U.S. Government has in
being a good partner, or the lack of it.
Let me make a couple of observations. First, let me say
that this institution--and I am glad you're here, Dr. Earle,
because I think that the National Geographic Society, and you,
in particular, and people in the past like the Cousteau
Foundation, et cetera, provide an invaluable service. And I am
going to tell you why.
We, in this institution, reflect in a very general, and in
a very specific, sense the desires and aspirations and goals of
the American people. Over time, that happens. And
unfortunately, it is my observation and my opinion that in
spite of the serious nature of the issues we are discussing, it
is my opinion that by and large today, on a scale in
prioritizing our American desires and needs and aspirations and
goals, the subject that we are talking about, at least as
reflected by this institution and by this administration and
the previous administration, are not very high on that set of
priority goals.
Example: The Republicans took control--and I am a
Republican, as you know--the Republicans took control of the
House and reorganized in such a way that we used to have a
committee that dealt with coastal and ocean issues. And we had
50 people employed doing that in the House.
Today, it is this Subcommittee and five people, at least on
the Republican side, and another three or four on the other
side. That doesn't speak very well for us, unless we are
reflecting the goals and desires and aspirations of the
American people.
With regard to the administration, even more specifically--
and I won't go into the whole diatribe--but I am today writing
a letter to the chairman of the Subcommittee on Commerce,
State, Justice, State and Judiciary, which happens to also
handle funding for NOAA, trying to make the case that the
administration failed to request adequate funds for Fiscal Year
1999 to meet the ongoing needs of OAR and NOAA and other
research programs; and suggesting that it's critical that NOAA
receive at least $15 million next Fiscal Year for OAR's
acquisition and data line and stating that this is not an
increase over Fiscal Year 1998, it is just level funding.
And so we have an administration and a Congress that I
believe generally do reflect the desires and goals and needs,
et cetera, of the American people, and we are not doing much to
meet the goals that you have said today--and I believe also--
are very important goals.
And it was for reasons such as those that a few months ago,
I prevailed upon a very cooperative NOAA to help us name the
National Estuary and Research Reserve in New Jersey as the
Jacques Cousteau to try to focus the Jacques Cousteau NERR, to
try to focus public attention on these issues. And why we spend
so much time--I think Mr. Farr is a hero in these matters--
trying to draw public attention.
And I have made this little speech here today because I
want you to know how much we appreciate the National Geographic
Society's efforts, and ask you if it's possible to double them
or triple them, because we need the public support to carry out
the mission that you, all three of you, have so ably described
this morning.
If you'd like to respond, that's fine, but I just needed to
get that off my chest.
Dr. Earle. Mr. Chairman, I would like to respond that I
absolutely agree with your analysis and hope that the National
Geographic Society will come through with thunderous support in
response to what is increasing an obvious need.
And I see, everywhere I go around the country--and I do
travel both here and abroad quite a lot--there is a change of
attitude and I think an increasing excitement and awareness of
the importance of the ocean.
Coupled with, I would say, the assignment that some of us
here are taking on to try to work with the public at large to
promote from outside, as well as from within, to support you,
there needs to be--and I am very pleased to be in the presence
of the leadership from within government to give people hope
that their concerns are not falling on deaf ears.
There needs to be a balance, of course. And some of it
sometimes has to be taken almost on faith from the government
side to show that courageous leadership, to step forward
sometimes even in the absence of a clear-cut mandate because
you know it's the right thing to do, because in your lifetime
you have seen the need grow for the importance of protecting
the assets.
And I really champion your championship and yours, Sam
Farr, for these issues, and for others. Some of your colleagues
are outstanding stars, heroes in this cause. I just hope that
we can work together to raise a groundswell at this critical
point in history.
This is the time, as I think never before, and arguably
never again, an opportune moment here at the beginning of a new
millennium, to pull things together and make a difference.
Mr. Farr. Dr. Earle, I was very impressed with your sense
that you have had an incredible opportunity to see things that
most people on this planet have never seen or experienced, and
you feel that because of that opportunity you have an
obligation to do this work.
It seems to me that those of us on this Committee know of
that opportunity because we are here today and we have done
something about it by having an oceans bill that Chairman
Saxton authored and I co-sponsored. We got it through this
House with some amendments that we had to take, because
politics is the art of compromise, and we had to compromise on
some things that we needed to compromise on.
But the Senate has done the same and we are now at a point
where we have just a few weeks left and the obligation that the
institution has is to get a bill to the President. And
everybody in this room that's listening to this needs to bring
some pressure on the Senate and the House. This institution has
got to respond, because we can't just take it down to the goal
line and not walk over it. So I would appreciate that.
And I want to reflect on Chairman's Saxton. We are the sum
total of the politics of America. If National Geographic has
the ability to put it out there--but you are not talking to
everybody here, because you probably wouldn't be following this
hearing if there weren't interest--you have this obligation to
make this a political issue, not partisan issue, political
issue, that it will be brought to the lawmakers of our States
and the lawmakers of our nation so that they will obligate--we
are the responsibility for deciding what money the Federal
Government spends.
The President proposes, but we dispose. And we can add more
money if we think it's the right thing to do. But we won't do
it unless we hear from the American public that this frontier,
this ocean, this water planet needs to understand itself
better.
