CORDELL BANK N ATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY FINAL MANAGEMENT PLAN UPDATED IN RESPONSE TO THE SANCTUARY EXPANSION UPDATED DECEMBER 2014 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION NATIONAL OCEAN SERVICE OFFICE OF NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARIES CORDELL BANK NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY FINAL MANAGEMENT PLAN Updated December 2014 The Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary (CBNMS) Management Plan has been updated in response to the sanctuary expansion. A sanctuary management review is conducted at a sanctuary periodically, in accordance with the National Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA; 16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.). The updated plan applies to the entire area encompassed by the sanctuary. The issue areas and programs addressed in this document were built with guidance from the general public, sanctuary staff, agency representatives, experts in the field and the sanctuary advisory council. For readers who would like to learn more about the management plan, CBNMS policies and community-based management processes, we encourage you to visit our website at www.cordellbank.noaa.gov. Readers who do not have Internet access may call the sanctuary office at (415) 663-0314 to request relevant documents or further information. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) seeks to increase public awareness of America’s ocean and Great Lakes treasures by conducting scientific research, monitoring, exploration and educational programs. Today, the program manages thirteen national marine sanctuaries and one marine national monument that together encompass more than 170,000 square miles of America’s ocean and Great Lakes natural and cultural resources. The NOAA Ocean Service is the umbrella organization for ONMS and is dedicated to exploring, understanding, conserving and restoring the nation’s coasts and oceans and works to balance environmental protection with economic prosperity in its mission promoting safe navigation, supporting coastal communities, sustaining coastal habitats and mitigating coastal hazards. NOAA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation’s coastal and marine resources. For more information, contact: Dan Howard, Sanctuary Superintendent Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary P.O. Box 159 Olema, CA 94950 (415) 663-0314 Cover Photo Credits: Black-footed albatross (Phoebastria nigripes) –Rich Stallcup Rosy rockfish (Sebastes rosaceus) –Jodi Pirtle/CBNMS Pacific white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens) – Michael Carver/CBNMS CBNMS Map CBNMS Final Management Plan CORDELL BANK NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY MAP i Table of Contents CBNMS Final Management Plan TABLE OF CONTENTS Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary Map ............................................................................ i Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................... iv Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1 Sanctuary Setting ........................................................................................................................... 8 Site-Specific Action Plans ............................................................................................................ 17 Structure of Action Plans ........................................................................................................19 Education and Outreach Action Plan ....................................................................................26 Performance Measures .......................................................................................................... 35 Resource Protection Action Plan ............................................................................................39 Performance Measures .......................................................................................................... 49 Partnerships with Community Groups Action Plan ............................................................53 Performance Measures .......................................................................................................... 57 Conservation Science Action Plan ..........................................................................................59 Performance Measures .......................................................................................................... 67 Administration Action Plan ....................................................................................................71 Proposed Staffing Plan .......................................................................................................... 75 Cross-CuttingAction Plans .......................................................................................................... 79 Cross-Cutting Introduction ....................................................................................................81 Administration and Operations Cross-Cutting Action Plan ...............................................83 Community Outreach Cross-Cutting Action Plan ...............................................................89 Ecosystem Monitoring Cross-Cutting Action Plan ...............................................................95 Maritime Heritage Cross-Cutting Action Plan ...................................................................103 Appendices ................................................................................................................................. 113 Appendix I: Jurisdictional Authorities .......................................................................... 115 Appendix II: Glossary of Terms ..................................................................................... 119 Appendix III: Acronyms ................................................................................................. 123 Appendix IV: National Marine Sanctuaries Act ........................................................... 127 Appendix V: Species List................................................................................................. 153 iii Executive Summary CBNMS Final Management Plan EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Current Status This document is the management plan for Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary (CBNMS). The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) prepared the management plan in cooperation with sanctuary staff, the public, state and federal agencies, stakeholders, and the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council. The last version of the management plan was published in 2008; it was updated in response to the boundary expansion of CBNMS. The entire management plan has not been rewritten; the plan is scheduled to be reviewed five years after the effective date of sanctuary expansion. CBNMS Designation CBNMS has been vested with the authority, in accordance with the National Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA) to provide comprehensive and coordinated conservation and management of the marine resources on the continental shelf and slope, from about 7 to 51 miles (6 to 44 nautical miles) west of Bodega Head, California and about 52 miles (45 nautical miles) west-northwest of San Francisco. The total area of the sanctuary is 1286 square miles. This is an area of special significance due to unique geology and oceanic features that create conditions that support an extraordinarily diverse and abundant marine community, and thus was designated a national marine sanctuary in 1989. Cordell Bank is an offshore granite bank approximately 4.5 miles wide by 9.5 miles long (3.9 nautical miles wide by 8.3 nautical miles long). The rocky bank emerges from the soft sediments of the continental shelf, with the upper pinnacles reaching within 115 feet of the ocean's surface. Shelf depths at the base of the Bank range from 300 to 400 feet deep. Another significant feature of the sanctuary is Bodega Canyon, which is north of the Bank. The Canyon is about 12.4 miles (10.8 nautical miles) long and is over 5,000 feet deep. History of Management Plans for CBNMS The specific requirements of the CBNMS 1989 management plan were compatible with the overall sanctuary management concept embodied in the NMSA and its implementing regulations (15 CFR, Part 922), which require that a management plan be prepared for each national marine sanctuary. This original management plan, developed at the time of designation of the sanctuary in 1989, provided guidelines to ensure that all management actions undertaken in the first five years of designation were directed to resolving important issues as a means of meeting CBNMS objectives. Management objectives were considered in three areas: resource protection, interpretation, and research. The management plan also called for promulgation of five regulations or prohibitions. The 1992 amendments to the NMSA required that each of the national marine sanctuaries engage in a management plan review process periodically to reevaluate site-specific goals and objectives, management techniques, and strategies. The Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) reviewed the management plans of Cordell Bank, Gulf of the Farallones, and Monterey iv Executive Summary CBNMS Final Management Plan Bay national marine sanctuaries