Marine
Mammals and Endangered Species
With
enactment of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (1972) and the Endangered
Species Act (1973), NOAA was given specific responsibility for the
conservation of marine mammals and endangered marine species. The
Marine Mammal Protection Act charged the Department of Commerce/NOAA
with federal functions required to ensure the protection of marine
mammals and imposed a U.S. moratorium on the taking and importation
of marine mammals. The NOAA Administrator serves as the U.S. representative
to the International Whaling Commission and over the years has made
significant progress in developing and implementing substantial reductions
in worldwide whaling activities.
The Endangered
Species Act charged the Departments of Commerce/NOAA and Interior
with responsibility for the conservation, protection and propagation
of species and subspecies of fish and wildlife that are presently
threatened with extinction, which are endangered, or are likely to
become endangered.
With
enactment of the legislation in 1973, NOAA became responsible for
most marine species of mammals and fish, reptiles, and invertebrates.
Administering these responsibilities required the development and
implementation of both: control measures (e.g., surveillance to stop
illegal imports and exports of marine mammals and endangered species
and regulation of the incidental take of marine mammals like porpoises
in commercial fisheries); and strong supporting research programs.
Since 1973, significant activities in this area have included:
•
administration of the Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea -- a special
reservation for the conservation and management of a herd of North
Pacific fur seals under a four-nation agreement supervised by the
United States;
•
major improvements in our understanding of the life history and behavior
of sea turtles and cooperative efforts with industry to develop a
"turtle excluder device" to help protect sea turtles from fish trawls;
•
a collaborative effort with industry to design and implement an escape
device which allows fishermen to rescue porpoises caught in tuna nets;
and
•
substantial improvements in our understanding of the nature and current
status of whale stocks worldwide.
Ocean
and Coastal Resources
In 1972,
Congress recognized a pressing need to conserve the Nation's coastal
lands and shorelines and passed the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA).
With the President's signature, this Act established a significant
partnership between the Federal Government and coastal states -- a
partnership which recognized joint responsibility for a program to
ensure the wise use of coastal resources.
Responsibility
for the Federal share of this partnership was assigned to NOAA. Under
the CZMA, states were encouraged to develop individual management
plans for their coastal zones. The Federal Government, through NOAA,
was to establish general guidelines for such plans and provide financial
and technical assistance to the states as they developed and began
implementing the resulting coastal zone management programs. Planning
grants were provided to states through 1979. Once a plan was approved,
the Act authorized NOAA to provide direct financial support, also
in the form of grants, to assist states in administering their new
programs. By 1979, all thirty coastal states and four of the five
eligible territories had participated in the program and coastal programs
in 19 states, covering 68% of the Nation's shoreline, had received
Federal approval. [27] By 1986, ninety percent of the U.S. coastline
would be covered by approved Federal plans in twenty-nine states and
territories. Federal responsibility to encourage participation in
this voluntary program has been successfully pursued.
In addition
to direct financial assistance, NOAA has administered an additional
incentive for state participation in the program. Known as the "consistency
provisions," Section 312 of the Act requires that, once a program
is approved, Federal actions directly affecting a state's coastal
zone must be consistent with that approved program. NOAA remains responsible
for continuous monitoring and evaluation of state programs to ensure
their conformance to the CZMA and, therefore, the ability of the states
to require Federal consistency.
The 1976
amendments to the CZMA established a ten-year, $1.2 billion Coastal
Energy Impact Program to provide financial assistance to coastal states
and communities affected by coastal energy activity. These amendments
recognized the fact that the coastal zone provides an attractive site
for much of the Nation's energy activities, including power plants,
refineries and offshore oil and gas development. NOAA was responsible
for administering this program which was designed to help states with
approved coastal zone programs deal with the economic, social and
environmental costs associated with energy development.
Section
315 of the CZMA authorized NOAA to participate with states in a 50/50
cost-sharing program to acquire and manage special, relatively undisturbed
estuarine areas set aside to serve as natural field laboratories in
which to study and gather data on the natural and human processes
occurring within those critical environments. NOAA began immediately
to establish a nationwide network of biologically and geographically
unique estuarine "reserves" and, by September 30, 1980, nine such
sanctuaries were already in operation in: Oregon, Georgia, Hawaii,
Ohio, Florida, California, Washington, and Rhode Island.
