NOAA’s Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary Seeks Applicants for Advisory Council

June 17, 2008

NOAA’s Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary is seeking applicants to fill a primary seat representing education on its advisory council, which ensures public participation in sanctuary management and provides advice to the sanctuary superintendent.

The applicant who is chosen to fill the education seat will serve on a volunteer basis for a three-year term. The advisory council meets four to five times a year in daytime public sessions located throughout Marin and Sonoma counties.

Council members are selected based on their expertise and experience in relation to the seats for which they are applying. Considerations include knowledge of sanctuary resources, community and professional affiliations, views regarding the conservation and management of marine resources, and length of residence in the sanctuary area. Current seat holders may re-apply.

Council member application packages are available at the sanctuary’s Web site, http://cordellbank.noaa.gov, or by calling 415-663-0314, ext. 105. Completed applications must be submitted to Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary, P.O. Box 159, Olema, CA 94950 or by fax at 415-663-0315. Applications must be received by close of business July 31, 2008.

Designated in 1989, Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary encompasses 526 square miles of ocean northwest of San Francisco, Calif., where the combination of ocean conditions and undersea topography creates a highly diverse marine community. The site, which includes an offshore seamount, is a destination feeding ground for many marine mammals and seabirds.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 70 countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts, and protects.