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In 1872 Yellowstone was established as America's first national park. One hundred years later, after a disastrous coastal oil spill and a series of reports on toxic ocean dumping, Congress created the National Marine Sanctuary Program. Like the national parks, marine areas on the American continent can be singled out for the same protection afforded the land sanctuaries. The program is administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
America's coastlines are under constant environmental pressure - 50% off all Americans live within 50 miles of an ocean coast or the Great Lakes. National marine sanctuaries can be identified for any number of reasons: to protect endangered marine animals, to preserve historical culture, to maintain biodiversity or ecological integrity. To date thirteen of these "underwater treasures" have been created. These marine sanctuaries protect over 18,000 square miles of ocean and coasts (83.3 million acres of United States land are protected).
President Gerald Ford designated America's first national marine sanctuary on January 30, 1975 - the site of the wreckage of the Civil War ironclad, USS Monitor, off the coast of North Carolina. The wreckage of the famous warship had been discovered resting in 240 feet of water off Cape Hatteras less than two years previous, more than 100 years after its sinking. In 1986 the USS Monitor was named a National Historic Landmark, the only underwater site so designated.
The USS Monitor was the only marine sanctuary designated solely for its historic resource until October 2000 when Thunder Bay on northern Lake Huron was similarly recognized. At least 116 ships have sunk and lie preserved in the cold freshwater of the lake, one of the densest concentrations of shipwrecks in North America. This memorial to shipping on the Great Lakes is also the first of the national marine sanctuaries to be in freshwater.
Later in 1975, Key Largo in Florida became the second national marine sanctuary, created to protect precious coral reefs and the breeding grounds of the loggerhead turtle. In 1990, Key Largo would join other coastal areas off south Florida as part of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Another important marine breeding ground under federal protection is in the Hawaiian Islands where a sanctuary guards the habitat of the humpback whale.
President Jimmy Carter designated the first Pacific Ocean sanctuary, the Channel Islands in southern California, in 1980. Four other Pacific sanctuaries have been developed, including 5,300 square miles in Monterey Bay, California, one of the largest marine protected areas in the world.
The first protected area accorded parklike recognition in the Gulf of Mexico was an important one. The Flower Garden Banks, one hundred miles off the coasts of Louisiana and Texas, had first been proposed as a marine sanctuary in 1979. After a dozen years it became the tenth National Marine Sanctuary in 1991 and today stands as a coral oasis in a sea of oil rigs.
Visitation to the national marine sanctuaries is encouraged. Some activities are regulated but in general such uses as scuba diving, fishing and boating are welcome. Most of the sanctuaries also offer research and educational facilities.
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