Conserving Ocean and Marine Resources Northeast Region Ocean Park

National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Northeast Region Conserving Ocean and Marine Resources: Northeast Region Ocean Park Strategic Plan ON THE COVER Friendship, Salem Maritime National Historic Site. Photograph courtesy of Leighton O’Connor. Visitor education, Acadia National Park. Photograph courtesy of Sheridan Steele. Horseshoe Crabs (Limulus polyphemus), Photograph courtesy of Charles Roman. Conserving Ocean and Marine Resources: Northeast Region Ocean Park Strategic Plan National Park Service Northeast Region Ocean Stewardship Task Force Chair; General Superintendent, Gateway National Recreation Area (Barry Sullivan) Associate Regional Director, Planning and Partnerships (Robert McIntosh) Associate Regional Director, Operations (Linda Canzanelli) Associate Regional Director (acting), Resource Stewardship and Science (David Reynolds) Superintendent, Acadia National Park (Sheridan Steele) Superintendent, Assateague Island National Seashore (Scott Bentley) Superintendent, Boston Harbor Islands national park area (Bruce Jacobson) Superintendent, Boston National Historical Park (Terry Savage) Superintendent, Cape Cod National Seashore (George Price) Superintendent, Colonial National Historical Park (Daniel Smith) Superintendent, Fire Island National Seashore (Michael Reynolds) Superintendent, Fort McHenry National Monument (Gay Vietzke) Superintendent, George Washington Birthplace National Monument and Thomas Stone NHS (Vidal Martinez) Superintendent, New Bedford Whaling National Historic Site (Celeste Bernardo) Superintendent, Sagamore Hill National Historic Site (Greg Marshall) Superintendent, Salem Maritime and Saugus Iron Works National Historic Sites (Patricia Trap) Director, Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network (John Maounis) Regional Chief Scientist (Mary Foley) Research Coordinator, North Atlantic Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (Charles Roman) Workgroup Leaders Natural Resources: Cultural Resources: Carl Zimmerman, Assateague Island National Seashore Rebecca Cole-Will, Acadia National Park Allen Cooper, Northeast Region Protection/Enforcement: Steve Prokop, Cape Cod National Seashore Jay Lippert, Fire Island National Seashore Education/ Interpretation: Patti Reilly, Northeast Region Planning: Ellen Carlson, Northeast Region June 2007 U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service Northeast Region Philadelphia, Pennsylvania i Northeast Region Ocean Parks National Park Units IHS: International Historic Site NHP: National Historical Park NHS: National Historic Site NM: National Monument NP: National Park NRA: National Recreation Area NS: National Seashore Saint Croix Island IHS Acadia NP Boston Area Boston NHP Boston Harbor Islands NRA Salem Maritime NHS Saugus Iron Works NHS Cape Cod NS New Bedford Whaling NHP Sagamore Hill NHS Fire Island NS New York City and NJ Area Castle Clinton NM Ellis Island NM Gateway NRA Governors Island NM Statue of Liberty NM Fort McHenry NM and Historic Shrine Thomas Stone NHS Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network Assateague Island NS George Washington Birthplace NM Colonial NHP ii Conserving Ocean Park Resources: Purpose of the Northeast Region Strategic Plan Northeast Region ocean park units include some of our nation’s most outstanding marine environments associated with the ocean, bays, estuaries, and tidal rivers that characterize the northeast coast. These ocean parks also preserve the rich maritime heritage that helped define the nation. Responding to the US Ocean Action Plan, issued by the President in 2004, the National Park Service has launched a new initiative to provide an enhanced focus on ocean park marine resources. The National Park Service Ocean Park Stewardship Action Plan, announced in December 2006, commits to science-based management and conservation of marine resources, both natural and cultural, in the National Park System. The National Park Service Action Plan calls for an increased understanding of marine ecosystems and human interactions, restoration of impacted resources, and new measures to enhance park resource management efforts. Strengthening the capacity of the National Park Service to explore and protect marine resources, foster partnerships with marine and coastal-oriented agencies and organizations, and engage visitors in ocean park stewardship are fundamental to the Action Plan. The Northeast Region Ocean Park Strategic Plan will serve to lead the Region’s coastal parks toward implementation and achievement of the broad goals of the President’s US Ocean Action Plan and the National Park Service Ocean Park Stewardship Action Plan – enhanced marine resource conservation through science, management and protection, restoration, education, and partnership. In response to the recent Department of the Interior Global Climate Change Initiative, the Northeast Region Strategic Plan will also guide ocean parks as the response of