Where is the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries located within NOAA?
The National Marine Sanctuaries Program was recently elevated to Office status and is located within the National Ocean Service of NOAA. ONMS serves as the trustee for a system of thirteen national marine sanctuaries, encompassing 18,000 square miles of marine and Great Lakes waters from Massachusetts to American Samoa, from Lake Huron to the Gulf of Mexico, and one coral reef ecosystem reserve (Northwestern Hawaiian Islands). This ecosystem reserve is presently undergoing designation as a sanctuary. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Ocean Service has managed National Marine Sanctuaries since passage of the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act in 1972. Protecting sanctuary resources requires a great deal of planning, management, and cooperation between federal, state, and local officials. The Office of National Marine Sanctuaries works cooperatively with its partners and the public to balance enjoyment and use with long-term conservation. Increasin
