2009

ACC

OMPL

ISHM

ENTS

Olym

pic C

oast

Nat

iona

l Mar

ine S

anct

uary

span

s 3,31

0 squ

are m

iles o

f mar

ine w

aters

off th

e rug

ged O

lympic

Pen

insula

. Th

e san

ctuar

y is h

ome t

o man

y mar

ine m

amma

ls an

d sea

birds

, dive

rse po

pulat

ions o

f kelp

and i

ntertid

al alg

ae, a

nd th

riving

inve

rtebr

ate

comm

unitie

s. Th

is sa

nctua

ry is

also r

ich in

cultu

ral re

sour

ces,

with

more

than

180 d

ocum

ented

histo

rical

shipw

reck

s and

the v

ibran

t co

ntemp

orar

y cult

ures

of th

e Mak

ah, Q

uinau

lt, Ho

h and

Quil

eute

Natio

ns. E

stabli

shed

July

16, 1

994.

WES

T CO

AST

REGI

ONAL

PRI

ORIT

IES

Krill

Harv

est P

rohi

bite

d alo

ng th

e Wes

t Coa

st

In Au

gust

2009

, NOA

A pu

blish

ed a

regu

lation

proh

ibitin

g the

harve

sting

of kr

ill (sm

all sh

rimp-

like c

rusta

cean

s key

to th

e mar

ine fo

od

web)

in th

e Exc

lusive

Eco

nomi

c Zon

e (EE

Z) of

f the c

oasts

of C

alifor

nia, O

rego

n and

Was

hingto

n. W

hile t

he th

ree s

tates

curre

ntly h

ave

regu

lation

s pro

hibitin

g the

harve

sting

of kr

ill wi

thin t

hree

mile

s of th

eir co

astlin

es, th

ere w

as no

simi

lar fe

dera

l restr

iction

with

in the

EEZ

, wh

ich st

retch

es fr

om th

ree t

o 200

mile

s fro

m the

coas

t. Th

e krill

proh

ibitio

n was

adop

ted as

Ame

ndme

nt 12

to th

e Coa

stal P

elagic

Spe

cies F

isher

y Man

agem

ent P

lan, w

hich w

as de

velop

ed by

the

Pac

ific F

isher

y Man

agem

ent C

ounc

il (PF

MC) u

nder

the M

agnu

son-

Stev

ens F

isher

y Con

serva

tion a

nd M

anag

emen

t Act.

The

krill

harve

st pr

ohibi

tion w

as or

igina

lly pr

opos

ed to

the P

FMC

and N

OAA

Fishe

ries S

ervic

e by t

he W

est C

oast

Regio

n of th

e NOA

A Of

fice o

f Na

tiona

l Mar

ine S

anctu

aries

. It re

flects

stro

ng te

amwo

rk wi

thin N

OAA

and a

comm

itmen

t to ad

dres

sing t

he is

sues

raise

d by t

he P

FMC

and t

he sa

nctua

ry ad

visor

y cou

ncils

for n

ation

al ma

rine s

anctu

aries

in C

alifor

nia. T

he ru

le pr

eser

ves k

ey ec

ologic

al re

lation

ships

in th

e Ca

liforn

ia Cu

rrent

ecos

ystem

, whic

h inc

ludes

five n

ation

al ma

rine s

anctu

aries

. NO

AA P

artn

ers T

est N

ew R

esea

rch

Vess

el Ok

eano

s Exp

lorer

Th

e Offic

e of N

ation

al Ma

rine S

anctu

aries

’ Wes

t Coa

st Re

giona

l Offic

e has

been

assis

ting N

OAA’

s Offic

e of O

cean

Exp

lorati

on an

d Re

sear

ch in

deve

loping

explo

ratio

n tar

gets

of mu

tual in

teres

t in sa

nctua

ry wa

ters t

o fiel

d tes

t the n

ew N

OAA

rese

arch

ship

Okea

nos

Explo

rer a

s par

t of g

ener

al sh

aked

own o

f the v

esse

l. This

effor

t culm

inated

in Ju

ly 20

09 w

ith a

multi-

day m

ultibe

am so

nar m

appin

g fiel

d tria

l off t

he ce

ntral

and n

orthe

rn C

alifor

nia co

ast, d

uring

whic

h res

earch

ers m

appe

d app

roxim

ately

2,200

squa

re m

iles o

f the s

eaflo

or at

hig

h res

olutio

ns. A

reas

map

ped i

nclud

ed th

e dee

p por

tions

of C

orde

ll Ban

k and

secti

ons o

f Gulf

of th

e Far

allon

es an

d nor

thern

Mo

ntere

y Bay

natio

nal m

arine

sanc

tuarie

s. In

addit

ion, a

reas

adjac

ent to

Cor

dell B

ank a

nd G

ulf of

the F

arall

ones

natio

nal m

arine

sa

nctua

ries w

ere m

appe

d. Th

e loc

ation

of th

e Wor

ld W

ar II-

era s

hip U

SS In

depe

nden

ce w

as al

so co

nfirm

ed du

ring t

his m

ission

.