I think we get it, we just have not put it into political
terms that we want our politicians to get it also and to
respond more than just a few people sitting on this Committee,
but that the whole elected body would make it as important as
going into outer space.
The President made that commitment, but it's not going to
get the kind of attention that John F. Kennedy's statement got
about going into space. But once the President had made that
commitment back in the 1960's, as you pointed out, there was
followthrough. And unfortunately, so far we have had the
commitment, but not the followthrough.
You might want to reflect on that, because you've noticed
it very well on how much follow-through there was to the space
program versus how disjointed the followthrough has been on the
ocean. And I think that brings in Dr. Foster's role too,
because that followthrough is, at least for the administration,
is partly in her camp.
Dr. Earle. If I could comment on that with a resounding
yes. What you say is right on target, absolutely. We have the
opportunity and maybe, again, the obligation to do in the next
century for the oceans what in the present century has been
done for aviation, for aerospace, for what goes skyward.
It's not either/or; we need to do both. But we certainly
need to couple our reach skyward with our reach inward. The
frustrating thing, and at the same time a very positive thing,
is that in the last 25 years we have learned more about the
oceans than during all preceding human history, in parallel
with the development of technology that has given us the kind
of access that we are now beginning to enjoy.
That is, among other things, I think the most important
thing that it's revealed to us, the magnitude of our ignorance
and how important continued investment in exploration and the
tools for exploration really is.
That's why this is such a critical point in time, how even
a modest investment in the ocean is bound to pay big dividends,
how by supporting ships that we need to get to where we have to
go on the surface, by supporting the development of
technologies that will take us either with remotely operated
systems or with plates of little submersibles comparable to the
spacecraft that we take aloft, or places to stay underwater.
The Aquarius is one example.
But look at what we are doing, the huge investment we are
making to go perch in space or to establish an outpost on Mars.
Why not, at the same time that we go aloft, are we not putting
equal weight at least--perhaps there's even a case to be made
for a greater kind of importance in investing what goes into
the depths.
Mr. Farr. Why have we not done that? Why has space gotten
all of the commitment? Has it been the equipment manufacturers,
because it's a big budget item and they can design equipment to
go into space? What has pushed us? People don't know much about
space because very few people ever will be there. All we do is
look at it. We know a little bit about the ocean; we can touch
it, get in it and vacation. But why is the energy put into
space that hasn't been there for the ocean?
Dr. Earle. I think that is the ultimate mystery of the sea.
Nancy has just suggested that Star Trek has probably had
something to do with the fascination with the skies above.
Mr. Farr. Well, before Star Trek, there was Lloyd Bridges.
Dr. Earle. Well, this is true. And there is Cousteau and
others. I mean, you can give a flip answer to it. I had an
occasion to have a nice leisurely lunch once with Claire Booth
Luce and we discussed this problem. And she sort of pushed back
from the table and looked at the puffy white clouds over that
blue ocean in Hawaii and she said, well, you know, my dear,
Heaven is in that direction, and you know what's down there.
[Laughter.]
But there are some more substantive responses, and some of
it goes back to the beginnings of NOAA. NOAA was never mandated
to develop technology the way NASA was. And of course, NASA and
NOAA are very different kinds of agencies, although at the time
that NOAA was formed in 1970, there was talk of the Ocean and
Atmospheric Agency being something of a wet NASA.
It was never to be. It is within the Department of
Commerce, and I can make a case for that being legitimate. But
it has really constrained the agency for being a worthy sort of
parallel agency to the space agency that it is sometimes
likened to.
Part of it does relate to the lack of a mandate within what
NOAA is to really further the development of new technology,
the engineering that could be and should be, must be supported
if we are to gain access to the sea that is anything like our
access to the skies above.
We need not only systems so simple that scientists can use
them, but so simple that Senators and everybody, little kids,
have access to the sea. And in fact, we have seen through
private initiative, the development of passenger submarines
that little kids and grandparents, businessmen, anyone can get
in and at least gain access to the ocean without getting wet.
And that's a good thing, it's a step in the right
direction. But it is far short of what we really need to
accomplish the needs that are at hand.
Mr. Farr. But is there more pressure, lobbying pressure,
because we do the basic research for equipment under the NASA
scenario? And then the equipment manufacturers come to the Hill
and lobby for that? I mean, nobody comes in here and lobbies me
except for, you know, some vessels. But nobody lobbies me for
an undersea vehicle.
Dr. Earle. Well, stand by.
[Laughter.]
Mr. Tysall. What would your address be, Mr. Farr?
Mr. Farr. No, I mean, you do, in discussions like this, but
there's no Lockheed or General Motors out there or Pratt
Whitney or any of those companies that lobby much for ocean
vehicles.
When you think about it, on ecotourism and all our people
living along the coast, do you know that the No. 1 tourist
attraction in America is the Los Angeles beaches?
Mr. Saxton. New Jersey.
[Laughter.]
Mr. Farr. There's more people in L.A. You can have them all
in New Jersey, if you want.
Mr. Saxton. We in New York.
Mr. Farr. But it doesn't take rocket science to say if
people want to go right there to the water's edge, what kind of
business there would be to want to rent a car to drive it right
into the ocean and have a rental car system that would have a
vehicle that you could drive around under the sea. I mean, that
may happen in our lifetime. Somebody is going to make a lot of
money on that, but there's nobody in here lobbying that we do
the research to do that.
