CALL TO ACTION: Public Comments for Our Marine Monuments & Sanctuaries

Our marine monuments and sanctuaries are at risk during Trump's executive order dictating a "review" of national monuments. If protections are reduced, these special places could be opened for energy and mineral exploration or commercial fishing. At risk are over 425 million acres of habitat for marine mammals and coral reefs and beaches. 

ELECTRONIC PUBLIC COMMENT:

DUE AUGUST 15 AT 11:59 PM EDT. Please prepare your comment in a document where you can save it. Once it is complete, submit your comment HERE and please also email it to your Senators (contact info HERE) and to your representative (contact info HERE).

WHAT TO SAY:

* If you have visited any of the monuments or sanctuaries under review or have a connection to them, please address that particular monument. (HERE is a list of monuments under review). The Department of Commerce is looking for personal stories. 

* IF YOU LIVE IN ONE OF THE AFFECTED STATES - CALIFORNIA, HAWAII, OREGON OR WASHINGTON - OR IN MICHIGAN OR MASSACHUSETTS - PLEASE MENTION IT IN YOUR COMMENTS AND MAKE SOME CONNECTION TO VISITING THE MONUMENTS OR THE COAST. 

* Please keep the 11 marine monuments and sanctuaries protected as they are today. Each of these sites are the result of decades of broad, bipartisan support expressed by our elected officials and the public. Each monument underwent a robust public process. Finally, the monuments demonstrably cause no harm to the economy, specifically the longline fishing industry. Please maintain these vital protections for the benefit of wildlife, people, and our entire region.

* National marine monuments and sanctuaries safeguard biodiversity by protecting ecosystems. In these sanctuaries, unique ocean life flourishes. These monuments are also important culturally and as part of our national heritage. Further, these monuments provide nursery and spawning habitats for commercially valuable fish while also protecting thousands of threatened species.  

* National Monument or sanctuary designation often increases - NOT decreases - jobs in areas surrounding the land at issue. While it is true that drilling, dumping and mining jobs may decrease, OVERALL jobs increase and the sectors of tourism in a huge boost to coastal economies.  For instance, 2015 NOAA report found that recreational fishing in California's marine sanctuaries supports more than 1,300 jobs, generating more than $200 million a year. Further, the Monterey Bay sanctuaries alone provide more than 35,000 jobs and a $3.5 billion dollar a year tourism economy. Despite the popular argument, national monument or sanctuary designation HELPS, and does not hurt, local economies. 

** SPECIFIC TALKING POINTS FOR EACH MONUMENTS OR SANCTUARY HERE. (These are VERY helpful for crafting individualized comments).

** SPECIFIC TALKING POINTS FOR PACIFIC MARINE MONUMENTS ARE HERE.

** TALKING POINTS FROM MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM HERE.

POSTCARDS (MAIL BY AUGUST 8):

You may submit comments via postcard or letter, identified by docket ID NOAA-NOS-2017-0066, to:

E.O. 13795 Review
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Silver Spring Metro Campus Building 4 (SSMC4), Eleventh Floor
1305 East-West Highway
Silver Spring, MD 20910

* Please also send postcards to your Senators (addresses may be found HERE) and to your representative (addresses may be found HERE) asking them to fight to keep marine sanctuaries protected.

* If you have visited any of the monuments under review or have a connection to them, please address that particular monument. (HERE is a list of 11 marine monuments and sanctuaries under review). Department of Commerce is looking for personal stories.

* If you do not have a connection to one of the specific monuments involved, personalize the following:

I treasure our marine sanctuaries and monuments. I visit these special places whenever I have the chance to find peace and enjoy the beauty and wildlife.  I want them to remain protected as they are today. 

PETITIONS:

Monuments For All (Rose Atoll, Papahānaumokuākea, Pacific Remote Islands, Marianas Trench,  
            Northeast Canyons and Seamounts)
Care2 (Papahānaumokuākea)
Turtle Island Restoration Network
National Marine Sanctuary Foundation
Conservation International (Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument)
Audubon California (California marine monuments)
Pacific Environment (Pacific monuments)
Pacific Environment (Papahānaumokuākea)
Pacific Environment (Pacific Remote Islands)
Pacific Environment (Rose Atoll)
Pacific Environment (Marianas Trench)
Friends of the Earth (Marianas Trench)
The Action Network (Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument)
Pew Charitable Trusts (Pacific marine monuments)
NRDC (All 11 marine monuments/sanctuaries at issue)
NRDC (Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument)
Pew Charitable Trusts (Marine Monuments)
League of Conservation Voters 
EarthJustice

California League of Conservation Voters
Pacific Environment (California marine sanctuaries)

TWEETS TO SECRETARY ROSS AND SECRETARY ZINKE:

Keep our marine monuments protected and intact! These special places must be preserved! @SecretaryRoss pic.twitter.com/2h3oPXhbV4 💙🏝️🐬

.@SecretaryZinke I 💙 marine monuments! Keep them protected as they are today! 🏝️🐬🐡 #MonumentsForAll #oceans pic.twitter.com/YtUf9gOTM7