September 17, 2015 — The Obama administration appears to be considering a marine monument off the coast of New England, with federal officials holding a “town hall” meeting on the idea earlier this week.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration organized the meeting in Providence, R.I. More than 100 people attended — with some estimates exceeding 300 — to debate the protection of deep-sea canyons and underwater mountains 150 miles offshore.
Environmental groups proposed the monument just two weeks ago, urging President Obama to use the Antiquities Act to permanently protect almost 5,000 square nautical miles (Greenwire, Sept. 1). Such requests are not unusual as Obama nears the end of his term and ramps up his use of the act.
But this time, the proposal came from a coalition of some of the largest conservation groups. Among them: the Natural Resources Defense Council, Earthjustice, the Conservation Law Foundation, Pew Charitable Trusts and Environment America. Other groups also voiced their support.
Within days, NOAA announced a town hall to “discuss permanent protections” off New England. The agency has been vague on details; it has not specified that the discussion will inform the White House for a possible marine monument.
But the agency is not proposing a marine sanctuary, according to spokeswoman Ciaran Clayton. Such sanctuaries, which are created and managed by NOAA, can take years to materialize.
“NOAA hasn’t proposed anything,” Clayton said in an email before Tuesday night’s public meeting. “We’re holding this town hall because there’s been interest from a number of groups on many types of protections. The public meeting is an opportunity for stakeholders to provide input.”