Dr. Earle. I think part of the problem stems from the fact
that we are terrestrial, air-breathing creatures and it seems
that the ocean is an inhospitable place for us. Again, I think
in the last 25 years, we have seen a growing change of
attitude. But it has yet to get to the point where people are
as inspired with the concept of being able to go out into the
sea as they are about going up into the sky.
And yet, I think part of the reason people are maybe
reluctant to undertake that is because when they go to the
beach, at least in the last few years, they have seen things
like the hypodermic needles on the Jersey Shore. And people
don't want to dive in places where they know sewers are
flowing.
We have to turn things around in parallel to showing why
it's important to get out and see the oceans from the inside
out, to make those connections. But I am encouraged, because
those people who are entering the sea, either as swimmers, as
snorkelers, as divers, are a growing constituency and a growing
voice, growing Ambassadors for the creatures out there and for
the state of the oceans as a whole.
I think we have the message loud and clear from all of you
that this is an important mission for us to come back and let
these voices be heard, so that you will have the support you
need to really follow through with the leadership and be able
to inspire others to follow your lead.
Mr. Saxton. Dr. Earle and Dr. Foster and Mr. Tysall, we are
unfortunately running out of time. I know that we could stay
here and have a productive conversation for quite some time
longer about these and many other related subjects.
But I want to thank you for coming here to be with us
today. We will look forward to a long and continuing
partnership with each of you. Thank you very much.
[Whereupon, at 11:38 a.m., the Subcommittee adjourned
subject to the call of the Chair.]
[Additional material submitted for the record follows.]
Statement of Dr. Sylvia A. Earle, Explorer-in-Residence, National
Geographic Society
Good morning. I am Dr. Sylvia Earle, Explorer-in Residence
at the National Geographic Society and currently Project
Director for the Society's Sustainable Seas Expeditions. Thank
you Mr. Chairman, and members of the Subcommittee, for this
opportunity to testify on the work the National Geographic is
doing with NOAA and many other partners in promoting the
importance of the oceans and one of our most precious marine
resources, the national marine sanctuaries.
The Sustainable Seas Expeditions were conceived while I was
chief scientist for NOAA in the early 1990s. At that time, I
was able experience first hand just how terrible one man's
impact can be on the ocean as a witness to Sadam Hussein's
ecoterrorism in the Persian Gulf. The experience of witnessing
destruction of this ecosystem magnified, in my mind, the
importance of the United State's investment in protecting its
most special marine areas for the future. However, despite the
fact the marine sanctuaries were established over 25 years ago,
I was surprised on joining NOAA by our lack of information
about the state of their health and the absence of tools to
undertake the job of marine protection. While these marine
protected areas were acknowledged to be critically important to
policies governing the conservation of coastal marine
resources, their effective management was crippled by our lack
of knowledge about the nature of the environment below about
100 feet. Even in shallow water, limited diving time severely
compromised the ability of observers to gain insights about
underwater systems comparable to those that we take for granted
on land. About 20 minutes is the maximum duration of a normal
dive at 100 feet.
I was also struck by the fact that many people were totally
unaware of these young but promising underwater counterparts of
the National Parks. In addition, many are still not aware that
the United States has jurisdiction over an aquatic realm from
the coastline to the edge of the Exclusive Economic Zone, 200
miles seaward, that is larger than the land area of the United
States.
This lack of knowledge about the oceans provided the
inspiration to conduct an exploration of the marine sanctuaries
in the same spirit that President Jefferson launched the Lewis
and Clark Expedition over two centuries ago. It was the
inspiration from this well-known chapter in American history
that grew into a five-year, multi-million dollar initiative,
the Sustainable Seas Expeditions, funded by the Richard & Rhoda
Goldman Fund and launched by the National Geographic Society in
April 1998. Working in close collaboration with marine
sanctuary managers and other scientists, the Sustainable Seas
Expeditions team plans to use innovative submersible technology
to undertake the first sustained exploration of sanctuary sites
to depths of 2,000 feet--to photodocument the natural history
of each sanctuary's plants and animals and to establish
permanent marine monitoring field stations within the sanctuary
system. These objectives are critical to the development of
more adequate marine conservation protocols. I have attached a
schedule and list of preliminary goals we hope to accomplish
through our program.
Another part of the inspiration for this program was the
National Geographic Society's history applying private support
to the creation of new conservation policies. Without private
support from individuals and institutions early in the
development of the National Park Service, most notably from the
National Geographic Society, that program may have remained
small or perhaps disappeared altogether. A similar opportunity
now exists for the Society to help foster an ocean ethic and
enhance support the care and stewardship of the sea comparable
to its efforts for precious land resources in the early days of
the National Park Service. The Society recognized the pivotal
role private institutions could play in nurturing the young but
vulnerable conservation and protection goals of the national
marine sanctuaries program--and hence the birth of the
Sustainable Seas Expeditions.
In just five months since the Expeditions were launched,
the program has acted as a catalyst for support for the
national marine sanctuaries that heretofore has not been
possible. NOAA has provided the cornerstone of support for the
Expeditions through the NOAA fleet and its scientific and
technical staff. Institutions at every level, from Federal to
non-profit, from academic to commercial, have come forward to
add their support, recognizing the importance of the need for
more information on the oceans and the strength that can be
achieved through private-public partnership. As you can see in
our blue ribbon Technical Advisory Committee for the
Expeditions, some of our nation's finest experts are
participating with the Society and NOAA in an unprecedented
manner with the goal to increase the understanding of marine
sanctuaries and develop new policies for their protection.
