Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 13, 2009

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NOAA's Monitor National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council to Hold Public Meeting in Virginia

The Monitor National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council will hold a public advisory council meeting February 13, 2009, at the NOAA office on the property of The Mariners� Museum in Newport News, Va. The meeting will begin at 10:30 a.m. with a public comment period at 11:30 a.m. The sanctuary is managed by the NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Program.

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, America�s ocean treasures,� said David Alberg, Monitor sanctuary superintendent.

The advisory council consists of 13 members, including four government seats representing the U.S. Navy, National Park Service, North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, and Virginia Department of Historic Resources. The council also has nine non-government seats representing sanctuary constituent groups including recreational diving, commercial/recreational fishing, archaeological research, conservation, heritage tourism, maritime museums, The Mariners� Museum, education, and the general public. Specifically, the council's role is to provide advice to the sanctuary superintendent on cultural resource protection, critical issues involving sanctuary use or resources, sanctuary research objectives, and education and outreach programs.

The meeting agenda can be downloaded from the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary website. For further information please contact Shannon Ricles, Education and Outreach Coordinator, Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, 100 Museum Drive, Newport News, VA 23606. Ricles may also be reached by e-mail at shannon.ricles@noaa.gov and by phone at 757-591-7328 or at 757-869-1370.

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.

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.

On the Internet:

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NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries