From enorse@u.washington.edu Tue Feb 11 08:54:38 1997 Received: from jason01.u.washington.edu by lists.u.washington.edu (5.65+UW96.08/UW-NDC Revision: 2.33 ) id AA68660; Tue, 11 Feb 97 08:54:37 -0800 Received: from homer25.u.washington.edu (homer25.u.washington.edu [140.142.78.15]) by jason01.u.washington.edu (8.8.4+UW96.12/8.8.4+UW96.12) with ESMTP id IAA31056 for ; Tue, 11 Feb 1997 08:49:47 -0800 Received: from localhost (enorse@localhost) by homer25.u.washington.edu (8.8.4+UW96.12/8.8.4+UW96.12) with SMTP id IAA21070 for ; Tue, 11 Feb 1997 08:54:36 -0800 Date: Tue, 11 Feb 1997 08:54:36 -0800 (PST) From: Elliott Norse To: consbio@u.washington.edu Subject: Marine Sanctuaries in Clinton Administration budget proposal Message-Id: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII NEWS FROM MARINE CONSERVATION BIOLOGY INSTITUTE For Immediate Release Contact: Amy Mathews-Amos (703) 276-1434 Dr. Elliott A. Norse (206) 883-8914 SHORT-CHANGING THE SEA: NATIONAL NEGLECT OF VALUABLE MARINE ECOSYSTEMS REVEALED IN FY 1998 BUDGET PROPOSAL Washington DC (February 11, 1997)... Marine Conservation Biology Institute's new Washington, DC office today disclosed stark disparities in our nation's commitment to natural resource protection on land and in the sea. Although most of the Earth's surface is covered by seawater, our National Marine Sanctuaries receive less than 1 percent of the funding provided for National Parks, as outlined in the Clinton Administration's FY 1998 Proposed Budget to Congress released this week. The percentage is even smaller when other land management areas such as National Forests are included. "Whether we live in Ocean City Maryland, Prairie Village Kansas or Cactus Arizona, we depend on the sea for resources vital to our survival," said Amy Mathews-Amos, Program Director for Marine Conservation Biology Institute (MCBI), a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the new science of marine conservation biology to maintain the sea's biodiversity. "Unfortunately, the old saying out of sight, out of mind' fits here. Estuaries, coastal waters and oceans comprise more than 99 percent of the Earth's habitat for animals and plants. But because people live on land, we including our government tend to overlook life in the other 99 percent." "We can no longer afford that luxury," said marine ecologist Elliott A. Norse, President of MCBI, based in Redmond Washington. "We rely on the sea for everything from the air we breathe to the food we eat. It benefits us in sickness and in health, as a source of new medicines and favorite vacation spots. But the health of the sea itself is declining and we often don't understand why. Mysterious toxic red tides appear along our coasts. Florida coral reefs bleach and die. Alien species from Europe and Asia are overwhelming native animals in San Francisco Bay. Deadly diseases kill hundreds of dolphins and manatees. And the cod fishery that fueled the growth of New England is gone. Whether we realize it or not, millions of Americans those who catch fish and market seafood, make boats and tooth paste, sell coastal real estate and diving gear depend on the sea for their livelihood. Given the importance of marine ecosystems to our well-being and economy, we need to make understanding and conserving our marine resources a greater national priority." President Clinton's FY 1998 Proposed Budget shows just how far we have to go. It includes $1.6 billion for the National Park Service to administer approximately 133,000 square miles in 374 units managed to protect natural, cultural, and recreational resources for the use and enjoyment of future generations. According to MCBI's Mathews-Amos, that's money well spent. But in contrast, the budget request for the Marine Sanctuaries program is just $13.2 million to administer only 12 underwater protected areas totaling approximately 18,000 square miles, an area smaller than San Bernardino County, California. That represents only 0.6 percent of marine waters under US jurisdiction. These Sanctuaries, administered by the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, are designated to protect marine environments that possess conservation, recreational, ecological, historical, research, educational, or aesthetic qualities of special national significance. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter declared National Marine Sanctuaries "the marine equivalents of Yosemite, Big Bend, the Great Smokies, and the Everglades." However, Marine Sanctuaries are far less protected than National Parks. For example, many Sanctuaries allow bottom trawling for seafood that scours the seafloor with heavy nets that crush, bury, and dangerously expose marine life on or in the seabed. In this respect, Sanctuaries more closely resemble National Forests, in which other uses such as logging, livestock grazing and mining often get priority over resource protection. Yet we have 159 National Forest units totaling 298,000 square miles with a proposed budget of more than $3.1 billion, or 235 times that of National Marine Sanctuaries. "The resources we devote to protecting biological diversity on land contribute to the well being of the entire planet, including the oceans," said Mathews-Amos. "But it is becoming increasingly clear that the sea deserves greater protection in its own right. Our federal government is short-changing the marine environment, and it's coming back to haunt us." *** Established in 1996, Marine Conservation Biology Institute (MCBI) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to safeguarding life in the sea by advancing the multidisciplinary science of marine conservation biology. MCBI holds scientific workshops on emerging marine conservation issues and is organizing the first Symposium on Marine Conservation Biology at the annual meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada on June 6-9, 1997. - 30 - .