OCNM

S AD

VISO

RY C

OUNC

IL M

EMBE

RS

Offic

ers

Rese

arch

: Dr.

Terri

e Klin

ger (

Chair

) Al

terna

te: Jo

hn C

alamb

okidi

s Ma

rine B

usine

ss/P

orts/

Indus

try:

Bob B

ohlm

an (V

ice C

hair)

Al

terna

te: F

rank

Holm

es

WA

Dept

of Fis

h and

Wild

life: T

eres

a Sco

tt (Se

cretar

y) Al

terna

te: va

cant

Othe

r Non

-Gov

ernm

enta

l Mem

bers

Ch

ambe

r of C

omme

rce/T

ouris

m/ R

ecre

ation

: Me

redit

h Par

ker

Alter

nate:

Mike

Gur

ling

Citiz

en-a

t-Lar

ge: R

oy M

orris

Al

terna

te: B

ob B

oeke

lheide

Co

mmer

cial F

ishing

: Joe

l Kaw

ahar

a Al

terna

te: D

oug F

ricke

Co

nser

vatio

n/Env

ironm

ental

: Fan

Tsa

o Al

terna

te: Jo

dy K

enne

dy

Educ

ation

: Elle

n Math

eny

Alter

nate:

Gen

e Woo

dwick

Lo

cal G

over

nmen

t

Coun

ties (

Rotat

ional

Seat

: Mike

Doh

erty

Alter

nates

: Phil

John

son,

Al C

arter

St

ate G

over

nmen

t

WA

Dept

of Ec

ology

: Chip

Boo

the

Alter

nates

: Dian

e Buto

rac,

Rebe

cca P

ost

WA

Dept

of Na

tural

Reso

urce

s: Br

ady S

cott

Alter

nate:

Dav

id Ro

berts

Tr

ibal

Gove

rnm

ent

Ho

h Trib

e: Da

vid H

udso

n Al

terna

te: Jo

e Gilb

ert

Maka

h Trib

e: St

eve J

oner

Al

terna

te: D

ana S

arff

Quile

ute T

ribe:

Mel M

oon

Alter

nate:

Jenn

ifer H

agen

Quina

ult N

ation

: Ed J

ohns

tone

Alter

nate:

Joe S

chum

acke

r Fe

dera

l Gov

ernm

ent

NO

AA F

isher

ies (n

on-vo

ting)

: Kev

in Du

ffy

Alter

nate:

Jane

t Sea

rs No

rthwe

st St

raits

Com

miss

ion: G

inny B

road

hurst

Al

terna

te: C

aroli

ne G

ibson

U.

S. C

oast

Guar

d (no

n-vo

ting)

: Ca

pt Sc

ott B

orne

mann

Al

terna

te: va

cant

U.S.

Dep

t of In

terior

(non

-votin

g): K

aren

Gus

tin

Alter

nate:

Stev

e Fra

dkin

U.S.

Fish

and W

ildlife

Ser

vice:

Kevin

Rya

n U.

S. N

avy (

non-

votin

g): G

eorg

e Har

t Al

terna

te: Jo

hn M

iller

http

://ol

ympi

ccoa

st.n

oaa.g

ov

Colla

bora

tion

in M

anag

emen

t Plan

Rev

iew:

A Ne

w Mo

del in

Oce

an G

over

nanc

e Ol

ympic

Coa

st Na

tiona

l Mar

ine S

anctu

ary s

taff c

ontin

ued t

o mak

e pro

gres

s for

the

seco

nd ye

ar of

revie

w an

d rev

ision

of th

e san

ctuar

y’s 19

94 m

anag

emen

t plan

. La

st ye

ar’s

scop

ing pr

oces

s bro

ught

over

1,50

0 com

ments

from

the p

ublic

. In

2009

, staf

f wor

ked c

losely

with

the s

anctu

ary a

dviso

ry co

uncil

and

Inter

gove

rnme

ntal P

olicy

Cou

ncil t

o prio

ritize

issu

es an

d for

m go

als fo

r the

new

plan.

