Strategic Planning Workshop for Working Together to Conserve and Recover Protected Resources in National Marine Sanctuaries, Long Beach, California

The National Ocean Service (NOS) National Marine Sanctuary Program (NMSP) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Protected Resources Program (PRP) share Federal stewardship responsibilities for many of the same resources. While the PRP has responsibility for protected species throughout their entire range, the NMSP has similar responsibilities for those resources and habitats that occur within sanctuaries’ boundaries. The two programs have taken a significant strategic step forward towards improved coordination of conservation and recovery of protected species. The goal of the planning workshop was to increase the collaboration between the two NOAA programs by identifying and formalizing joint activities that build upon existing capabilities and improve the implementation of conservation and recovery plans for protected resources within sanctuaries’ waters.