OUR VISION:
FOR AMERICA'S TREASURED OCEAN PLACES

We are pleased to share with you the final version of Our Vision for America's Treasured Ocean Places, our five-year plan for advancing the protection of the amazing ocean and Great Lakes places managed by NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. This document incorporates feedback from staff, members of the public, and a number of partner institutions and entities received throughout the process, including during a comment period posted in March 2017. 

This document does not – nor should it – catalog everything we do. It is meant to guide us in our decision processes and in prioritizing the actions we take through our 50th anniversary in 2022.

We are committed to having our team and partners recognize the goals set out in the document and, more importantly, their role in helping to achieve them.  We look forward to working with you.

The goals and objectives are the heart of the document and frame what actions we plan to take through 2022:

GOAL 1
ENSURE THRIVING SANCTUARIES AND OTHER OCEAN PARKS.
OBJECTIVE 1.1: Reduce threats to key species and marine habitats.
OBJECTIVE 1.2: Protect significant maritime heritage resources.
OBJECTIVE 1.3: Promote responsible human uses.
OBJECTIVE 1.4: Promote resilience and adaptation.

GOAL 2
SAFEGUARD MORE UNDERWATER TREASURES AS NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARIES.
OBJECTIVE 2.1: Incorporate additional nationally significant resources into existing sanctuaries.
OBJECTIVE 2.2: Implement designation processes for new areas.
OBJECTIVE 2.3: Identify additional resources of national significance.

GOAL 3
INCREASE SUPPORT FOR SANCTUARIES.
OBJECTIVE 3.1: Expand recognition of national marine sanctuaries.
OBJECTIVE 3.2: Increase sanctuary engagement.
OBJECTIVE 3.3: Create a vision for the next 50 years of sanctuaries.

GOAL 4
DEEPEN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF SANCTUARIES.
OBJECTIVE 4.1: Learn more about our sanctuaries.
OBJECTIVE 4.2: Track and predict conditions and trends.
OBJECTIVE 4.3: Understand the value of sanctuaries to our nation.

GOAL 5
ENSURE THE OFFICE OF NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARIES IS A GREAT PLACE TO WORK.
OBJECTIVE 5.1: Encourage a culture of collaboration, inclusion and respect.
OBJECTIVE 5.2: Increase staff satisfaction and performance.
OBJECTIVE 5.3: Invest in our people and their professional development.

NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries Accomplishments of 2017-2022 Strategic Plan

In 2017, NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries released Our Vision for America’s Treasured Ocean Places: A Five-Year Strategy for the National Marine Sanctuary System, which set a course for managing our nation’s most amazing ocean and Great Lakes places. Although not designed to capture everything we do, we used this plan to: keep ourselves organized, effective, and efficient; concentrate our people and resources on empowering communities to protect these important areas; improve our collaboration within NOAA and expand our partnerships with other government and non-governmental partners; more effectively bring ocean issues to the public; plot our course for our 50th anniversary in 2022; and make our office a more diverse and inclusive place to work.

2017-2022 Strategic Plan Accomplishments