Within weeks of its issuance, a call for collaboration resulted
in the beginning of a national research program that previously
seemed impossible given the limits of Federal funding. And we
are seeing a similar response from the education community.
Although the Sustainable Seas Expeditions is only in the
first half of its first year, we feel that we are on the brink
of developing a new way of doing business not just at the non-
profit level, but at a national level. We hope to leverage
private funds to accomplish national objectives. Our success
will be measured by our ability to think of new ways of working
together, sharing talent and equipment, breaking down
institutional barriers and building on new discoveries. We ask
for your assistance in helping us achieve our goals by
encouraging public agencies to match our funds and resources
with their own. We need you to encourage the development of new
ways to accomplish individual program objectives through joint
ventures. We also need your leadership to inspire involvement
of the public in a new era of exploration of the oceans. Many
of our current ocean problems, such as storm water pollution,
for example, cannot easily be solved by a single agency. The
solution to many of these complex problems requires the
combined will of an informed public. That knowledge begins with
understanding the vital link between ocean health and human
health and the importance of protecting one in order to protect
the other.
In conclusion, the Sustainable Seas Expeditions is
embarking on a new program of exploration of the ocean and
public education that can lead to better ocean conservation. At
the same time, it is building a new public-private partnership
that can change how we protect our ocean and strengthen the
national marine sanctuaries program. These expeditions can act
as a catalyst to allow the public and private sector to work
together in ways that accomplish more than Federal funds can
alone achieve. I look forward to working with you to develop
the means to strengthen our project, this new partnership and
the need to better protect our ocean.
I would be pleased to answer any questions you may have.
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Statement of Dr. Nancy Foster, Assistant Administrator for Ocean
Services and Coastal Zone Management, National Oceanic and Atmospreric
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce
Good morning. I am Dr. Nancy Foster, Assistant
Administrator for Ocean Services and Coastal Zone Management at
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Thank you Mr. Chairman, and members of the Subcommittee, for
this opportunity to testify on public/private research
partnerships in NOAA's National Marine Sanctuaries. Research
partnerships play an indispensable role in helping advance
NOAA's coastal stewardship mission to conserve, protect, and
enhance the biodiversity, ecological integrity, and cultural
legacy of our Nation's valuable marine protected areas.
It is fitting that we highlight these essential
partnerships in this, the International Year of the Ocean,
especially in light of the major initiatives announced at the
National Ocean Conference in June at Monterey, California by
President Clinton. One of the most important elements is to
explore the oceans, the last U.S. frontier, and better
understand how to protect marine resources. Much of this
knowledge will be gained through public/private research
partnerships such as the ones you will hear about today.
This hearing also coincides with the efforts of the
National Ocean Service to redefine itself to strengthen the
effectiveness of NOAA's coastal stewardship mission, enhance
research support within NOAA for coastal management, and build
better linkages among NOAA's coastal programs. A key element in
this process has been improving NOAA's understanding of our
unique areas of management responsibility, including our 12
National Marine Sanctuaries. Fundamental to this effort is our
commitment to foster partnerships that ensure balanced
participation and allow us to leverage NOAA's technical
expertise with the diverse strengths available from outside the
Federal Government. These partnerships not only help provide
the additional scientific data and technical capabilities vital
to improving our understanding and management of these complex
marine ecosystems, but they also help build the public's
awareness of the critical importance of conducting this
research. Strong partnerships are vital to enabling the
Sanctuary program to provide the superior marine resource
management required to sustain these special areas for future
generations.
Today, I would like to summarize the importance of research
to the National Marine Sanctuary program and the role
partnerships play in conducting that research. This hearing
comes in the might of one of the most successful years in the
National Marine Sanctuary programs 26 year history, much of
which is due to the strong internal and external partnerships
that NOAA has participated in. I think it most appropriate that
you hear about these productive collaborations directly from
your other witnesses, Dr. Sylvia Earle and Mr. Terrence Tysall.
NOAA is very fortunate to have the National Geographic Society
and the Cambrian Foundation as partners. Rather than discuss in
detail specific partnerships, Mr. Chairman, I would like to
submit for the record, attached with my written statement, a
summary of the public/private research partnerships currently
under way in our 12 National Marine Sanctuaries.
As trustees for the Nation's system of marine protected
areas, NOAA needs the support of the private sector, academia,
industry and others to help manage and protect these unique
public resources. A critical component of this support is to
provide NOAA with the high quality research needed to make
sound management decisions, implement effective field
operations, and to evaluate the effectiveness of NOAA's
management strategies on our Nation's valuable natural and
cultural marine resources. Our Sanctuaries are natural
laboratories in which we can test, refine, prove and implement
the linkages between scientific theories and management
practices. Many of the lessons learned can be applied outside
of the Sanctuaries. Because of their exceptional significance
and their irreplaceable value to the nation, it is imperative
that the Sanctuaries be able to draw upon high quality research
expertise and facilities.
