Sanctuary Nomination Process

NOAA invites communities across the nation to nominate their most treasured places in our marine and Great Lakes waters for consideration as national marine sanctuaries.

Community Builds a Nomination

Every nomination starts at the community level.

A group of people who care passionately about protecting an area of our nation's marine or Great Lakes waters come together to develop a nomination. This consists of gathering key information about the special place they wish to nominate and developing broad community support for the nomination.

Community Submits Nomination to NOAA

Once the necessary information has been gathered, the community submits its nomination to NOAA via email to sanctuary.nominations@noaa.gov or by mail to: Director, NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, 1305 East West Highway, N/NMS, 10th Floor, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

NOAA's Initial Review

In the initial review, NOAA evaluates the nomination to make sure it meets the basic requirements. If it does not, the nomination can be declined or sent back to the community for additional information. NOAA may decline it or send it back to the community for additional information. If the basic requirements are met, then the nomination package will move onto the next round of review.

Taking a Closer Look

After meeting the minimum requirements, the nomination package will then be evaluated for a variety of factors that make the nominated site a potential candidate for sanctuary designation. Questions that are considered include:

• Does the place have natural resources or habitat with special ecological significance?
• Does the place have maritime heritage resources with special historical, cultural, archaeological significance?
• Does the place have important economic uses like tourism, fishing, diving, and other recreational activities?
• Do all of these things depend on conservation and management of the resources?

Then, the following aspects are evaluated:

• Opportunities for marine research, education, or partnerships;
• Potential threats & impacts facing the place's marine resources;
• Existing management/regulations that could help with conservation efforts; and
• Importantly, broad community-based support.

Throughout this process, NOAA will work with the community to answer any questions that arise. NOAA will also engage any relevant tribal, state, or Federal entities at this time and may bring in external reviewers as needed.  At this point, NOAA will either accept or decline the nomination, or request additional information.

Nomination Is Accepted

When a nomination successfully passes the review phase, NOAA will notify the community that all the requirements have been met and the nomination has been accepted.

Nominated Area Added to Inventory

NOAA will place successful nominations in an inventory of areas it could consider for potential designation as a national marine sanctuary.

Next Steps

NOAA may consider an area added to the inventory for future designation as a national marine sanctuary. Sanctuary designation is a separate public process that by law, is highly public and participatory, and often takes several years to complete.