resources to global change variables is researched and modeled and as management actions are investigated. This Strategic Plan was prepared by the Northeast Region Ocean Stewardship Task Force, commissioned by the Regional Director, and reflects widespread collaboration among park and regional programs of natural and cultural resources, planning and partnerships, interpretation and education, protection, and other operations. * * * * * * * * * * * * Components of the Strategy Consistent with the national-level Ocean Park Stewardship Action Plan, the Northeast Region Strategic Plan identifies specific goals and action items associated with four major topics: • • • Establish a seamless network of ocean parks, sanctuaries, refuges and reserves Discover, map, and protect ocean parks Engage visitors and the public in ocean park stewardship 1 • Increase technical capacity for ocean exploration and stewardship Some action items can be implemented and achieved within months, while others are more complex and will involve longer time-frames to fully implement. It is intended that the Strategic Plan will be periodically revised as action items are completed and as additional tasks are identified. * * * * * * * * * * * * Establish a seamless network of ocean parks, sanctuaries, refuges, and reserves Numerous federal, state and local agencies, and conservation-oriented organizations, share common mandates for protection of marine resources. Within the Northeast coastal zone, national park units are often immediately adjacent to or in near proximity to a US Fish and Wildlife Service refuge (e.g., Assateague Island National Seashore and Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge), a NOAA National Marine Sanctuary (e.g., Boston Harbor Islands national park area and Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary), a National Estuarine Research Reserve (e.g., Cape Cod National Seashore and Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve), or a state/local park (e.g., Fire Island National Seashore, Robert Moses State Park, Smith Point County Park). Each agency could more effectively and efficiently achieve their common ocean stewardship goals and responsibilities through enhanced collaboration. GOAL: Facilitate partnership opportunities among federal, state and local agencies and non-government organizations toward enhanced marine resource conservation and education • Convene workshops throughout the Northeast region, with multi-agency participation, to a) identify common stewardship responsibilities, b) identify priority marine resource threats that confront each agency, c) identify common priority research, inventory and monitoring needs, d) identify environmentally sensitive resources under stewardship of each agency, with a focus on common priority resources, e) identify the capacity for sharing of resources (e.g., personnel, facilities, personnel), and f) highlight opportunities among specific parks, refuges, sanctuaries, reserves and/or state/local conservation areas that will embrace the seamless network concept. In cooperation with the “Seamless Network Core Team” (NPS, NOAA Sanctuaries, US FWS, and NOAA Reserve Program) two pilot workshops are scheduled for calendar year 2007. These pilot workshops will focus on the Gulf of Maine region and the NYNJ Bight region and will engage all relevant disciplines (natural and cultural resources, protection/enforcement, education, planning) and key federal and state agencies and non-government partners. Gateway National Recreation Area, Jamaica Bay Institute, will organize and facilitate the NY Bight workshop. In subsequent fiscal years, workshops will be convened for the Chesapeake Bay Region, Southern New England (Buzzard’s Bay, Narragansett Bay, Long Island Sound), and other areas. 2 • • Propose and prepare a feasibility study to establish a National Ocean Center of Excellence at Gateway’s Sandy Hook Unit. A multi-agency Center (e.g., NPS, NOAA, USGS, US Coast Guard, others), with strong academic involvement, would serve the Region and the nation, advance the seamless network concept, and promote the marine exploration, protection, policy, and education goals of the Northeast Region Strategic Plan. Create opportunities to co-locate agency personnel, on a long-term basis or short-term details, with the goal of facilitating collaboration and implementation of the seamless network concept. * * * * * * * * * * * * Discover, Map, and Protect Ocean Parks The Northeast Region has stewardship responsibility for a significant amount of submerged marine area. For example, at Fire Island National Seashore 75% of the total park area is defined as submerged ocean or bay environment, while a modest portion of the park is terrestrial (e.g., dunes, maritime forest, salt marsh). At both Gateway National Recreation Area and Assateague Island National Seashore over 60% of the total park areas are submerged marine habitat. Resulting from decades of studies, inventories, assessments, and monitoring, our knowledge of natural and