Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 18, 2007

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NOAA SEEKS EDUCATION SEAT APPLICANTS FOR MONITOR NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY ADVISORY COUNCIL

Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is seeking to fill the education seat on its sanctuary advisory council. The council represents the public's interests in sanctuary matters and provides advice to the site superintendent.

Applicants will be chosen based upon their affiliation with educational institutions or organizations in North Carolina and specifically the Outer Banks, ability to effectively communicate with multiple institutions and educators, direct experience with marine or history education programs, and their experience, ability and availability to conduct educational outreach consistent with the goals of the sanctuary and the mission of the council. Applicants who are chosen as members should expect to serve two-year terms, pursuant to the council's charter.

"Sanctuary advisory councils have proven to be an invaluable source of advice and input by members of the community regarding the management of our national marine sanctuaries, which are America's ocean treasures," said David Alberg, Monitor sanctuary superintendent. "We are thrilled that Monitor National Marine Sanctuary has its own advisory council, and we look forward to working with its members."

The Monitor Sanctuary Advisory Council currently consists of 12 members, including four government agency representatives and seven members from the general public. The council's role is to provide sanctuary managers with advice on resource protection, research, education and outreach programs. The advisory council meets twice a year.

Applications are due by June 30, 2007. To receive an application kit, visit the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary website or contact Krista Trono at Krista.Trono@noaa.gov, or by phone at (757) 591-7328. Completed applications should be mailed to Krista Trono at Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, 100 Museum Drive, Newport News, VA 23606.

Monitor National Marine Sanctuary was designated in 1975 to protect the wreck of the famed Civil War ironclad, USS Monitor, which sank during a storm 16 miles off Cape Hatteras, N.C. in 1862.

The NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Program seeks to increase the public awareness of America's marine resources and maritime heritage by conducting scientific research, monitoring, exploration and educational programs. Today, the sanctuary program manages 13 national marine sanctuaries and one marine national monument that together encompass more than 150,000 square miles of America's ocean and Great Lakes natural and cultural resources.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is celebrating 200 years of science and service to the nation. From the establishment of the Survey of the Coast in 1807 by Thomas Jefferson to the formation of the Weather Bureau and the Commission of Fish and Fisheries in the 1870s, much of America's scientific heritage is rooted in NOAA.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 60 countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects.

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NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries