Former First Lady Laura Bush agrees with NMSF’s call to establish a string of national marine sanctuaries in the Gulf of Mexico.

In a Dec. 7 speech at the State of the Gulf Summit in Houston, Bush said sanctuaries are the clear way to protect ocean-reliant industries while maintaining conservation efforts.

“From our experience with national marine monuments in the Pacific and with marine sanctuaries and national wildlife refuges and parks, we know that conservation and economic development are not mutually exclusive,” Bush said. “Quite often they can be mutually reinforcing.”

Titling the string of hard-bottomed areas in the Gulf Stream proposed for sanctuary designation a “coral necklace,” Bush stressed that healthy coasts and booming industry are not at odds.

“Clean and healthy marshes, beaches and bays mean abundant fisheries, protection from storm surge and hurricanes, and a vibrant tourism economy,” she said. “Vital commerce and industry and rich coastal and marine ecosystems have coexisted for generations in the Gulf.”

She pointed out that cooperation between conservationists, industry and native people – a diversity you can see on sanctuary advisory councils and even the NMSF board – is essential in deciding any regulation.

By focusing in our efforts on sanctuaries, she said, we are able to more confidently tour, fish and otherwise use the rest of the ocean, knowing that we are taking the proper steps to understand our impact.

Particularly in the wake of Deepwater Horizon, whose mitigation efforts are still under consideration, sanctuaries are a vital part of the conversation.

Read Laura Bush’s full speech.

On Dec. 13, 2011, after the Summit, Bush published an op-ed in favor of sanctuaries in the Houston Chroncile.