cultural resources associated with terrestrial areas of ocean parks is relatively robust, but for the submerged portions that are often a major park component our fundamental information base is limited. Bathymetry, sediment type and submerged habitat maps are the kinds of basic information that are critical for park managers to effectively design resource protection strategies, identify restoration needs, implement resource monitoring, and provide for recreation opportunities. Submerged archeological resources that document the exploration, colonization, and development of commerce in the Region are increasingly the subject of active management decisions, yet the location and status of most of these resources within park marine boundaries has not been systematically surveyed. Our understanding of how submerged environments and associated biota, historic resources, and archeological resources are responding to climate change (e.g., sea-level rise, changing storm frequencies and intensities, changing salinity and temperature) and other issues (e.g., nutrient input, fishing pressure), must be strengthened to support scientificallyinformed management decisions. GOAL: Inventory and map natural and cultural resources within the submerged boundaries of ocean parks • Prepare a plan to inventory and map submerged natural and cultural resources. Existing data sets will be compiled (from NPS and other sources), inventory and mapping data gaps will be identified, and a study plan will be prepared guiding the Northeast Region, ocean parks, and partners with details on the collection of fundamental information. Development of the natural resource aspects of the study plan is underway and will be completed by December 2007; however, to facilitate collaboration among disciplines, the study plan will identify inventory and mapping 3 • • • technologies that can be used in parallel for both natural and cultural resource initiatives. Pursue a Centennial Challenge Signature project to facilitate an integrated program to inventory and map submerged natural and cultural resources, understand resource condition, and develop protection strategies. Conduct archeological overviews and assessments for submerged cultural resources (shipwrecks and other submerged archeological sites) of all Northeast Region ocean parks. These assessments, working collaboratively with partners, will consolidate existing information on the location, status, and historical/cultural significance of all known resources and propose follow-up studies using existing and new technologies to discover presently unknown cultural resources. Define and understand linkages of submerged cultural resources, cultural landscapes, and historic structures toward development of a holistic approach to stewardship of maritime-related cultural resources. Begin at pilot parks, Salem Maritime National Historic Site and the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area. GOAL: Understand and quantify threats to natural and cultural submerged resources, including those associated with climate change and land and water-based activities, identify impaired or threatened resources, and develop mitigation or restoration strategies. • Evaluate park natural resource conditions, including an evaluation of stressors/threats. Supported through the NPS Park Condition Assessment Program, initiated in FY06 and continuing through FY09. • Inventory existing marine and coastal resource mitigation/restoration projects, related to both natural and cultural resources, to demonstrate accomplishments throughout the Northeast Region and to serve as models for new projects that may be required to restore impaired resources. • Collaboratively with the USGS, identify and initiate targeted studies to enhance understanding of natural and cultural resource responses to specific threats, as well as responses to global change variables (e.g., sea level rise, increasing ocean temperature, changing storm frequencies and intensity). • Fire Island National Seashore has begun the process of evaluating, with partners, the Research Natural Area concept, as identified in the National Park Service Management Policies, to facilitate enhanced research opportunities within the park’s submerged boundaries, to evaluate the effectiveness of conservation methods, and to increase public awareness of the Seashore’s role in ocean stewardship. This could serve as a model for other ocean parks. GOAL: Expand the natural resource vital signs monitoring program to more fully address ocean and estuarine resources • Identify priority monitoring needs that are essential for quantifying and understanding changes in processes, biota, and/or stressors that are relevant to submerged and nearshore ocean and estuarine environments. These will complement ongoing or planned vital signs monitoring that is focused on shoreline change processes, salt marsh habitats, rocky intertidal habitats, and the response of estuaries to nutrient 4 • enrichment. Convene a workshop, similar to the process