Staff

also

hoste

d wor

ksho

ps an

d wor

king g

roup

s to c

larify

issu

es an

d pr

ioritie

s and

deve

loped

stra

tegies

that

can b

e inc

orpo

rated

into

the ne

w pla

n. Sa

nctu

ary a

Cat

alyst

in R

egio

nal E

duca

tion

The N

OAA

Offic

e of E

duca

tion s

electe

d Olym

pic C

oast

Natio

nal M

arine

San

ctuar

y to

host

to the

newl

y cre

ated P

acific

Nor

thwes

t Bay

-Wate

rshed

Edu

catio

n and

Tr

aining

(B-W

ET) G

rants

Pro

gram

. B-W

ET pr

ogra

ms in

Che

sape

ake B

ay, H

awai`

i an

d Cali

fornia

furn

ish fu

nds f

or ed

ucati

on or

ganiz

ation

s tha

t eng

age s

tuden

ts in

field-

base

d lea

rning

oppo

rtunit

ies. E

xper

ience

s in C

alifor

nia an

d the

Pac

ific

North

west

are f

ocus

ed on

sanc

tuary

infor

matio

n and

ocea

n lite

racy

conc

epts,

and

prov

ide op

portu

nities

for a

dire

ct co

nnec

tion t

o the

sanc

tuary.

Thr

ough

the B

-WET

ex

pans

ion in

to the

Pac

ific N

orthw

est, s

anctu

ary s

taff a

re ab

le to

serve

partn

er

orga

nizati

ons,

teach

ers a

nd st

uden

ts thr

ough

out O

rego

n and

Was

hingto

n and

im

prov

e the

deliv

ery o

f NOA

A ed

ucati

on pr

oduc

ts. D

uring

its fir

st tw

o yea

rs, P

acific

No

rthwe

st B-

WET

gran

ts ha

ve to

taled

mor

e tha

n $1.2

milli

on.

Unde

rsta

ndin

g Dy

nam

ic Oc

ean

Even

ts:

Seab

ird D

ie-of

fs an

d Pl

ankt

on B

loom

s In

early

Sep

tembe

r 200

9, ro

ugh s

eas a

nd un

usua

lly hi

gh de

nsitie

s of o

ne sp

ecies

of

plank

ton w

reak

ed ha

voc o

n san

ctuar

y sea

bird p

opula

tions

. The

comb

inatio

n ca

used

the d

eaths

of th

ousa

nds o

f bird

s inc

luding

Wes

tern G

rebe

s and

Com

mon

Murre

s, lis

ted as

“spe

cies o

f con

cern

,” tha

t live

in ne

ar-sh

ore z

ones

of th

e sa

nctua

ry. S

anctu

ary s

taff a

nd vo

luntee

rs fro

m the

Coa

stal O

bser

vatio

n and

Se

abird

Sur

vey T

eam

surve

yed b

each

es an

d doc

umen

ted hu

ndre

ds of

seab

ird

morta

lities

, as w

ell as

the o

ccur

renc

e of s

oap-

like f

oam

create

d by t

he pl

ankto

n br

eakin

g apa

rt du

ring i

ntens

e stor

m an

d sur

f con

dition

s. As

the s

cale

and

comp

lexity

of th

e eve

nt be

came

appa

rent,

sanc

tuary

staff,

along

with

triba

l, stat

e, an

d fed

eral

reso

urce

agen

cies,

coor

dinate

d data

colle

ction

on w

ater a

nd bi

rd

samp

les, m

onito

red o

cean

ogra

phic

cond

itions

, con

ducte

d ove

rfligh

ts an

d or

ganiz

ed bi

rd re

scue

and r

ehab

ilitati

on ef

forts.

Oc

ean

Acid

ifica

tion:

Mob

ilizin

g fo

r Mon

itorin

g an

d Re

sear

ch

Ocea

n acid

ificati

on is

the g

radu

al sh

ift in

seaw

ater a

cidity

due t

o inc

reas

ing le

vels

of ca

rbon

diox

ide ab

sorb

ed in

the o

cean

. As n

ew in

forma

tion e

merg

es, s

anctu

ary

rese

arch

ers a

nd th

eir co

lleag

ues h

ave m

obiliz

ed to

bette

r doc

umen

t and

un

derst

and t

rend

s in o

cean

chem

istry

and p

otenti

al eff

ects

to ma

rine o

rgan

isms

withi

n the

sanc

tuary,

partic

ularly

spec

ies w

ith ca

lcium

carb

onate

shell

s and

sk

eletal

stru

cture

s. Th

e san

ctuar

y is w

ell-si

tuated

to se

rve as

a “se

ntine

l” of

chan

ges i

n oce

an pr

oces

ses.

