1998 Year of the Ocean Coastal Tourism and Recreation 



The NMSA's stated purposes and policies include comprehensive and coordinated conservation 

 and management; enhancing public awareness, understanding, appreciation and wise use of the 

 marine environment; and facilitating, to the extent compatible with the primary objective of 

 resource protection, all public and private uses of resources not prohibited pursuant to other 

 authorities. 



Among the factors the Secretary must consider in determining whether an area merits 

 designation as a national marine sanctuary are present and potential uses of the area that depend 

 on maintenance of the area's resources, including commercial and recreational fishing, other 

 commercial and recreational activities, and research and education; the public benefits to be 

 derived from sanctuary status, with emphasis on the benefits of long-term protection of 

 nationally significant resources, vital habitats, and resources which generate tourism. 



National Park Service Organic Act . 16 U.S.C. §§ 1, 2-4 



This act creates the National Park Service (the Service) in the Department of the Interior. The 

 Service is charged with promoting and regulating the use of federal areas known as national 

 parks, monuments, and reservations. Such areas are established by Congress through specific 

 legislation. 



National Wildlife Refuge System . 16 U.S.C. § 668dd 



This section of law consolidates the authorities relating to the various categories of areas 

 administered by the Secretary of the Interior for the conservation offish and wildlife by 

 designating all such areas part of the National Wildlife Refuge System (the System). The law 

 prohibits knowingly disturbing, injuring, cutting, burning, removing, destroying, or possessing 

 any real or personal property of the United States, including natural growth, in any area of the 

 system, or taking or possessing any fish, bird, mammal, or other wild animals within any such 

 area without a permit. The Secretary may permit areas within the System to be used for hunting, 

 fishing, and public recreation when the Secretary determines such uses are compatible with the 

 major purposes for which such areas were established. 



Another section of law, 16 U.S.C. § 460k, recognizes the mounting public demands for 

 recreational opportunities on areas administered by the Secretary of the Interior for fish and 

 wildlife purposes, including areas within the System. This section provides that the Secretary 

 may administer such areas as public recreation areas when the Secretary determines that public 

 recreation is an appropriate incidental or secondary use. Such public recreation may be permitted 

 only to the extent that it is not inconsistent with the primary objectives for which the particular 

 area was established. 



F-30 