used during the Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network and Northeast Temperate Network vital signs planning stages. Spotlight 1-2 vital signs, using existing data, that characterize the current condition and/or threats on ocean park submerged natural resources. These could be related to tracking of trends in fish landings or shellfish bed closures, occurrences of non-native marine species, land use changes, climate change factors, and others. Incorporate these vital signs into public education programs, such as citizen science. GOAL: Understand and anticipate the role of ocean park stewardship, within the urban corridor, given changing demography, development patterns, economies, and societal preferences • Engage social scientists, demographers, planners, economists, and others to prepare research papers on societal changes that will be relevant to the ocean stewardship goals of the Strategic Plan. For long-term effectiveness, management actions related to conservation of ocean park resources must anticipate our changing society Enhanced presence of the National Park Service within marine environments can be accomplished through expanded boat patrol activities, labeling of park boundaries on maps, and marine-related visitor education programs, all serving to reinforce the message that the National Park Service is fully committed to marine resource stewardship. Moreover, effective protection of ocean parks and establishment of cooperative programs with local, state, and federal partners (the seamless network concept) requires a clear understanding of submerged marine resource jurisdictions and authorities. This topic is complex and varies among individual parks, states, and local entities. GOAL: Expand understanding of ocean park boundaries, jurisdictions and authorities • Facilitate preparation of a Solicitor’s opinion on boundaries, jurisdictions and authorities for each Northeast Region ocean park, including a discussion on relevance to fishing and shellfishing, submerged cultural resource protection, and other marine activities. Parks entering the general management planning process should be given high priority. The DOI Regional Solicitor’s Office has completed an analysis and clarification of jurisdictional issues regarding fishing/shellfishing for Fire Island National Seashore. A more comprehensive analysis that addresses all issues of significance to marine resource jurisdictions and authorities is underway for Gateway National Recreation Area. • Convene a workshop for park managers aimed at clarifying ocean park jurisdictional issues. Coordinate this effort through the DOI Regional Solicitor’s Office. Planned for fall 2007. 5 GOAL: Increase the National Park Service ocean and marine presence • In cooperation with the national-level Ocean Park Stewardship Task Force and NOAA, include park boundaries on digital and printed nautical charts. Interact with state and local agencies, sportfishing and bait shops, recreational boating organizations, and others to display park boundaries on fishing maps, recreational guides, websites, tide charts, and other media. Evaluate the feasibility of using buoys to mark park boundaries. • Promote and expand joint marine enforcement patrol operations with other agencies. Identify a law enforcement ranger, at each park, to serve as a liaison with nearby marine enforcement agencies to maintain communication and plan regular patrols. • Establish an ocean park network of strategically located telephone “tip lines” (e.g., boat launches, bait shops, public docks, visitor centers) to facilitate reporting of marine violations in a timely manner and to reinforce the National Park Service message of ocean stewardship. Effective long-term conservation of park marine resources will be dependent on implementation of planning strategies that anticipate issues to be confronting ocean parks. Planning tools that are relevant to marine resource stewardship must be embraced and incorporated into park planning efforts. GOAL: Proactively inform park management and the public of emerging issues that could impact the status and function of marine resources. Identify strategies to address these issues. • Prepare synthesis papers on emerging issues, with discussion on expected impacts on cultural and natural resources, park operations, and visitor experiences, and including discussion of regulatory, planning, and other strategies to address these issues. Issues to address could include alternative energy development (wind turbines, wave and tidal power), LNG facility siting, aquaculture, coastal development pressure, shoreline stabilization practices, dredging, and accelerated rates of sea level rise and other climate change topics. Emerging issue synthesis papers could be developed for specific parks or be relevant to the region and multiple parks. • Prepare a written guide describing the variety of planning methods available for enhancing conservation of park marine resources, including special designations such as outstanding national water resources, marine reserves, and others. • Engage in state and local watershed planning efforts and encourage implementation of smart-growth and best management practices, conservation easements, and other approaches to lessen impacts from activities that are external to park boundaries. For example, Assateague Island National Seashore is an active participant in the Maryland Coastal Bays Program, a multi-agency regional planning effort, while Acadia National Park has demonstrated the effectiveness of a conservation easement program. 