Although NOAA is the Nation's premiere scientific agency
for ocean (and atmospheric) research, we also recognize our
limitations. At times, it seems that the questions that need
answers are as boundless as the oceans themselves. It will not
surprise anyone on this Subcommittee that more resources are
needed to fully address these challenges. This is where the
value of partnerships truly stands out. An abundance of
knowledge, skills, expertise, creativity, and resources is
available in this country, whether it be from Federal, state,
academic, private or other institutions that NOAA can
collaborate with to help accomplish its mission. Strong, well-
focused partnerships help NOAA address needs beyond available
resources.
The National Marine Sanctuary program's role in public/
private partnerships includes identifying areas and gaps where
partnerships can best address outstanding needs, seeking the
appropriate partners to address those needs, and bringing
sufficient resources to the table to adequately support NOAA's
commitment to the partnership effort. In the past, NOAA has
developed partnerships in areas as diverse as the Sanctuaries
themselves. A few examples are multi-lingual education at the
Channel Islands Sanctuary, fish resource inventories in the
Florida Keys, and even a benefit concert by the popular country
band ``Little Texas'' to raise funds for monitoring activities
at the Flower Gardens Sanctuary.
Partnerships are expected to play an important, well-
defined role in the first-ever comprehensive National Marine
Sanctuary Research Plan currently under development. The
Research Plan will ensure that all National Marine Sanctuaries
have the capability to effectively coordinate site-specific
planning and research, identify and address priority research
areas relevant to important management issues, and direct NOAA
and external resources to where the most critical needs exist.
Also, the Plan will encourage development of partnerships
to implement cross-cutting scientific projects involving
multiple sites that cut across regions. We also expect to
establish clear criteria for data quality and management for
monitoring and other research programs, and make information
produced through Sanctuary sponsored research programs widely
accessible and user friendly.
Some of the key goals of the Plan are to fully understand
the nature of the many threats to our nation's valued marine
resources and ecosystems by monitoring the condition of
protected resources and tracking natural and human-induced
changes. NOAA expects to enhance its capabilities to better
respond to resource damage incidents and restore marine
habitats important to those communities that rely on healthy,
vibrant marine resources.
In conclusion, NOAA has long recognized the value of
public/private partnerships that enhance research efforts
needed in the National Marine Sanctuaries. The two exciting
partnerships that will be highlighted this morning demonstrate
the National Marine Sanctuary Program's unique ability to find
willing partners, leverage appropriated dollars and realize
significant benefits. The development of a system-wide Research
Plan will provide the guidelines needed to ensure that future
partnerships are focused where most needed. I look forward to
working with you next year, Mr. Chairman, to update the
Subcommittee regarding our progress in developing new
partnerships under the Research Plan, when your Subcommittee
begins to consider reauthorization of the National Marine
Sanctuaries Act.
Thank you for the opportunity to discuss research
partnerships in NOAA's National Marine Sanctuaries. I would be
pleased to answer any questions you may have.
SUMMARY OF NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS
SEPTEMBER 1998
Stellwagen Bank NMS, MA
University of Connecticut
Ivar Babb/Peter Auster, NURC-NAGL
One of the key research partners for this sanctuary;
provides considerable support for sanctuary research and
education. Leads critical habitat research program at SBNMS,
which is on the cutting-edge of providing and understanding the
important role habitats play in sustaining marine resources.
The Center is also assisting the sanctuary with understanding
the acoustic environment, and the effects of human-generated
sound on the marine mammals that return to this critical
habitat every year. UCONN, through the NURC-NAGL, provides us
with access to advanced underwater technologies such as ROVs
and manned submersibles, essential to conducting effective
research in a sanctuary generally too deep to allow safe
diving.
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Porter Hoagland, Marine Policy Center
Marine Policy Center provides significant support in a
number of areas related to understanding the socioeconomic
implications of sanctuary management. Conducted a study of the
economics of whale watching at SBNMS (one of the 10 top whale
watching sites in the world according to World Wildlife Fund),
developed an inventory of existing marine protected areas in
the Gulf of Maine (a project that is part of our activities
associated with the Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Envi-
ronment), and has agreed to provide socioeconomic analysis for
our upcoming management plan review.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Dr. Jim Bellingham, AUV Program
Collaborative work, in cooperation with NURC-NAGL,
deploying MIT's Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) Odyssey to
field test its capabilities to map the sanctuary seabed. Have
collaborated on a number of other proposals which did not
receive funding.
Dr. Judith Kildow, Department of Ocean Engineering
Graduate students, under the direction of Dr. Kildow,
produced an environmental monitoring program for the sanctuary,
which is being used both to help the sanctuary formulate
monitoring priorities and to assist the NMS program to develop
a national program-wide monitoring initiative.
University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW)
Dr. Larry Cahoon
Dr. Cahoon is a participant in our habitat research team
and leads an effort, funded largely by NURC-NAGL, to shed light
on changes to seabed production in areas where considerable
fishing activity occurs. UNCW has participated in at least
three sanctuary research cruises, focusing on demersal
zooplankton and seabed productivity.
Harbor Branch Foundation
Tim Askew, Operations Manager
Through NURC-NGL, cutting-edge technologies in submersible
and ROV systems have been deployed and yielded considerable
information regarding seabed processes in the Sanctuary. Harbor
Branch's Vessels SEA DIVER and EDWIN LINK have been platforms
for critical research in the Sanctuary, supporting both ROVs
and manned submersible CLELIA, such as a lobster habitat
research project funded by NURC-NAGL.
