Interior Department on Front Lines of Coral Reef Conservation Interior Department on Front Lines of Coral Reef Conservation
The Department of Interior is playing a key role in a science-based,
community-level campaign to protect coral reefs and is working with a
variety of state, territorial and international partners to increase
understanding of the problems plaguing these sensitive ecosystems around
the globe, Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Craig Manson
said today.
This week in Miami, scientists and coral reef managers from the
Department will join their counterparts from Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii
and six Pacific island jurisdictions to discuss the health of U.S. coral
reefs and efforts to save them.
“Interior Department agencies are leading the way in efforts to deal
with the crisis in our coral reefs,” said Manson, who is co-chair of the
United States Coral Reef Task Force. “We have made significant progress in
recent years but there is much to be done. We need a global effort to study
and reverse the threats to these sensitive ecosystems.”
Coral reefs are storehouses of immense biological value that provide
an estimated $375 billion each year to the world economy from recreation,
tourism, food, pharmaceuticals, and other purposes. The benefits to
Florida, for example, exceed $3 billion.
Coral reefs also protect our coastlines from storm damage and prevent
erosion, a benefit for Floridians and coastal communities in the Pacific
during hurricanes and typhoons. They also provide shelter and food for as
many as 10 million animals and plants and are the oldest and largest
structures made by living organisms on the planet. The same factors that
make them so important make them vulnerable to over exploitation.
Five agencies within the Interior Department are working on the
ground and underwater to monitor the health of coral reefs and enhance
their protection. Much of the work is done collaboratively with local
communities, state and territorial government agencies and academia to
address threats to coral reef ecosystems.
National Park Service: In Florida, the National Park Service manages
more than 800,000 acres of coral reefs and marine habitats in three
National Parks. Biscayne National Park near Miami has joined forces with
the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to develop a joint
Fisheries Management Plan that transcends boundaries to restore fish
populations across the Park and state-managed areas. The National Park
Service also put regulations in place to protect the new Virgin Islands
Coral Reef National Monument and the expanded Buck Island Reef National
Monument from anchoring and overfishing.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: National Wildlife Refuges protect
approximately three million acres of coral reefs in Florida, the Caribbean,
Hawaii and the Pacific. In addition, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
has sponsored local watershed protection projects in the Pacific islands
that reduce land-based sources of pollution to coral reefs, has provided
funding to restore habitat for sea turtles and other endangered species,
and developed a mitigation strategy that will help federal agencies restore
U.S. coral reef resources affected by federally funded coastal construction
projects.
U.S. Geological Survey: The USGS is conducting vital research to
increase understanding of how coral reefs respond to threats such as
sediment pollution, water quality impacts, coral diseases and global
climate change. The USGS is determining causes of high levels of
sedimentation on reefs in Hawaii and the Pacific Islands. USGS scientists
also are investigating the effects of global climate change on corals,
including the ability of corals to resist increases in sea surface
temperatures and intense ultraviolet radiation in the National Park of
American Samoa.
Office of Insular Affairs: The Office of Insular Affairs provides
technical and financial assistance to support management and protection of
coral reefs in the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Pacific islands of Guam,
American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, where
the majority of reefs under U.S. jurisdiction are located.
Minerals Management Service: Since the early 1970s, MMS has
supported a comprehensive program of mapping, monitoring and protection for
coral reefs of the East and West Flower Garden Banks, a National Marine
Sanctuary in the Gulf of Mexico. MMS used the information to develop lease
stipulations for gas and oil exploration, development, and production near
the Sanctuary that have been completely effective in preventing
environmental impacts.
The U.S. Coral Reef Task Force was established by Presidential
Executive Order in 1998 to focus federal, state, and territorial efforts on
the major threats to the nation’s coral reefs, and finding ways to stem
those threats. Craig Manson, Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and
Parks, co-chairs the Task Force on behalf of Interior Secretary Gale
Norton, along with Tim Keeney, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oceans and
Atmosphere at the Department of Commerce.
Americans can learn more about the importance of coral reefs to
products that they value in their lives. The next time you purchase salt
water fish for your aquarium, buy grouper or yellowfin tuna for dinner, or
purchase a coral necklace for a loved one, think about where these
resources originated. Buy products that were harvested in a responsible
manner. Learn about coral reef products that are protected by
international trade laws and don’t bring those products back into the U.S.
from your vacation.
Visit the Coral Reef Task Force website at http://www.coralreef.gov.
