A Message from the Superintendent

Hello Sounding Line Readers, ,

David Score

It is a pleasure to introduce this edition of our web-based Sounding Line series that recaps the highlights of an incredibly eventful year in working to sustain this special place that is our Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS). I hope you will share my sense of pride in the vision, accomplishments and important work undertaken by a tremendously dedicated group of individuals towards a common purpose. It was a year of new beginnings built on the strong foundation of the committed Florida Keys community. While we embarked on many new initiatives in 2007, we also honored the past accomplishments of a distinguished sanctuary veteran who ended a 50 year career of science and service to our marine environment. "Reef Doctor" Harold Hudson begins a new chapter in retirement and we thank him for all he has done and is yet to do.

The cover introduces the concept of reef resilience, which has emerged as a focus for both scientists and managers. The research to develop associated management strategies and alternatives is on the cutting edge in South Florida with the Florida Keys Sanctuary playing an important integration role. Recognizing that we cannot wait for the perfect solution, we highlight several projects focused on making a difference now. These include the valuable contributions of the Green Living Energy Education initiative, revisiting the status and goals for important large-scale restoration projects, and recognizing the valuable contributions of volunteers.

As this year comes to an end, we are happy to report that after a full and comprehensive evaluation of the 1996 sanctuary management plan we have adopted an updated plan with the full concurrence of NOAA and the state of Florida. Compelling and important is that the process to update the plan fully engaged the public and subject area experts with an outcome that the substantive information, goals, and objectives of the document remain unchanged. The 1996 plan was the result of an extremely involved seven-year process. This review validates that the outcome of that effort was valuable and continues to be relevant today. We have a large responsibility, and many challenges ahead of us. I look forward to meeting with you and encourage you to take the time to review the updated plan on the sanctuary's Web site, http://floridakeys.noaa.gov, and get involved to implement it.

Stay tuned in 2008 as we work to bring you the best available information on the status of our resources with the publication of a sanctuary "condition report", launch a redesigned Web site, conduct a comprehensive evaluation of our marine zones and regulations, and continue to sustain our strong partnerships focused on education, conservation, and restoration of the Florida Keys ecosystem.

Thanks for your interest, time and dedication.

Sincerely,

CDR Dave Score, NOAA
Superintendent