A similar
program to protect unique areas of ocean waters was authorized by
Title III of the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA)
enacted in 1972. This legislation authorizes the Secretary of Commerce,
with the approval of the President, to designate ocean waters as marine
sanctuaries for the purpose of preserving or restoring their conservation,
recreational, ecological or esthetic value. The first such marine
sanctuary, was designated in 1975 in waters off Cape Hatteras, North
Carolina, to protect the wreckage of the Civil War iron-clad ship
USS Monitor. As of September 30, 1980, two other sanctuaries
had been designated:
•
the Key Largo Coral Reef Marine Sanctuary near Miami, Florida which
protects a 100-square mile coral reef area adjacent to the John Pennekamp
Coral Reef State Park; and
•
the Northern Channel Islands Marine Sanctuary off the California coast
designated to protect an area vital to a number of species of marine
birds and mammals.
Throughout
the seventies and eighties, NOAA has continued to implement the marine
sanctuaries program to provide long-term, comprehensive management
for these special marine areas focused on resource protection, public
education and research/assessment aimed at improving marine resources
management decisions and encouraging maximum public use consistent
with resource protection.
In the
area of marine pollution, Congress enacted two principal pieces of
legislation in the 1970's which guided NOAA activities in this area.
The 1972 Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act, in addition
to establishing the marine sanctuaries program, charged NOAA with
monitoring and research on ocean dumping activities as well as research
on the possible, long-range effects of pollution, overfishing, and
man-induced changes in ocean ecosystems.
The Ocean
Pollution Research and Development and Monitoring Planning Act of
1978 (known as the Ocean Pollution Planning Act) recognized the need
for a national program to investigate the fates and effects of pollutants
on the marine environment and charged NOAA with lead-agency responsibility
for developing and implementing a continuous five-year plan for such
a program. Throughout the seventies and into the eighties, NOAA responded
to these charges with a number of activities including:
•
dumpsite investigations and supporting laboratory research to determine
the consequences of ocean dumping of dredged material and municipal
and industrial wastes;
•
a comprehensive program of research to detect man-made changes in
the ocean and Great Lakes environments which may have long-term, adverse
consequences;
•
multi-disciplinary studies in selected coastal regions including the
New York Bight, Puget Sound, Gulf of Mexico, and Great Lakes to improve
understanding of the dynamics of these ecosystems and strengthen a
capability to predict the effects of pollutants and other man-induced
changes to those ecosystems;
•
scientific support to the Coast Guard in the event of a spill of oil
or other hazardous material in coastal waters;
•
providing financial support for ocean pollution research development
and monitoring projects under Section 6 of the National Ocean Pollution
Planning Act; and
•
developing, and updating biannually, the comprehensive five-year Federal
Ocean Pollution Research, Development and Monitoring Plan and ensuring
Federal agency compliance with that Plan.
Research
and Development
Throughout
the seventies NOAA strengthened its research and development programs
aimed at improving our understanding of the oceanic and atmospheric
environments and applying that knowledge to the solution of environmental
problems. Highlights of activities in the seventies (in addition to
the marine pollution research described previously) include:
•
participation in the Global Weather Experiment conducted in 1978-1979;
this "world's largest experiment" [28] involved 140 countries, five
international organizations, 5,000 technicians, and satellites from
the United States, U.S.S.R., Japan and the European Space Agency.
The Experiment was designed to produce a better understanding of atmospheric
conditions and processes in order to develop realistic extended range
forecast models; assess the limits of predictability for weather systems;
and design a global observing system for routine numerical prediction;
•
accelerated research on hurricane intensity and movement, including
Project STORMFURY - an experiment designed to determine whether destructive
hurricane winds could be reduced by cloud seeding;
•
the Florida Area Cumulus Experiment to test a hypothesis that stimulating
cumulus cloud growth, through seeding, could produce significant increases
in tropical rainfall;
•
a Federal-state cooperative program to evaluate the effectiveness
of weather modification in the States of Utah and North Dakota; in
a related area, pursuant to the Weather Modification Reporting Act
of 1972, NOAA assumed responsibility for recording all non-federally
supported weather modification activities in the U.S.;
•
accelerated research to determine the extent to which climate can
be predicted and the extent of man's influence on climate. In addition
to continuing activities like the Geophysical Monitoring for Climatic
Change program, NOAA's involvement in climate-related activities was
enhanced in 1978 with passage of the National Climate Program Act,
which charged the Agency with developing a National Climate Program
Plan and coordinating the work of Federal and non-Federal participants
to estimate climate trends and predict future changes;
•
expansion of participation in the National Sea Grant College Programs.
