Final Management Plan Final Management Plan Summary Federal Register Publication Regulations Management Plan Review Introduction Management plans are sanctuary-specific documents that: describe regulations and boundaries; outline staffing and budget needs; set priorities and performance measures for programs; guide development of future management activities. The management plan review process, required by law for all national marine sanctuaries, is conducted to ensure that each site properly conserves and protects its nationally significant living and cultural resources. Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary (GRNMS) started reviewing its existing management plan in 1999. As part of the process, the Sanctuary Advisory Council was formed in August 1999. By 2001, the council consisted of 11 members representing education, research, sport diving, sport fishing, conservation, and selected government agencies. Since then, additional members have been added to the council representing charter/commercial fishing and two governmental seats. Once in place, the advisory council and sanctuary staff considered the original list of GRNMS goals and objectives from the 1983 plan, and modified them to be consistent with the most recent reauthorization of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act (2000), as well as contemporary issues. The management plan review process also relied on active public participation. In addition to producing a revised plan, the process brought together diverse stakeholder interests and expertise to shape and support new program directions that address current priority resource issues and conservation objectives. Eight public scoping meetings were held at which sanctuary users, members of the public and agencies identified issues and problems they said they thought GRNMS might be able to address. Approximately 2,000 people made comments on the draft plan. They expressed concerns and provided recommendations in person and via fax, telephone and email. The comments were incorporated into a summary report which was presented to the advisory council and distributed to all participants, the media, and other interested parties. Seven additional, separate public meetings were held to review the draft plan. GRNMS’s final Management Plan is now ready. The document is approximately 200 pages long. Learn more about managing Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary in an intro to management Sanctuary Advisory Council The Sanctuary Advisory Council plays an important role in sanctuary management. Find out more about our council membership, charter, calendar, meeting minutes, and reports. If you have any questions, feel free to contact the Council Coordinator via e-mail at Becky.Shortland@noaa.gov or phone at (912) 598-2381.