About the Project
Lessons Learned from
Recent Marine Protected Area Designations in the United States
Overview
The National Marine Protected Areas Center initiated a project
to evaluate six recent marine protected area (MPA) planning processes.
The goal of this project was to identify "lessons learned" that
could improve ongoing and future planning processes.
Six MPA Designation Processes
The six MPA designation processes selected represented a range of
governmental levels and geographic regions. They included:
Multi-State/Federal Process: Schuster
Horseshoe Crab Reserve (Delaware Bay)
Federal/State Process: Channel Islands Marine Reserves
(California)
Federal/Fishery Management Council Process: Gulf of Mexico
Grouper Closures (Gulf of Mexico)
Federal/State/Local Process: San Juan County Bottomfish
Recovery Zones (Washington)
Federal/State Process: Tortugas Ecological Reserve (Florida)
State Process: Marine Life Protection Act (MPLA): Phase
I (California)
Phase One
The first phase of the Lessons Learned project objectively documented
the establishment processes. It included producing a timeline of
events and identifying the various entities involved in each process.
A report containing detailed case studies for five of the processes
is available at http://www.mpa.gov/pdf/helpful-resources/mpalessons-learned.pdf.
Phase Two
The second phase of the project involved interviewing participants
to get individuals' subjective perception of what worked and what
did not for each process. Contractors conducted this second phase,
selecting candidates to interview based on their unique experience
with and perspective on one or more MPA planning processes. In addition
to resource managers from involved agencies, a wide range of stakeholder
groups, including commercial and recreational interests, environmental
groups, and scientists were interviewed.
Final Report
The final report, Lessons
Learned from Recent Marine Protected Area Designations in the
United States, summarizes strengths and weaknesses and provides
recommendations for ongoing and future MPA planning efforts.
Contractor Team
In 2003, the National Marine Protected Areas Center and the David
and Lucile Packard Foundation provided financial support to the
National Fisheries Conservation Center and the Marine Resources
Assessment Group Americas, Inc. to bring impartiality to the interview
phase of the project. The team included:
Brock Bernstein, National Fisheries Conservation
Center
Suzanne Iudicello, National Fisheries Conservation Center
Charlie Stringer, Marine Resources Assessment Group Americas, Inc.
Heidi Lovett, Marine Resources Assessment Group Americas, Inc.
Special Thanks
The National Marine Protected Areas Center would like to thank all
the individuals who were interviewed for this project and who thoughtfully
provided their perceptions on the processes.
Link to Report
Lessons
Learned from Recent Marine Protected Area Designations in the
United States.
Related Documents from the National Marine
Protected Areas Center
These reports were developed by the National Marine Protected Areas
Center to complement the Lessons Learned project.
Marine
Protected Area Process Review: Case Studies of Five MPA Establishment
Processes
Involving
the Public: Legal Requirements for Public Participation
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