By 1980, fourteen institutions had achieved Sea Grant College status
and NOAA was supporting marine research, education and advisory services
at over 100 institutions around the Nation.
One of
the most exciting aspects of NOAA's research in the seventies involved
undersea science. NOAA support for undersea research to address the
Agency's scientific responsibilities began in 1971 with the establishment
of the Manned Undersea Science and Technology Office (MUS&T).
From 1971 to 1980, MUS&T conducted a program of support for submersible
and habitat-based research designed to address three principal objectives
(MUS&T Annual Report, FY 1972):
•
provide manned underwater and operational support for NOAA investigations
involving marine resources and environmental problems which require
human subsurface observations and data collection;
•
foster and coordinate manned undersea science projects with other
federal and state agencies, industry, research institutions, and universities;
and
•
develop scientific and technical criteria for civilian undersea facilities
and platforms through the experience gained by using available habitats
and submersibles.
Pursuant
to this third objective, and with a fiscal year 1976 appropriation
of $1.5 million, MUS&T concentrated its efforts on completion
of a feasibility study and conceptual design for OCEANLAB - a proposed
large, mobile saturation submersible that could operate autonomously
in a variety of underwater environments. The potentially high cost
of such a multi-purpose facility, however, forced MUS&T, in consultation
with the Department of Commerce, the Office of Management and Budget,
Congress and the undersea research community, to re-evaluate the OCEANLAB
concept. Pursuant to this 1978 review, which included an analysis
of the scientific needs and requirements of the research community
conducted by the National Research Council's Ocean Science Board,
NOAA re-directed the MUS&T/OCEANLAB program. Instead of constructing
a single, government-owned laboratory, NOAA's program, in cooperation
with university-based research institutions, was to increase the use
of existing habitats and to encourage scientists to use additional
underwater tools and techniques such as saturation diving, submersibles
and remotely operated vehicles. The policy guidance for this new direction
was described in a 1980 document entitled "The Undersea Research Program
of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration." [29]
In 1977,
NOAA established the first regional underwater research facility.
The underwater habitat, HYDROLAB, located in St. Croix, which had
recently been acquired and refurbished by NOAA from the Perry Foundation,
became the focal point of undersea research in the Caribbean. By the
1980's, NOAA was supporting a three-tiered undersea research program
composed of:
•
five National Undersea Research Cooperative Programs including the
St. Croix program;
•
NOAA's share of support for the deep submersible ALVIN (jointly funded
with the Navy and the National Science Foundation) and a cooperative
program to provide scientists with access to shallow-water submersibles
and remotely-operated vehicles; and
•
pursuant to section 21(e) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act
Amendments of 1978, a program of research and development related
to diver safety.
Operational
Weather Satellites
NOAA's
operational meteorological satellite program became a reality during
the 1970's. The geostationary satellite experiment begun in 1966 was
established as a continuous, operational program in 1974/75 with the
launch of NASA's Synchronous Meteorological Satellites (SMS) 1 and
2; these satellites were the prototype for NOAA's Geostationary Operational
Environmental Satellites (GOES). GOES-1, the first NOAA-owned and
operated geostationary satellite, was launched on October 16, 1975.
The first NOAA-funded satellite in the NOAA system of polar-orbiting
environmental satellites was launched in June 1979. Throughout the
seventies NOAA began to establish itself as a world leader in application
of space-based observing systems to operational environmental
forecasting and related services.
In November
1979, a Presidential directive assigned NOAA with responsibility for
the development of an operational earth remote sensing program. LANDSAT,
an experimental earth sensing satellite system, was initiated in 1972
with the launch of LANDSAT-1 by the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration as a research and development program. NOAA was directed
to assume operational responsibility for the system beginning in 1983.
With enactment of the Land Remote Sensing Commercialization Act of
1984, the Secretary of Commerce was authorized to commercialize the
LANDSAT system and, in September 1985, a contract was signed with
the Earth Observation Satellite Company (EOSAT). EOSAT's original
objective is to establish LANDSAT as a commercially unable [Ed. viable]
civil remote sensing industry in ten years. EOSAT took responsibility
for the operation of the current LANDSAT system October 18, 1985.
Conclusion
All of
these examples illustrate the breadth and excitement of NOAA's experience
during the seventies. This experience was preparing the new organization
to emerge as a mature, cohesive agency focused on the science and
services associated with predicting and responding to changes in the
global earth environment.