6 GOAL: Adopt a strategy of advance planning to insure that park-specific ocean stewardship issues and knowledge (both natural and cultural resources) are available and synthesized for planning teams • In advance of the upcoming general management planning process at Assateague Island National Seashore and Gateway National Recreation Area (and other ocean parks as General Management Plans are scheduled), identify the key issues that will be of relevance and then prepare papers that synthesize and interpret the available literature and data, describe historic and current management and regulatory activities related to each issue, and identify information gaps. Synthesis papers as described here were developed prior to the Fire Island National Seashore general management planning process and have been useful references for the planning team, as well as serving to inform the public of key issues. * * * * * * * * * * * * Engage Visitors and the Public in Ocean Park Stewardship Northeast Region coastal parks, all located in the vicinity of major population centers, provide extraordinary venues to communicate ocean stewardship messages. The status of coastal and ocean ecosystems, understanding ocean-related climate change topics and expected societal consequences, fostering changes in daily habits that would promote ocean resource conservation, and cultivating innovative thinking on approaches for ocean resource protection, are some of the messages that will enhance knowledge and awareness of critical marine resource issues. On-site and virtual park visitors, community neighbors, teachers, students, park staff and volunteers are just some of the broad audience that can be reached with a diversity of education and communication techniques. GOAL: Create a communication strategy for ocean parks to better inform the public on topics of ocean stewardship • Develop a communication strategy that will identify consistent ocean stewardship messages at the region and park level, identify core audience interests, and suggest preferred media approaches. An effective communication strategy will insure presentation of consistent ocean stewardship messages among parks and provide messages for targeted audiences. Information must be communicated in a manner that recognizes and incorporates the complexity of issues confronting ocean park managers (e.g., the global climate change issue), from both technical and policy perspectives. Interpreters, educators, and natural and cultural resource professionals will convene to refine the key messages and concepts relevant to ocean stewardship in the Northeast Region. GOAL: Enhance awareness and understanding of ocean stewardship issues through the development of interpretive materials 7 • • • • • Develop a thematic, curriculum-based resource guide, aimed at teachers and nonformal education partners (e.g., local boating and fishing clubs, park friends groups). Facilitate development of an ocean park stewardship program at the 2008 conference of the National Science Teachers Association, to be held in Boston. Work collaboratively with the National Park Service Natural Resource Office of Education and Outreach. Develop an annotated list of sources of ocean stewardship interpretive information (from both NPS and non-NPS sources) and a list of potential partners involved with ocean literacy. These tasks will serve to avoid duplication of effort, foster connections among parks, and facilitate multi-partner collaborations. Develop regionally generic interpretation materials and templates articulating the key ocean stewardship messages and concepts. Disseminate to parks for inclusion of parkspecific messages and for use in a variety of media, including brochures, powerpoints, panel displays, and web pages, as well as audio and audio/visual outlets. Evaluate the effectiveness of education and outreach approaches in advancing the ocean stewardship message and capitalize on the evaluation strategy in the Interpretation and Education Renaissance Action Plan. GOAL: Explore approaches to engage visitors, teachers and students in the practice of ocean stewardship through experiential learning and recreation • Engage the public in marine environment bio-blitz programs and incorporate citizen involvement in ocean park natural resource monitoring. Test the concept at Gateway National Recreation Area’s aquatic bioblitz scheduled for fall 2007. The Northeast Temperate Network is developing a citizen-involved monitoring