Or attend the public meeting at the Intercontinental Hotel in Miami on
December 2 and 3.
The Department of Interior is playing a key role in a science-based,
community-level campaign to protect coral reefs and is working with a
variety of state, territorial and international partners to increase
understanding of the problems plaguing these sensitive ecosystems around
the globe, Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Craig Manson
said today.
This week in Miami, scientists and coral reef managers from the
Department will join their counterparts from Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii
and six Pacific island jurisdictions to discuss the health of U.S. coral
reefs and efforts to save them.
“Interior Department agencies are leading the way in efforts to deal
with the crisis in our coral reefs,” said Manson, who is co-chair of the
United States Coral Reef Task Force. “We have made significant progress in
recent years but there is much to be done. We need a global effort to study
and reverse the threats to these sensitive ecosystems.”
Coral reefs are storehouses of immense biological value that provide
an estimated $375 billion each year to the world economy from recreation,
tourism, food, pharmaceuticals, and other purposes. The benefits to
Florida, for example, exceed $3 billion.
Coral reefs also protect our coastlines from storm damage and prevent
erosion, a benefit for Floridians and coastal communities in the Pacific
during hurricanes and typhoons. They also provide shelter and food for as
many as 10 million animals and plants and are the oldest and largest
structures made by living organisms on the planet. The same factors that
make them so important make them vulnerable to over exploitation.
Five agencies within the Interior Department are working on the
ground and underwater to monitor the health of coral reefs and enhance
their protection. Much of the work is done collaboratively with local
communities, state and territorial government agencies and academia to
address threats to coral reef ecosystems.
National Park Service: In Florida, the National Park Service manages
more than 800,000 acres of coral reefs and marine habitats in three
National Parks. Biscayne National Park near Miami has joined forces with
the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to develop a joint
Fisheries Management Plan that transcends boundaries to restore fish
populations across the Park and state-managed areas. The National Park
Service also put regulations in place to protect the new Virgin Islands
Coral Reef National Monument and the expanded Buck Island Reef National
Monument from anchoring and overfishing.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: National Wildlife Refuges protect
approximately three million acres of coral reefs in Florida, the Caribbean,
Hawaii and the Pacific. In addition, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
has sponsored local watershed protection projects in the Pacific islands
that reduce land-based sources of pollution to coral reefs, has provided
funding to restore habitat for sea turtles and other endangered species,
and developed a mitigation strategy that will help federal agencies restore
U.S. coral reef resources affected by federally funded coastal construction
projects.
U.S. Geological Survey: The USGS is conducting vital research to
increase understanding of how coral reefs respond to threats such as
sediment pollution, water quality impacts, coral diseases and global
climate change. The USGS is determining causes of high levels of
sedimentation on reefs in Hawaii and the Pacific Islands. USGS scientists
also are investigating the effects of global climate change on corals,
including the ability of corals to resist increases in sea surface
temperatures and intense ultraviolet radiation in the National Park of
American Samoa.
Office of Insular Affairs: The Office of Insular Affairs provides
technical and financial assistance to support management and protection of
coral reefs in the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Pacific islands of Guam,
American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, where
the majority of reefs under U.S. jurisdiction are located.
Minerals Management Service: Since the early 1970s, MMS has
supported a comprehensive program of mapping, monitoring and protection for
coral reefs of the East and West Flower Garden Banks, a National Marine
Sanctuary in the Gulf of Mexico. MMS used the information to develop lease
stipulations for gas and oil exploration, development, and production near
the Sanctuary that have been completely effective in preventing
environmental impacts.
The U.S. Coral Reef Task Force was established by Presidential
Executive Order in 1998 to focus federal, state, and territorial efforts on
the major threats to the nation’s coral reefs, and finding ways to stem
those threats. Craig Manson, Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and
Parks, co-chairs the Task Force on behalf of Interior Secretary Gale
Norton, along with Tim Keeney, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oceans and
Atmosphere at the Department of Commerce.
Americans can learn more about the importance of coral reefs to
products that they value in their lives. The next time you purchase salt
water fish for your aquarium, buy grouper or yellowfin tuna for dinner, or
purchase a coral necklace for a loved one, think about where these
resources originated. Buy products that were harvested in a responsible
manner. Learn about coral reef products that are protected by
international trade laws and don’t bring those products back into the U.S.
from your vacation.
Visit the Coral Reef Task Force website at http://www.coralreef.gov.
Or attend the public meeting at the Intercontinental Hotel in Miami on
December 2 and 3.
