Marine Protected Areas

Tribal And Local Input Must Go Into Creation Of Marine Protected Areas

LAPUSH (Aug. 19, 2005) – The fish and marine mammals of Washington’s ocean waters are blissfully unaware of the blankets of bureaucracy that have been overlaid on their home.

Washington tribes, however, are painfully aware of the thicket of federal and state agencies and regulations dealing with marine protected areas which are constantly threatening tribe’s sovereignty and way of life despite treaty-guaranteed rights to fish as they always have.

Proposals for marine protected areas range from complete no-take zones to areas allowing limited use while still meeting long-term management goals. Maintaining federal recognition of tribal sovereignty was the goal of Mel Moon, natural resources director for the Quileute Tribe, during the process that produced the recommendations to create a national system of marine protected areas (MPAs).

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MPAs Only One Tool

July 29, 2003

You’ve probably been hearing a lot about the health of our oceans these days. Most of the news isn’t good. Declining sea life, pollution, overharvest of marine resources – the list goes on.

According to the recent Pew Ocean Commission report, pollution and poor natural resource management are the main causes for the trouble our oceans are in. This private group’s assessment will be followed later this year by a report from the U.S. Commission on Oceans Policy. This federal commission is charged with developing findings and making recommendations to the president and Congress for a coordinated and comprehensive national ocean policy. We suspect their findings will be similar to the Pew report.

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Mel Moon Named to National Marine Protected Area Federal Advisory Board

LAPSUH (Jan. 16, 2002) — Mel Moon, Natural Resources Director for the Quileute Tribe, has been named to the National Marine Protected Area Federal Advisory Committee. The 30-person panel’s duties will include providing advice and recommendations to the Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior on implementation of aspects of the Marine Protected Areas executive order. The group is composed of a broad stakeholder community, including scientists, academia, commercial and recreational fishermen, resource users and managers, and environmentalists.

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