protocol for marine intertidal resources at Acadia National Park and Boston Harbor Islands. Other citizen monitoring programs should be investigated, perhaps including a more active engagement of the park recreational fishing communities in tag and release monitoring and research programs sponsored by state and federal agencies, and academic researchers. • Develop prototype self-guided marine trails (e.g., canoe, kayak) that inform recreational users of natural and cultural resource significance and ocean stewardship issues. • Develop a distance learning venue for middle and high school students, modeled after Estuary Live, a one-hour, web broadcast, interactive field trip to Gateway’s Jamaica Bay estuary. • Link ocean stewardship messages with the Northeast Region’s Civic Engagement and 21st Century Relevance task groups to maximize public benefit and cultivate new park stewards GOAL: Demonstrate a commitment to ocean stewardship through adoption of sustainable operations and practices at ocean parks • Launch a “green marina” initiative at Northeast Region ocean parks as marina concession contracts are negotiated (Fire Island, Gateway, Boston Harbor Islands) and 8 • • work collaboratively with local communities to encourage “green harbors” that are within or adjacent to park boundaries. Identify specific alternative park operation approaches that will contribute to sustainability of ocean resources (e.g., alternative-designed septic systems, mooring buoys). Develop a “conserve your ocean resources” traveling display that demonstrates sustainable actions that contribute to ocean stewardship, with examples from programs implemented at Northeast Region ocean parks. * * * * * * * * * * * * Increase Technical Capacity for Ocean Exploration and Stewardship Northeast Region ocean parks have a long history of committing to ocean resource stewardship through active resource assessment, science, protection, education and planning programs, but this dedication must be enhanced through collaboration with partners, sharing of resources among parks and among partners, marine and ocean focused training, and the investment of new personnel, equipment, facilities, and support. GOAL: Maximize the existing capacity of the Northeast Region and ocean park units to engage in stewardship activities • Conduct an inventory of existing NPS resources (personnel, equipment, facilities, cooperative partnerships, others) capable of engaging in natural and cultural resource ocean park initiatives, resource protection, planning, and interpretation and education. Prepare a directory of resources that could be shared within and among ocean park units, including sharing of personnel, boats, and technical facilities and equipment (e.g., laboratories, field sampling equipment). • Create programs dedicated to ocean stewardship within the Northeast Region’s Research Learning Centers. The Research Learning Centers could become centers of regional and national excellence on specific marine ecosystem types or topics, such as rock-bound coastal ecosystems (Schoodic Education and Research Center – Acadia), sea-level rise and shoreline process interactions (Atlantic Research Center – Cape Cod), urban coastal ecosystems (Jamaica Bay Institute – Gateway), and ocean stewardship education (Conservation Studies Institute – Marsh Billings). • The Research Learning Centers and North Atlantic Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) will sponsor technical workshops, symposia and training to enhance local knowledge of ocean issues; initiate ocean resource fellowship programs; and facilitate student and faculty research in ocean parks. Focus areas will be related to marine natural resources, marine archeology, maritime history, and coastal planning and policy. • In cooperation with the national Ocean Park Stewardship Task Force, facilitate collaboration with regional ocean-related inventory, mapping, and research programs of USGS, NOAA, and USEPA. 9 • Cooperate with the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) to host the coastal marine law enforcement training course at a Northeast Region park. This will increase the capacity of parks to safely engage in marine-related enforcement activities aimed at protecting ocean resources. GOAL: Increase the technical capacity for ocean exploration and stewardship • Identify and prioritize specific ocean stewardship programs that require a new investment in personnel, equipment, facilities, and/or support funds in order to be effective. Seek to fulfill these new investment needs through National Park Service and partner sources. • Continue to seek opportunities to obtain high quality surplus boats from federal marine enforcement agencies. • Propose and prepare a feasibility study to establish a National Ocean Center of Excellence at Gateway’s Sandy Hook Unit. A multi-agency Center (e.g., NPS, NOAA, USGS, US Coast Guard, others), with strong academic involvement, would serve the Region and the nation, advance the seamless network concept, and