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Press Release |
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FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
NOAA R-414
June 4, 2002
CONTACT:
Sarah Marquis
NOS Sanctuaries West Coast
(949) 675-8117
CAROL KEIPER NAMED CHAIR OF SANCTUARY ADVISORY COUNCIL FOR CORDELL BANK NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY
Sailor, educator and marine mammal researcher Carol Keiper of Benicia, Calif., has been named Chair of the Sanctuary Advisory Council (SAC) for Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary, and Joe Smith, Board member with the West Marin Chamber of Commerce from Marshall, Calif., has been named Vice Chair. The council is composed of private sector and government representatives who provide advice and recommendations to the Sanctuary Manager for the Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), on issues affecting the 398-square nautical mile Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary.
The community-based council assures ongoing public involvement in management decision making while at the same time expanding the public's awareness about the Sanctuary and the challenging marine resource management issues it faces. The council's six voting members and four alternates represent a variety of local groups and the general public. Quarterly meetings are open to the public.
SAC Chair Carol Keiper represents the research community on the council. An avid sailor and educator for more than 20 years, she has led natural history trips to Cordell Bank and Gulf of the Farallones Marine Sanctuaries. Keiper has contributed to gathering baseline data on the physical, biological, and chemical oceanography of the Sanctuary.
Vice Chair Joe Smith, representing the Community-at-Large, serves on the Board of Directors with the West Marin Chamber of Commerce and as a volunteer for the West Marin Senior Services. He had served with the U.S. Navy and traveled extensively abroad with a special interest in island ecosystems.
Remaining SAC members include Thomas Lambert of Sebastapol (conservation seat), Jim Bybee of Santa Rosa (government seat), Richard Powers of Bodega Bay (maritime activity seat), and Doreen Moser of San Anselmo (education). Alternate members include Josh Churchman of Bolinas, Daniel Cohen of Bodega Bay, Bill McMillon of Sebastapol, and Kathy Soave of Corte Madera. Council members have been appointed competitively by NOAA and will serve three-year terms.
Designated in 1989, Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary is located about 52 miles northwest of the Golden Gate Bridge at the edge of the continental shelf. Upwellings of nutrient rich ocean waters and the bank's topography create one of the most biologically productive areas on the West Coast.
The National Marine Sanctuary Program, established in 1972 by the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, is administered by NOAA's Ocean Service (NOS). The goal of the sanctuaries act is to set aside and manage areas for resource protection, research, enhanced public education and compatible public and private uses.
Today, 13 national marine sanctuaries encompass more than 18,000 square miles of America's ocean and Great Lakes natural and cultural resources. For more information about the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary, visit http://www.sanctuaries.nos.noaa.gov.
NOS manages the National Marine Sanctuary Program and is dedicated to exploring, understanding, conserving and restoring the nation's coasts and oceans. NOS balances environmental protection with economic prosperity in fulfilling its mission of promoting safe navigation, supporting coastal communities, sustaining coastal habitats and mitigating coastal hazards. To learn more about NOS and the National Marine Sanctuary Program, please visit http://www.nos.noaa.gov.
