Management Summary

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is confronting a serious management decision at the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary: NOAA has determined that the collapse of the Monitor's hull is imminent. In March 1862, the Civil War ironclad USS Monitor survived a four-hour assault by the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia at Hampton Roads, Virginia, before succumbing a few months later to a severe storm off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Now the Monitor is facing a new crisis. Photographic evidence clearly shows that there has been a marked increase in the rate of deterioration of the Monitor's hull over the past five years, apparently the result of both natural and human causes. In 1993, after extensive archival and on-site research, NOAA initiated a revised planning effort designed to further define the extent of the problem and to identify viable options for preservation of the Monitor. All evidence suggests that collapse of the Monitor's hull could occur at any time and that the result would be the loss of much of the ship's structure and many of its historic contents.

The Monitor, a National Historic Landmark, may well be the most significant shipwreck in U. S. history. In 1975, in recognition of the Monitor's unique historical and archaeological significance the Secretary of Commerce designated the remains of the Monitor as the first National Marine Sanctuary. The Monitor National Marine Sanctuary is administered by NOAA's Sanctuaries and Reserves Division, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, National Ocean Service.

In section 4 of Public Law 104-283 (The National Marine Sanctuaries Preservation Act (Act)), Congress mandated that the Secretary of Commerce produce "a long-range, comprehensive plan for the management, stabilization, preservation, and recovery of artifacts and materials of the U.S.S. MONITOR." The Secretary of Commerce was also directed, "to the extent feasible utilize the resources of other Federal and private entities with expertise and capabilities that are helpful" and to submit the plan within twelve months of the date of enactment of the Act (October 11, 1996).

Charting a New Course for the Monitor /