SEVENSEAS Marine Conservation & Travel Issue 18, November 2016 | Page 65

Destination MPA: Find Your Ocean Park

Cliff McCreedy and Maria Farias, National Park Service.

Ocean and Coastal Resources Branch, Water Resources Division

November 2016

This article is the third in a series on marine protected areas.

In 1872 when Congress conserved the marvels of Yellowstone as the United States’ first National Park, no one imagined the underwater wonders awaiting discovery and recognition under the oceans. Today, 88 ocean and Great Lakes parks offer spectacular places to visit in the U.S. National Park System. Thirty-four of these parks are members of the National System of Marine Protected Areas.

Together, these parks comprise a system of tremendous biological, cultural and recreational value to the nation. Coral reefs and kelp forests teem with vibrant marine life. Majestic headlands, verdant islands, and serene coastal bays form the seascapes inhabited and stewarded by generations of Native Americans, Hawaiians, Alaska Natives and Pacific Islanders. Remote barrier islands provide a haven for wildlife and quiet places to dig your toes into the sand. Lighthouses, shipwrecks and memorials tell stories of maritime commerce and sacrifice by seafarers and military servicemen and women.

The NPS Organic Act of 1916 directs the National Park Service to conserve these places unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations. On August 25, 2016 the Park Service celebrated its 100th Anniversary and kicked off a second century of stewardship and engaging communities in our parks. Throughout the Centennial 2016 year and beyond, the Park Service invites us to Find Your Park to expand our understanding of our ocean heritage and how it affects our daily lives.

In May, Dr. Sylvia Earle, aka “Her Deepness”, visited the kelp forest for a live, underwater broadcast in Channel Islands National Park, California and spoke to schools and the Biodiversity Festival on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Coastal Bioblitzes are being held throughout the parks, including Cabrillo National Monument, the first coastal park in the U.S. established in 1913. In May, the Monument hosted a BioBlitz and welcomed the public, particularly young people, to learn about its unique ecosystems and help park biologists document the diverse plant and animal species living in the rugged intertidal zone on the Cabrillo shoreline.

Dry Tortugas National Park, Gem in the Gulf of Mexico

Almost 70 miles west of Key West, Florida lies one of the country’s unique and remote ocean parks, Dry Tortugas National Park. In 1992, congress established Dry Tortugas NP and expanded the former Fort Jefferson National Monument “to protect and interpret a pristine subtropical marine ecosystem, including an intact coral reef community.” First discovered by the Spanish Explorer Ponce de Leon in 1516 and named for throngs of sea turtles he found, the 100-square mile park offers picturesque blue waters, superlative coral reefs, vast rookeries of rare seabirds, historic shipwrecks and Fort Jefferson, a 19th Century masonry fort with a rich history. Once heavily hunted, sea turtles nesting there today are protected as threatened species in the U.S.

Within the park is the Research Natural Area (RNA), a 46-square-mile marine reserve designed to restore and maintain ecological integrity and resilience by removing disturbance from fishing and boat anchoring. While fishing and anchoring are prohibited, the RNA remains open for boaters, divers, snorkelers and researchers to explore, enjoy and learn about the reserve’s abundant coral reefs, fish and seagrass. Studies have revealed that several species of fish are larger and more numerous inside the RNA, as a result of protection it provides them. The RNA in combination with the nearby Tortugas Ecological Reserves and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, protect spawning areas that provide a major source of young for the fisheries of the wider Florida Keys reef tract.

Access to the park is by ferry, seaplane or by private boat and is well worth the trip. Learn more about how to get there. www.nps.gov/drto

By the Numbers

U.S. Ocean and Great Lakes Parks

88 parks across 23 states and four U.S. territories

11,281 shoreline miles

2,504,570 acres of marine waters

89,212,379 recreation visits in 2015

Over $5 billion USD in visitor spending in 2015

Learn more about U.S. ocean parks: www.nps.gov/oceans

See http://findyourpark.com/

Learn more about diving the underwater wonders of the National Parks: https://www.nps.gov/submerged/homepage/npsmap2.html

Written by: byline details will be provided by McCreedy

In 1872 when Congress conserved the marvels of Yellowstone as the United States’ first National Park, no one imagined the underwater wonders awaiting discovery and recognition under the oceans. Today, 88 ocean and Great Lakes parks offer spectacular places to visit in the U.S. National Park System. Thirty-four of these parks are members of the National System of Marine Protected Areas.

Together, these parks comprise a system of tremendous biological, cultural and recreational value to the nation. Coral reefs and kelp forests teem with vibrant marine life. Majestic headlands, verdant islands, and serene coastal bays form the seascapes inhabited and stewarded by generations of Native Americans, Hawaiians, Alaska Natives and Pacific Islanders. Remote barrier islands provide a haven for wildlife and quiet places to dig your toes into the sand. Lighthouses, shipwrecks and memorials tell stories of maritime commerce and sacrifice by seafarers and military servicemen and women.

The NPS Organic Act of 1916 directs the National Park Service to conserve these places unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations. On August 25, 2016 the Park Service celebrated its 100th Anniversary and kicked off a second century of stewardship and engaging communities in our parks. Throughout the Centennial 2016 year and beyond, the Park Service invites us to Find Your Park to expand our understanding of our ocean heritage and how it affects our daily lives.

In May, Dr. Sylvia Earle, aka “Her Deepness”, visited the kelp forest for a live, underwater broadcast in Channel Islands National Park, California and spoke to schools and the Biodiversity Festival on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Coastal Bioblitzes are being held throughout the parks, including Cabrillo National Monument, the first coastal park in the U.S. established in 1913. In May, the Monument hosted a BioBlitz and welcomed the public, particularly young people, to learn about its unique ecosystems and help park biologists document the diverse plant and animal species living in the rugged intertidal zone on the Cabrillo shoreline.

Dry Tortugas National Park, Gem in the Gulf of Mexico

Almost 70 miles west of Key West, Florida lies one of the country’s unique and remote ocean parks, Dry Tortugas National Park. In 1992, congress established Dry Tortugas NP and expanded the former Fort Jefferson National Monument “to protect and interpret a pristine subtropical marine ecosystem, including an intact coral reef community.” First discovered by the Spanish Explorer Ponce de Leon in 1516 and named for throngs of sea turtles he found, the 100-square mile park offers picturesque blue waters, superlative coral reefs, vast rookeries of rare seabirds, historic shipwrecks and Fort Jefferson, a 19th Century masonry fort with a rich history. Once heavily hunted, sea turtles nesting there today are protected as threatened species in the U.S.

Within the park is the Research Natural Area (RNA), a 46-square-mile marine reserve designed to restore and maintain ecological integrity and resilience by removing disturbance from fishing and boat anchoring. While fishing and anchoring are prohibited, the RNA remains open for boaters, divers, snorkelers and researchers to explore, enjoy and learn about the reserve’s abundant coral reefs, fish and seagrass. Studies have revealed that several species of fish are larger and more numerous inside the RNA, as a result of protection it provides them. The RNA in combination with the nearby Tortugas Ecological Reserves and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, protect spawning areas that provide a major source of young for the fisheries of the wider Florida Keys reef tract.

Access to the park is by ferry, seaplane or by private boat and is well worth the trip. Learn more about how to get there. www.nps.gov/drto

By the Numbers

U.S. Ocean and Great Lakes Parks

88 parks across 23 states and four U.S. territories

11,281 shoreline miles

2,504,570 acres of marine waters

89,212,379 recreation visits in 2015

Over $5 billion USD in visitor spending in 2015

Learn more about U.S. ocean parks: www.nps.gov/oceans

See http://findyourpark.com/

Learn more about diving the underwater wonders of the National Parks: https://www.nps.gov/submerged/homepage/npsmap2.html

Written by: byline details will be provided by McCreedy

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