Proposed Sanctuary Expansion
Upcoming Public Meetings in Galveston, July 12, and in Houston, July 13
Building on more than 30 years of studies and numerous reports released in the last decade calling for additional protections, NOAA’s Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary is proposing to expand its boundaries to protect areas of national significance off the coasts of Texas and Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico.
NOAA is proposing to add 15 additional banks, ranging from 70 to 120 miles off-shore, that are comprised of approximately 383 square miles of reefs and bottom features that provide habitat for fish and other biological resources that serve as engines of sustainability for much of the Gulf of Mexico.
NOAA is also proposing to extend the existing protections of Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary to these additional areas to limit the impact of bottom-disturbing activities on their sensitive biological resources and geological features.
For more info on the expansion alternatives, how to make public comments, etc., visit
The Sanctuary’s web page at:
http://flowergarden.noaa.gov/management/expansiondeis.html
Public Meetings in our region are:
Galveston, TX
Date: Tuesday, July 12, 2016
Location: Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary Office
Address: 4700 Avenue U, Building 216, Galveston, TX 77551
Phone: 409-621-5151
Time: 5:30-7:30 pm
Houston, TX
Date: Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Location: Trini Mendenhall Community Center
Address: 1414 Wirt Road, Houston, TX 77055
Time: 5:30-7:30 pm
Link to public meetings, comment info:
http://flowergarden.noaa.gov/management/expansiondeis.html#comments
Comments on the proposed expansion need to be submitted by August 19, 2016.
The Houston Sierra Club supports expansion of the Sanctuary and will likely post recommended comments to the Houston Sierra email alert list and to the Houston Group website when those are finalized.
Note: Here is a link to a petition to support the expansion of the Sanctuary:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/331/396/335/
image credit: NOAA - http://flowergarden.noaa.gov/image_library/deephabitat/fancoral.jpg