promote the marine exploration, protection, policy, and education goals of the Northeast Region Strategy. Pursue a Centennial Challenge Signature project to implement this action item. * * * * * * * * * * * * Moving the Strategic Plan Forward The goals and action items that follow are addressed, in some capacity, throughout the Strategic Plan, but they deserve special mention because of their broad significance and relevance to all of the general Strategic Plan categories (Seamless Network; Discover, Map and Protect; Engage Visitors; Increase Technical Capacity). GOAL: Generate awareness among park managers on the significance of marine resources and protection responsibilities • Design and implement a pilot Ocean Park Rapid Assessment Program that will include a 2-day park visit and follow-up assessment report to inform park managers of the Strategic Plan, conduct an initial characterization of existing knowledge and capacity, identify management issues, develop park-specific ocean stewardship goals, and identify marine-related partners, among other topics. Conduct two pilot rapid assessments in FY08. GOAL: Evaluate the effectiveness of the Northeast Ocean Park Stewardship Strategy in conserving coastal and marine resources • Develop a process to evaluate progress that is made with ocean park stewardship throughout the Region. Establish specific criteria to measure progress, 10 accomplishments, and success in areas of natural and cultural resource conservation, enforcement protection, planning, education, and interpretation. Establish a schedule for monitoring progress. GOAL: Pursue funding opportunities to increase the technical capacity for ocean exploration and stewardship • Northeast Region ocean parks authorized to collect recreational fees under the Recreation Fee Enhancement Program should consider using 80% funds to support ocean stewardship activities. Ocean stewardship projects that have a direct visitor connection through interpretation and education, restoration of resources, health and safety improvements, and law enforcement would be appropriate under the Recreation Fee Enhancement Program. In addition, the Northeast Region Ocean Stewardship Task Force will prioritize proposals for use of 20% recreation fee funds to support ocean stewardship projects in non-fee collection ocean parks. • In association with the new flexible park base funding program, associated with the National Park Centennial Initiative, the Northeast Region Ocean Stewardship Task Force will solicit and prioritize a series of park-based proposals (or proposals from clusters of ocean parks) to focus on specific ocean-related needs as identified in this Strategic Plan. • Partnerships are fundamental to success of the Northeast Region Ocean Park Strategic Plan and fundamental to the National Park Centennial Initiative. The Northeast Region will pursue several Centennial Challenge Signature projects aimed at advancing our understanding of ocean park resources through the fostering of productive partnerships (e.g., National Ocean Center of Excellence at Gateway National Recreation Area – Sandy Hook Unit; develop an integrated program to inventory and map submerged natural and cultural resources, understand resource condition, and initiate protection strategies. * * * * * * * * * * * * Conserve Park Ocean Resources for Future Generations Promoting stewardship of ocean park marine resources is not new to the Northeast Region, but a comprehensive ocean park strategy that looks to the future, integrates all programs (natural and cultural resources, operations and protection, interpretation and education, planning and partnerships), calls for focused collaboration within and between parks, facilitates partnerships, and addresses the complex issues of global climate change is new. This Strategic Plan provides the Northeast Region with the vision to become a leading partner in the conservation and restoration of marine resources and maritime heritage that define our ocean parks. 11 As the nation's primary conservation agency, the Department of the Interior has responsibility for most of our nationally owned public land and natural resources. This includes fostering sound use of our land and water resources; protecting our fish, wildlife, and biological diversity; preserving the environmental and cultural values of our national parks and historical places; and providing for the enjoyment of life through outdoor recreation. The department assesses our energy and mineral resources and works to ensure that their development is in the best interests of all our people by encouraging stewardship and citizen participation in their care. The department also has a major responsibility for American Indian reservation communities and for people who live in island territories under U.S. administration. June 2007 National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Northeast Region Philadelphia, Pennsylvania http://www.nps.gov/nero/oceans/ EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICA TM