Contacts: Molly Bell FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Marc Suddleson 10/16/97The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has announced this year's recipients of the Walter B. Jones Memorial and NOAA Excellence Awards for Coastal and Ocean Resource Management. Winners of these prestigious awards will be recognized on Oct. 22 for their extraordinary efforts to protect and conserve the nation's coasts.
The awards program honors excellence in unique coastal and ocean resource management programs, as well as in public and private endeavors to conserve America's coasts.
"Estuarine and coastal wetlands are decreasing nationwide by an average of 31 square miles per year," said Jeffrey R. Benoit, director of NOAA's Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management. "Marine habitats are disappearing at an alarming rate, underscoring the fact that the nation's ocean and coastal resources are at serious risk. The award recipients are the folks who are helping to change the quality of our oceans and coasts."
The Jones award winners have demonstrated the positive impact public and private organizations and citizens can have in reversing these problems. The following were chosen from a pool of nearly 100 qualified nominees by an independent panel of judges. The criteria for evaluation are based on innovative approaches in coastal zone management --helping to maintain coasts and ocean resources and balance the needs of these resources with human use.
Coastal Steward of the Year
Cynthia A. Zipf,
Executive Director of Clean Ocean Action, Sandy Hook Highlands, New Jersey
Excellence in Local Government:
Kenai Peninsula Borough, Soldotna, Alaska
Town of Rye, New Hampshire
Natural Resources Department of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewas,
Odanah, Wisconsin
Manatee County Government Planning Department, Bradenton, Florida
Volusia County, DeLand, Florida
Volunteer of the Year
Susan Jordan, League for Coastal Protection, Manhattan Beach, California
Excellence in Coastal and Marine Graduate Study
DoSoo Jang, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware
Lillian Ferguson, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
Kristopher A. Pickler, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
John Field, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
Excellence in Promoting Cultural and Ethnic Diversity
Pat Flanagan, San Diego Museum of Natural History, Imperial Beach, California
Non-Governmental Organization of the Year Friends of the Bay, Oyster Bay, New York
Excellence in Coastal Zone Management
Leslie Jan Strnad, California Coastal Commission, Corralitos, California
Excellence in Estuarine Research Reserve Management
Michael Graybill, South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, Charleston,
Oregon
Excellence in Marine Sanctuary Management
Edward Ueber, Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary , San Francisco,
California
Excellence in Business Leadership
BP Exploration Inc., Gulf of Mexico (BPX), Houston, Texas
From dedicated individuals to entire communities, this year's 18 honorees embody the hard work and dedication that are vital to solving our coastal problems. For example, New Jersey's Cynthia Zipf plays a pivotal role in influencing state and national legislation and she has mobilized thousands of people to become coastal stewards. Alaska's Kenai Peninsula Borough worked with federal and state governments to achieve a balance between human use and conservation of the world- renowned natural resources of the Kenai River.
Congressman Walter B. Jones Jr. (R-3, N.C.) and D. James Baker, under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator, will preside over the awards ceremony, which begins at 8:30 a.m. in Rooms B338 and 339 of the Rayburn House Office Building.
Several of the awards are named after the late Congressman Walter B. Jones, former chairman of the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, who in 1990, under the reauthorization of the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA), granted NOAA the authority to honor American people and organizations who dedicated countless hours and energy to preserving coastal and ocean resources.
The CZMA created the National Coastal Zone Management Program, a unique and voluntary partnership of federal and state governments, to provide a balance between land and water uses in coastal zones and conservation of fragile coastal resources. The CZMA also created the National Estuarine Research Reserve System, a national system of estuarine reserves that represent coastal and estuarine habitats and provide long-term research and education to improve coastal management decision-making.
This year's ceremony is especially significant as NOAA celebrates the 25th anniversaries of CZMA and the National Marine Sanctuaries Act. Under the sanctuaries act, 12 marine sanctuaries have been created for preserving or restoring such areas for their conservation, recreational, ecological or esthetic values.