State approves Sanctuary

[Ben Haskell]

Today, the Board of Trustees of the State of Florida passed by a vote of
7-0 the inclusion of State waters in the 2800 square nautical mile Florida
Keys National Marine Sanctuary.  This is a major step towards implementing
comprehensive, ecosystem management of this precious resource and
represents the second to last major hurdle for final approval of the
Sanctuary.  The final hurdle lies with the U.S. Congress.  This is fitting
news for this International Year of the Reef!  Congratulations to all of
those folks who worked so hard for this vote.

Benjamin D. Haskell
Science Coordinator
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
P.O. Box 500368
Marathon, Florida 33050
(305) 743-2437 phone
(305) 743-2357 fax
Email: bhaskell at fknms.nos.noaa.gov
Web site: http://www.fknms.nos.noaa.gov

*/~ Ecotones are where it's at! */~