Frequently Asked Questions about the Sanctuary Nomination Process

NOAA's sanctuary nomination process is a public, community-based process by which a collection of interested individuals or groups can identify and recommend special areas of the marine or Great Lakes environment for possible designation as a national marine sanctuary.

A nomination should be submitted when a community believes that a marine or Great Lakes area meets the national significance criteria and management considerations, and would benefit from becoming a national marine sanctuary.

There are no deadlines for submissions. Nominations will be reviewed as they are received by NOAA.

The final rule establishing the Sanctuary Nomination Process provides more information on the community-based sanctuary nomination process, including what to include in a nomination. You may also use the Sanctuary Nomination Process Guide that includes a Nomination Check List to help prepare a nomination.

Communities can submit nominations to NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) via email at sanctuary.nominations@noaa.gov or via postal mail to:

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

Communities, in this context, are defined as a collection of interested individuals or groups (e.g., a "friends of" group, a chamber of commerce); local, tribal, state, or national agencies; 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). Through this nomination process, NOAA is seeking to give communities an opportunity to identify special marine and Great Lakes areas they believe would benefit from designation as a national marine sanctuary. There is no requirement for who may nominate an area for consideration. However, nominations should demonstrate broad support from a variety of stakeholders and interested parties.

NOAA will evaluate the strength of a nomination based on the information provided for the national significance criteria and management considerations, as listed and described in the final rule. The nomination should demonstrate broad support from a variety of stakeholders and interested parties, and also identify the specific goal or intent for nominating a national marine sanctuary.

NOAA anticipates its review of a nomination will take between three to six months, although additional time may be required for review of more complex nominations or if there are several nominations to review at the same time.

If a nomination requires supplementary information, NOAA staff will contact the nominator and identify what additional information is needed.

If the ONMS Director deems a nomination meets the national significance criteria and management considerations, the nomination will be added to a standing inventory of areas NOAA could consider for national marine sanctuary designation. NOAA will send a letter of notification to the nominator, and then publish a Federal Register notice when an area has been added to the inventory. The inventory and notification letters will also be posted on NOAA's sanctuary system website. Addition to the inventory is the last step in the nomination process.

NOAA's decision to place a nomination into the inventory means that the nominators successfully addressed the national significance criteria and management considerations most relevant to their nominated area. Once a nominated area is placed into the inventory it could be considered for designation. However, being in the inventory does not guarantee NOAA will begin the sanctuary designation process for that area, nor that it will take any management actions in that area, such as establishing regulations or restricting any existing uses. Regulations would only be considered once an area has begun the designation process as a national marine sanctuary. Any regulations ultimately implemented as part of a new national marine sanctuary will be determined with public input and review.

Once NOAA reviews a nomination and decides to place it in the inventory, the nomination process is finished. NOAA may decide to begin the separate national marine sanctuary designation process. NOAA must weigh several factors, including the availability of resources from both within and outside the agency, other management priorities, and public support, before deciding to begin the designation process for an area in the inventory. If NOAA determines sanctuary designation should be considered for a specific area, the agency will follow the procedures for designation identified in the National Marine Sanctuaries Act;, a process that is highly public and participatory, and which typically takes years to complete. Areas that begin pre-designation work may ultimately not be designated as a national marine sanctuary.

If NOAA determines sanctuary designation should be considered for a specific area, the agency will follow the highly public and participatory procedures for designation identified in the National Marine Sanctuaries Act. How long the process takes will depend on a range of factors including the complexity of the area being considered for designation, input from current user groups gathered during the initial scoping process, and availability of NOAA resources. In the past designations have taken about 3 to 5 years.

If NOAA takes no designation action on a nomination in the inventory, the nomination will be re-evaluated at five years. If a nomination remains responsive to the sanctuary nomination process criteria and considerations described in the 2014 Sanctuary Nomination Process final rule after five years, NOAA believes it may be appropriate to allow it to remain on the inventory for another five years. The process for which NOAA will use to evaluate a nomination as it approaches its five year anniversary on the inventory is described in the Clarification of Procedures for the Sanctuary Nomination Process.

All the nomination packages submitted to NOAA will be posted on the Sanctuary Nomination Process website. After each nomination has been reviewed, NOAA will also post its letter of acceptance or decline regarding inclusion of a nomination in the inventory. NOAA will not be conducting public hearings or taking public comment on specific nominations.

The sanctuary nomination process does not establish any new national marine sanctuaries, nor does it establish any regulatory protections NOAA would implement regulations only after a nominated area has gone through the sanctuary designation process -a separate activity that is highly public and participatory and typically takes years to complete.

As nominations come from local communities, NOAA has not set a limit on the number of nominations that will be considered.