Dr. WENK. We appreciate so much your interest and leadership, Mr. Chairman, and Mr. Dow.

Thank you.

Mr. LENNON. Congressman Jones, we are delighted to have you here.

That is on the record, too.

The subcommittee will recess until 10 o'clock tomorrow morning. (Whereupon, at 11:40 a.m., the subcommittee adjourned, to reconvene at 10 a.m., Thursday, October 12, 1967.)

OCEANOGRAPHY LEGISLATION

MARINE SANCTUARIES

TUESDAY, APRIL 9, 1968

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

SUBCOMMITTEE OF OCEANOGRAPHY OF THE

COMMITTEE ON MERCHANT MARINE AND FISHERIES,

Washington, D.C.

The subcommittee met at 10:10 a.m., pursuant to call, in room 1302, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Alton Lennon (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.

Mr. LENNON. The subcommittee will come to order.

The purpose of the hearing today is to take testimony on H.R. 11584, by Mr. Keith of Massachusetts, for himself and 13 other distinguished Members of the House of Representatives.

The title of the bill is

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to study the most feasible and desirable means of establishing certain portions of the tidelands, Outer Continental Shelf, seaward areas, and Great Lakes of the United States as marine sanctuaries and for other purposes.

Companion bills also before us today are H.R. 11460, H.R. 11469, H.R. 11769, H.R. 11812, H.R. 11868, H.R. 11984, H.R. 11987, H.R. 11988, H.R. 12007, and H.R. 13150.

I am sure that each witness will discuss and analyze the purposes of this legislation. And, of course, the titles of the bills pretty well delineate the intent of the bills before us, that is and I repeat:

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to study the most feasible and desirable means of establishing certain areas of the tidelands, the Outer Continental Shelf, seaward areas, and Great Lakes of the United States as marine sanctuaries.

The objectives, the principal points, embodied in the bills before us, I am sure you will agree, are of vital interest to this subcommittee and indeed to all Americans. They would alert us to be thoughtful and intelligent to both our present and our future as we consider the exploitation, use and enjoyment of the ocean environment. They would urge us to caution lest we blindly destroy irreplaceable areas of the world we live in without adequate consideration of the rewards of conservation through understanding the total problem and the application of wise management.

Our distinguished colleague and member of this subcommittee, Mr. Keith of Massachusetts, has taken a great lead in urging this legislation. He will be our first witness this morning and then will introduce

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witnesses from his State's department of natural resources. After their testing we will hear from Federal Government witnesses and others who wish to help us consider this important subject.

Let the bills and agency reports appear at this point in the record. (The bills and reports follow :)

[H.R. 11460, H.R. 11469, and H.R. 11987, 90th Cong., first sess.]

BILLS To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to study the feasible and desirable means of establishing a marine sanctuary in the Santa Barbara Channel, California Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Interior shall study, investigate, and formulate recommendations on the feasible and desirable means of establishing all or part of the Santa Barbara Channel of the State of California in a marine sanctuary, including but not limited to the tidelands and Outer Continental Shelf within the dimensions of the existing State of California sanctuary along fourteen miles of the Santa Barbara County coast and projecting these dimensions to the channel islands.

(b) The Secretary shall cooperate and consult with other affected Federal agencies and the State of California and local bodies and officials involved and interested private organizations and shall coordinate his studies, to the extent feasible, with all other applicable planning activities related to the region.

(c) In conducting the studies the Secretary shall schedule public hearings, at least one to be held in the city of Santa Barbara, for the purpose of receiving views on the establishment of the Santa Barbara Channel marine sanctuary.

(d) Until such time as he submits the report required by section 2 of this Act, the Secretary shall invoke a moratorium on mining and other industrial development, including but not limited to exploration and development of oil and gas, from any part of the Outer Continental Shelf in the Santa Barbara Channel under study as a possible marine reserve and shall cooperate and seek agreements with all affected Federal, State, and local governments and agencies and interested private organizations to implement this moratorium in the portions of the channel under study, including but not limited to the tidelands and Outer Continental Shelf.

SEC. 2. The Secretary of the Interior shall submit to Congress through the President within two years after the date of this Act a report of his findings and recommendations, including legislation as he deems appropriate. The Secretary's report shall contain, but not be limited to findings with respect to (a) the sport and commercial fishing, wildlife conservation, recreation, scenic beauty, marine ecological research and navigation values of the Santa Barbara Channel tidelands and Outer Continental Shelf; (b) the potential alternative beneficial uses of these waters, taking into consideration mining, agriculture and transport activities and other public purposes, and the impact of these activities, including pollution, upon the region; (c) the most effective means for reserving and developing properly this region without endangering its esthetic value and the other values set forth in subsection (a); (d) the applicability of these studies to other areas along the coastal waters of the United States with similar values and the feasible and desirable means of creating a marine wilderness system as an extension to marine environments of the basic principles established in the Wilderness Act (Public Law 88-577).