Deep

wate

r Cor

als F

eatu

red

in N

ew E

xhib

it In

an ef

fort to

furth

er ed

ucate

the p

ublic

on de

ep co

ral c

ommu

nities

fou

nd du

ring r

ecen

t res

earch

expe

dition

s, the

sanc

tuary

deve

loped

“S

ecre

ts of

the D

eep,”

an ex

hibit a

t the O

lympic

Coa

st Di

scov

ery

Cente

r fea

turing

mod

els of

coldw

ater c

oral

comm

unitie

s. Th

e pro

ject

chall

enge

d exh

ibit fa

brica

tors a

t BIO

S, LL

C, th

e exh

ibit c

ontra

ctor,

to po

rtray

cora

l and

rock

fish s

pecie

s tha

t hav

e not

been

mod

eled f

or

exhib

its be

fore,

and t

here

fore h

ave n

ot be

en se

en by

visit

ors t

o aq

uaria

or sc

ience

mus

eums

. Lo

cal P

artn

ers P

rom

ote H

ands

-on

Lear

ning

Ol

ympic

Coa

st Na

tiona

l Mar

ine S

anctu

ary e

duca

tors h

ave i

ncre

ased

the

ir rea

ch in

to loc

al sc

hools

on th

e nor

thern

Olym

pic P

enins

ula

throu

gh a

partn

ersh

ip be

twee

n the

Olym

pic C

oast

Disc

over

y Cen

ter

and t

he A

rthur

D. F

eiro M

arine

Life

Cente

r in P

ort A

ngele

s, W

ash.

locate

d adja

cent

to ea

ch ot

her,

the fa

cilitie

s offe

r com

pleme

ntary

expe

rienc

es fo

r visi

ting K

-12 s

tuden

ts. T

hrou

gh th

e new

prog

ram,

over

1,2

00 st

uden

ts ha

ve st

udied

mar

ine bi

ology

, usin

g acti

vities

de

velop

ed ar

ound

ocea

n lite

racy

princ

iples

. The

partn

ersh

ip co

ntinu

es

to ex

pand

to in

clude

the O

lympic

Par

k Ins

titute,

the C

lallam

Cou

nty

Marin

e Res

ource

s Com

mitte

e and

seve

ral re

giona

l priv

ate

found

ation

s. Se

attle

Aqu

ariu

m H

elps P

rom

ote O

cean

Lite

racy

Ol

ympic

Coa

st Na

tiona

l Mar

ine S

anctu

ary c

ontin

ued i

ts pa

rtner

ship

with

the S

eattle

Aqu

arium

in 20

09 to

bring

ocea

n scie

nce t

o ele

menta

ry stu

dents

in ru

ral c

ommu

nities

of th

e Olym

pic C

oast.

St

uden

ts fro

m the

Quin

ault,

Quile

ute, H

oh an

d Mak

ah In

dian

rese

rvatio

ns ha

ve vi

sited

the A

rthur

Feir

o Mar

ine Li

fe Ce

nter,

Olym

pic

Coas

t Disc

over

y Cen

ter an

d Sea

ttle A

quar

ium, in

addit

ion to

stud

ying

marin

e biol

ogy o

n the

ir loc

al be

ache

s. Th

e pro

ject, f

unde

d by a

NOA

A En

viron

menta

l Lite

racy

Gra

nt, is

in its

third

year

. Sa

nctu

ary C

ollab

orat

es o

n Oc

eano

grap

hic S

tudy

Sa

nctua

ry re

sear

ch st

aff co

ntribu

ted to

a gr

ound

brea

king r

epor

t, “An

Oc

eano

grap

hic C

hara

cteriz

ation

of th

e Olym

pic C

oast

Natio

nal M

arine

Sa

nctua

ry an

d Pac

ific N

orthw

est,”

prod

uced

in co

llabo

ratio

n with

NO

AA’s

Natio

nal C

enter

s for

Coa

stal O

cean

Scie

nce.

The r

epor

t co

mbine

d data

from

remo

te se

nsing

and o

ther s

ource

s to c

reate

an

over

view

of ph

ysica

l and

ocea

nogr

aphic

cond

itions

in th

e san

ctuar

y. Th

is inf

orma

tion p

rovid

es a

found

ation

for o

ngoin

g dec

ision

-mak

ing

nece

ssar

y for

man

aging

sanc

tuary

reso

urce

s. It a

lso re

fines

rese

arch

qu

estio

ns an

d prio

rities

and e

ngag

es re

sear

ch pa

rtner

s in

unde

rstan

ding o

ngoin

g tre

nds,

as w

ell as

cond

itions

that

emer

ge fr

om

clima

te ch

ange

, oce

an ac

idific

ation

and o

ther p

roce

sses

.