Monitor NMS, NC
The Mariners' Museum
Claudia Pennington, Director
The Mariners' Museum is this sanctuary's key partner.
Through a long-term memorandum of understanding, the museum
serves as principal museum for sanctuary education programs,
curation of the Monitor Collection of artifacts and documents,
and artifact conservation. The museum is currently preparing a
conservation and exhibit facility for the conservation,
curation and interpretation of large components to be recovered
from the Monitor. The museum is also working with NOAA for the
development of the USS Monitor Research Center, to be located
at the museum.
National Undersea Research Center/University of North Carolina
at Wilmington (NURC/UNCW)
Lance Horn or Doug Kesling, Operations
One of the key research partners for this sanctuary, NURC/
UNCW provides essential support for sanctuary deepwater
research and training. During the most recent on-site research
expeditions, NURC/UNCW provided dive training support,
decompression chamber and operators, dive equipment and
research divers. Because of the unique relationship between
NOAA's National Ocean Service and the National Undersea
Research Program, NURC's services are available to this
sanctuary at a fraction of the estimated cost of obtaining
equivalent services from an outside contractor.
Cambrian Foundation
Terrence Tysall, President
This private, nonprofit foundation is dedicated to
conducting deepwater diving research projects. The foundation
has committed resources for long-term research at the Monitor
sanctuary. The foundation, which conducted NOAA-permitted
private research at the sanctuary for several years,
participated as a full partner in NOAA's 1998 Monitor
Expedition. The foundation provided training, equipment and
research divers for the expedition, absorbing a large portion
of the associated costs.
U.S. Navy, Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA)
CDR Christopher Murray, Commanding Officer
Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit Two (MDSU Two)
MDSU Two provided essential personnel and equipment for the
highly successful 1998 Monitor Expedition. Using a Navy-leased
vessel as a research platform, Navy and NOAA divers worked
together for the recovery of the Monitor's propeller, hull
plates and other artifacts, as well as for the recovery of data
required for the next phase of on-site stabilization and
research.
Oceaneering Technologies
A division of Oceaneering International
Leonard Whitlock, Engineer
Oceaneering holds a NAVSEA contract for support of Navy
ocean research and salvage. In 1997, Oceaneering provided, at
no cost to the government, a preliminary assessment and
recovery plan for the preservation of the Monitor's hull and
the recovery of major hull components.
Gray's Reef NMS, GA
Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, Savannah, GA
Dr. Herb Windom, Acting Director
The Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary program offices
are located on the campus of the Skidaway Institute of
Oceanography (SkIO). Under Joint Project Authority of the
Department of Commerce, SkIO and Gray's Reef have entered into
a long-term agreement to collaborate on research, conservation
and educational activities. Through this agreement SkIO
provides access and use of all its facilities including
research vessels, Distance Learning Center and marine
operations equipment. SkIO also provides staff and research
faculty support for all facets of sanctuary research and
educational programs.
National Undersea Research Center at the University of North
Carolina/Wilmington (UNCW) Wilmington, NC
Tom Potts, Assistant Science Director
The Center at UNCW has provided considerable support for
Gray's Reef over the past 4-5 years in establishing monitoring
programs, providing research coordination and training of staff
and volunteer divers. UNCW has conducted extensive surveys of
the sanctuary using their ROVs to provide video confirmation of
reef features identified with side scan sonar surveys. They
have provided training to staff for Nitrox diving certification
and have visited sanctuary offices on two different occasions
to provide week long dive certification training for volunteer
divers from local universities. Tom Potts serves in a part-time
capacity as the sanctuary's Research Coordinator and has
ensured that the sanctuary research needs receive priority in
the NURC annual call for proposals from the scientific
community.
University of Georgia, Athens GA
Dr. Erv Garrison
For four years Dr. Garrison has been providing time and
scientific equipment to Gray's Reef to explore the
paleoenvironmental conditions of the sanctuary. His work
includes extensive diving and survey of a portion of the reef
that has significant fossil resources. He has also conducted
sub-bottom surveys of the reef and adjacent areas to explore
ancient drowned riverbeds and has been participating in media
events and stories relating to the work at the sanctuary.
Georgia Southern University, Statesboro GA
Dr. Jim Henry
Dr. Henry has been directly involved with the sanctuary
program at Gray's Reef since its inception. He has conducted a
variety of geological studies of the reef and continues to
contribute to the sanctuary program by providing advisory
services, review of documents and support for geophysical
surveys. He has also encouraged other GSU faculty to focus
their work where feasible in the sanctuary and this has
resulted in support for GRNMS loggerhead sea turtle studies,
reef fish and invertebrate monitoring and paleoenvironmental
sediment characterization.
Marine Resources Research Institute, Charleston SC
Dr. Jack McGovern
Through support from the National Marine Fisheries
Services, MRRI has conducted five years of reef fish assessment
surveys in the sanctuary. Their efforts under the MARMAP
program have provided the most reliable scientific data for the
sanctuary on the status of targeted recreational fish species.
Florida Keys NMS, FL
Florida Institute of Oceanography, St. Petersburg
Dr. John Ogden (813-553-1100.
Since 1992 FIO has worked with the sanctuary on providing
the best available science for use in management decisions. FIO
implemented the SEAKEYS program which
established long-term automated physical oceanographic
monitoring stations along the reef tract,
monitored coral change over a 4 year period, and
quantified hydrological linkage between Florida Bay
and the sanctuary.
As part of SEAKEYS, two educational posters were produced to
graphically show linkages in the ecosystem. Last year, FIO was awarded
a $200K monitoring grant to look at the effects of the no-take zones on
the coral community. Dr. Ogden is leveraging that money to get private
funding to enhance the study to investigate the replenishment potential
of marine reserves.
National Undersea Research Center at the University of North Carolina-
Wilmington (NURC/UNCW),
Bob Wicklund, Director; Dr. Steven Miller, Science Director
For the past seven years, NURC/UNCW has operated the world's most
active and productive coral reef research program involving both a day-
boat program and a saturation mission program. The sanctuary and NURC
work hand-in-hand on science planning, permitting, and logistics. It is
essentially the research arm of the sanctuary. (A good indicator of our
cooperation together is that NURC RFP for research now lists
investigating the effect of the no-take zones as a major funding
priority.) NURC manages our Level I contract to Ogden and conducts a
yearly rapid assessment of the no-take zones.
Mote Marine Lab, Sarasota and Pigeon Key
Dr. Kumar Mahadevan, Director; Dr. Erich Mueller, Pigeon Key Marine
Research Center director
The Pigeon Key lab has been operating in the sanctuary for the past
three years and focuses on cutting edge coral reef restoration
techniques, coral disease research, and investigating the cause and
effect of episodic events in the sanctuary. Mote will be funding two
post-doctoral fellows to assist with the science coming out of the SSE
initiative.
Flower Garden Banks NMS, TX/LA
Gulf of Mexico Foundation--Flower Gardens Fund
Dr. Quenton Dokken, Director
Provides financial and in-kind support for research and education
at the Sanctuary. Has been instrumental in initiating partnerships with
business and industry, including Mobil, Shell, Oryx, and BP
Exploration. Annually provides financial assistance to graduate
students conducting a variety of work in the Sanctuary. Sponsors the
annual Education Workshop & Field Excursion for classroom teachers and
informal educators.
Channel Islands NMS, Santa Barbara, CA
University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB)
Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary (CINMS) has partnered
with UCSB scientists to study the impacts of El Nino storm runoff on
the marine environment--specifically in the Santa Barbara Channel and
the sanctuary. Since early February, El Nino generated storms have
resulted in nearly two-thirds of the Santa Barbara Channel being
inundated with freshwater, terrestrial sediments, agricultural runoff
and other debris. The runoff creates a visible pattern of nutrient rich
brown sediment plumes which, in turn, produces green marine algal
blooms.
Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP)
CINMS has partnered with the Southern California Coastal Water
Research Project (SCCWRP) and 54 organizations, including international
and volunteer organizations, to participate in a regional marine
monitoring survey of the Southern California Bight, referred to as the
Bight '98 Project. The project includes the measurement of a variety of
indicators at roughly 300 sites between Point Conception and just south
of the Mexican Border. The indicators measured will include benthic
invertebrate assemblages, sediment contaminant concentrations, sediment
toxicity, demersal fish assemblages, demersal fish gross pathology,
demersal fish bioacummulation, dissolved oxygen, temperature, salinity,
transmissivity and marine debris.
The overall goal of Bight '98 is to assess the condition of the
bottom environment and the health of the biological resources in the
SCB. To accomplish this goal, Bight '98 will focus on four objectives:
(1) estimate the extent and magnitude of ecological change in the SCB,
(2) compare condition among selected geographic regions of the SCB, (3)
assess the relationship between biological responses and contaminant
exposure, and (4) describe historical trends at selected sites.
Monterey Bay NMS, CA
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI)
Marcia McNutt, President
MBARI and MBNMS share facilities and scientific expertise to
achieve their missions. MBARI is providing the large training tanks for
submersible training for the Sustainable Seas Expeditions. They provide
satellite images and buoy data related to oceanographic monitoring, and
have recently completed a sea floor map that is so detailed that
potential ship wrecks can be located. The MBNMS has provided MBARI
scientists ship time on the R/V McArthur for El Nino studies and we
have worked closely together on the cause and effects of toxic algal
blooms. MBARI has a representative on the MBNMS Research Activities
Panel. This panel advises the Sanctuary on research issues while
providing a forum for collaboration between 22 research institutions in
the Monterey Bay region. In the future, MBARI and MBNMS are planning
for a combined postdoctoral position. The position would be funded by
MBARI and the post doc would be located at the MBNMS office, working on
a joint project of interest.
MBNS Research Activity Panel (RAP)
Dr. Greg Cailliet
Working under the auspices of the Sanctuary Advisory Council, the
RAP is composed of 22 representatives--14 from private and university
marine research institutions. The RAP meets nine times per year to
advise the MBNMS on research and scientific issues, as well as to
coordinate research, logistics (such as shiptime) and funding issues
among the various institutions represented. This group of research
talent helps the sanctuary develop action plans for difficult resource
management issues, for instance on the issues of White Shark chumming,
or diver impacts on kelp beds. Also, the sanctuary gains significant
knowledge about the region's biological resources due to the active
research conducted by the RAP members.
Moss Landing Marine Laboratories
Dr. Don Croll, University of California at Santa Cruz
Critical Marine Mammal Habitats Study
Starting 1995, the sanctuary has directed resources to studying the
critical habitats of large cetaceans (whales) in the sanctuary. While
the sanctuary region has long been known for its diversity of marine
cetaceans, little was known about what brings so many large mammals to
the specific locations in the Sanctuary. This study by researchers at
the University of California, Santa Cruz assessed sea floor topography,
oceanic currents and the distribution of prey to explain recent unusual
phenomena of coastal congregations of whales.
Moss Landing Marine Laboratories
Monterey Bay EMS BeachCOMBERS
Dr. James Harvey
The MBNMS Beach Coastal and Ocean, Mammal and Bird, Education and
Research Surveys (COMBERS) program began two years ago with only
partial funding by the MBNMS. The program was created through the
recruitment of volunteer beach walkers to collect standardized
scientific data on beached and dead marine birds and mammals. The goal
of the study is to create a database of information from which
environmental ``events'' (El Ninos, Red Tides, Oil Spills, etc.) within
the sanctuary can be evaluated for ecological significance. The program
has responded to oil spills, found tagged animals from throughout the
Pacific, detected toxic algal blooms, provided data related to impacts
of gill net fishing on birds, and saved a drowning citizen.
California State University Monterey Bay
Dr. Rikk Kvitek
MBNMS Site Characterization
One of the first research projects conducted by various research
universities and partially funded by the sanctuary is known as the
``MBNMS Site Characterization.'' While the area encompassed by the
sanctuary has become world renown for its cutting edge marine research,
little had been done to synthesize and abstract the available
environmental information. The sanctuary site characterization is an
encyclopedia of information about the sanctuary environs (which
includes a 10,000 record bibliography), and is served out over the
internet to the general public. Individual chapters were donated by
academic experts from numerous disciplines. The sanc-
tuary site characterization has become a educational tool for resource
managers, scientists, teachers and students at all levels of education.
Gulf of the Farallones NMS, CA
Cordell Bank NMS, CA
The Marine Mammal Center (MMC)
Dr. Francis Gulland
MMC provides early detection and tracking of mortality events in
the sanctuary as part of the five-year old BeachWatch program. Also
educates the public about how to best coexist with wildlife and reduce
disturbance and taking of seal pups as part of the sanctuary's SEALS
program.
Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association (FMSA)
Maria Brown
FMSA provide educational opportunities, information exchange with
the public--particularly school children--volunteer coordination, and
data housing. Partner in both the BeachWatch and SEALS programs.
Olympic Coast NMS, WA
University of Washington (UW)
Dr. Julia Parrish.
In addition to OCNMS helping Dr. Parrish's seabird research with
logistical support, Dr. Parrish is a key player for OCNMS as the
Research Representative on the Sanctuary Advisory Council. Dr. Barbara
Hickey. Aboard NOAA ship McARTHUR, conducted physical oceanographic
investigations along the shelf and canyons of OCNMS.
Dr. Rita Homer and Jim Postel.
Mr. Postel and Dr. Homer have taken advantage of OCNMS's offer of
ship time to conduct investigations for marine biotoxins and
phytoplankton species off the Olympic coast. Dr. Megan Dethier Dr.
Dethier has helped OCNMS establish intertidal transects for monitoring
long-term trends in nearshore communities.
California State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB)
Dr. Rikk Kvitek
Dr. Kvitek and his dive team have been key players in establishing
subtidal transects for sanctuary baseline data, video habitat
characterization, and for monitoring long-term trends of nearshore
communities.
University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC)
Michael Kenner
UCSC's dive team has helped the sanctuary establish baseline data
for subtidal habitat characterization and to monitor long term trends
in sea otter habitats.
Oregon State University
Dr. Carl Schoch
Dr. Schoch has been instrumental in establishing on-site
inventories of geomorphological characterizations of shoreline into GIS
with links to biological communities, that OCNMS and other agencies are
using for resource inventories.
Ecoscan Resource Data (ECI)
Bob VanWagenen
ECI has flown annual aerial surveys for OCNMS and other resource
agencies to monitor long-term trends in kelp canopy cover and digitize
into GIS.
Coastal Maritime Archeology Resources (CMAR)
Mark Norder
CMAR volunteer divers conduct survey work for historical shipwrecks
off the Olympic coast while OCNMS provides logistical and vessel
support.
Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale NMS, HI
University of Hawaii, West Hawaii
Dr. Joe Mobely
The university recently completed a sanctuary sponsored aerial
surveys of humpback whales (and other cetacean) populations in Hawaii.
This is important since the sanctuary has limited data on where the
humpback whales reside or how many are actually here. Some of the
highlights of the just completed study include:
Estimated--2-3000 humpbacks
Sperm whales--more than expected in Hawaiian waters
Fin whales--second recorded siting.
Distribution of humpbacks has not changed over the
past 10 years, even though boat and vessel traffic has
increased in areas such as Maui.
Fagatele Bay NMS, AS
University of Guam Marine Laboratory
Dr. Charles Birkeland
FBNMS has a research partnership with the University of Guam Marine
Laboratory that extends back to 1988. Under the direction of Dr.
Birkeland, we have a biological resource survey approximately every
three years. This database is one of the oldest longitudinal studies of
a Pacific coral reef. The survey has documented changes in the coral
and fish populations with the recovery from the crown-of-thorns
starfish infestation of 1978, and represents a significant management
tool.
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