Guide to Submitting Nominations

Thank you for your interest in nominating an area of the marine or Great Lakes waters to become a national marine sanctuary. More detailed information can be found in the final rule establishing this process. NOAA staff are also available to answer questions throughout the nomination development and review process.

Please be aware while preparing your nomination that all nominating materials submitted to NOAA will be posted publicly on the website. Nominations should not include confidential business information or information that is sensitive or protected. NOAA will attempt to remove personal identifying information before a nomination is posted online, but please minimize including this type of information.

Document Guidelines

The nomination maximum length is 25 pages. Letters of support may be submitted as an appendix beyond the 25 page limit. No additional appendices will be accepted.

Nominations should use a Times New Roman font, 12 point font size, and one inch margins. Nominations that do not follow these formatting reasons will be returned.

The nomination must not include any copyrighted information without the nominator first acquiring for or granting to the Government a copyright license for the information.

The nomination package should be one submission containing all of the information to be considered. NOAA will not consider any additional information once the package is submitted.

Nomination Preparation Checklist

Please make sure you have included the following four sections in your nomination package:

Section I - Basics

• Nomination Title
• Nominator Name(s) and Affiliation(s)
• Nomination Point of Contact - Name, Phone, Email, Address

Section II - Introduction

• Narrative Description - a brief overview of the nomination
• Goals Description - a brief description of why you are nominating this area
• Location Description - a brief overview of the area being nominated, please be as specific and descriptive as possible

Section III - National Significance Criteria Information

Provide detailed information on each of the national significance criteria below that are relevant to your nomination.

National Significance Criteria 1

The area's natural resources and ecological qualities are of special significance and contribute to: biological productivity or diversity; maintenance or enhancement of ecosystem structure and function; maintenance of ecologically or commercially important species or species assemblages; maintenance or enhancement of critical habitat, representative biogeographic assemblages, or both; or maintenance or enhancement of connectivity to other ecologically significant resources.

National Significance Criteria 2

The area contains submerged maritime heritage resources of special historical, cultural, or archaeological significance, that: individually or collectively are consistent with the criteria of eligibility for listing on the National Register of Historic Places; have met or which would meet the criteria for designation as a National Historic Landmark; or have special or sacred meaning to the indigenous people of the region or nation.

National Significance Criteria 3

The area supports present and potential economic uses, such as: tourism; commercial and recreational fishing; subsistence and traditional uses; diving; and other recreational uses that depend on conservation and management of the area's resources.

National Significance Criteria 4

The publically-derived benefits of the area, such as aesthetic value, public recreation, and access to places depend on conservation and management of the area's resources.

Section IV - Management Consideration Information

Provide as much detailed information as you are able on each of the seven considerations, with an emphasis on describing the community support (Consideration #7).

Management Consideration 1

The area provides or enhances opportunities for research in marine science, including marine archaeology.

Management Consideration 2

The area provides or enhances opportunities for education, including the understanding and appreciation of the marine and Great Lakes environments.

Management Consideration 3

Adverse impacts from current or future uses and activities threaten the area's significance, values, qualities, and resources.

Management Consideration 4

A national marine sanctuary would provide unique conservation and management value for this area or adjacent areas.

Management Consideration 5

The existing regulatory and management authorities for the area could be supplemented or complemented to meet the conservation and management goals for the area.

Management Consideration 6

There are commitments or possible commitments for partnership opportunities such as cost sharing, office space, exhibit space, vessel time, or other collaborations to aid conservation or management programs for the area.

Management Consideration 7

There is community-based support for the nomination expressed by a broad range of interests, such as: individuals or locally-based groups (e.g., friends of group, chamber of commerce); local, tribal, state, or national elected officials; or topic-based stakeholder groups, at the local, regional or national level (e.g., a local chapter of an environmental organization, a regionally-based fishing group, a national-level recreation or tourism organization, academia or science-based group, or an industry association).

Questions

For questions regarding the sanctuary nomination process, please contact:
sanctuary.nominations@noaa.gov

Nomination Submission

Nominations should be addressed to the Director of NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and submitted by either:

NOAA Review

NOAA will conduct a qualitative analysis for each nomination based on the information submitted in the nomination package. Nominations will be judged on their own merit, and will not be judged against other nominations.

NOAA will review nomination packages for clear connections on the national significance criteria and management considerations. The strongest nominations will provide a significant amount of information on these items, with special emphasis on management consideration #7, describing community based support. Nominations should demonstrate broad support from a variety of stakeholders and interested parties.

There are no deadlines for submissions. Nominations will be reviewed on a rolling basis as they are received by NOAA. Please note that a high volume of submissions arriving at the same time may increase review timelines.