SEC. 3. There is authorized to be appropriated $250,000 or such part of said sum as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.

[H.R. 11584, H.R. 11984, and H.R. 11988, 90th Cong., first sess.]

BILLS To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to study the most feasible and desirable means of establishing certain portions of the tidelands, Outer Continental Shelf, seaward areas, and Great Lakes of the United States as marine sanctuaries and for other purposes

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this bill shall be cited as "The Marine Sanctuaries Study Act of 1967".

SEC. 2. That Congress finds and declares that the tidelands, Outer Continental Shelf, seaward areas, and land and waters of the Great Lakes are rich in a riety of natural, commercial, recreational, esthetic, and other resources of diate and potential value to the present and future generations of Amer

icans; that many of these areas are in danger of damage or destruction by commercial and industrial development; and that it is the policy of Congress, through a system of marine sanctuaries, to preserve, protect, encourage balanced use, and where possible, restore, and make accessible for the benefit of all the people, selected parts of the Nation's natural tidelands, Outer Continental Shelf, seaward areas, and land and waters of the Great Lakes, which are valuable for sport and commercial fishing, wildlife conservation, outdoor recreation and scenic beauty.

SEC. 3. (a) In furtherance of this policy, the Secretary of the Interior shall study, investigate, and formulate recommendations on the most feasible and desirable means of establishing portions of the Nation's tidelands, Outer Continental Shelf, seaward areas, and land and waters of the Great Lakes as marine sanctuaries, including but not limited to the Georges Bank area adjacent to lower Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

(b) The Secretary shall cooperate and consult with other interested Federal agencies as well as other interested public and private organizations and shall coordinate his studies, to the extent feasible, with all other applicable planning activities related to the areas under consideration.

(c) In conducting the studies, the Secretary shall schedule hearings in areas contiguous to the proposed sanctuary sites, for the purposes of receiving views on the establishment of such marine sanctuaries.

SEC. 4. (a) Until such time as he submits the report required by section 5 of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall not issue or renew any license, permit, or other authorization for the exploration, development, mining, or other removal of any minerals (including gas and oil) from any part of the Outer Continental Shelf under study as a possible marine sanctuary.

(b) During such study period the Secretary is authorized to cooperate with all affected Federal, State, local, and international organizations in order that, until the completion of such study, a moratorium on the industrial development of any portion of the tidelands, Outer Continental Shelf, seaward areas, and land and waters of the Great Lakes under consideration as a possible marine sanctuary may be agreed upon by such interested parties.

SEC. 5. The Secretary of the Interior shall submit to the Congress through the President within two years after the date of this Act a report of his findings and recommendations, including such legislation as he deems appropriate. The Secretary's report shall contain, but not be limited to findings with respect to: (1) the sport and commercial fishing, wildlife conservation, recreation, scenic beauty, and marine ecological research values of such tidelands, Outer Continental Shelf, seaward areas, and land and waters of the Great Lakes; (2) the potential alternative beneficial uses of these waters, taking into consideration mining, agriculture, and transport activities and other public purposes, and the impact of these activities, including pollution, upon these regions; (3) the most effective means for reserving and developing properly these regions without endangering their esthetic and other values set forth in clause (1); (4) the most feasible and desirable means of creating a national system of marine sanctuaries.

SEC. 6. The Secretary of the Interior shall consult with the Secretary of State regarding the need for international agreements where potential marine sanctuaries extend into international waters contiguous to the territorial waters of the United States, or lie wholly within international waters.

SEC. 7. For the purposes of this Act

(a) The term "tidelands" means bays, estuaries, land, and waters within the three-mile territorial limit of the United States.

(b) The term "Outer Continental Shelf" means land and waters extending from the three-mile territorial limit out to the two-hundred meter depth contour. (c) The term "seaward areas" means land and waters contiguous to and extending from the two-hundred-meter depth contour.

SEC. 8. There is to be authorized to be appropriated not to exceed $1 million to carry out this Act.

[H.R. 11769 and H.R. 12007, 90th Cong., first sess.]

BILLS To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to study the most feasible and desirable means of establishing certain portions of the tidelands, bays and estuaries, Outer Continental Shelf, seaward areas, and Great Lakes of the United States as marine sanctuaries, and for other purposes

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this bill shall be cited as "The Marine Sanctuaries Study Act of 1967."