National Marine Sanctuary Foundation: About Us

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Click the image to download the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation annual report. (pdf, 5.4MB)

As I reflect on the course we have charted for the first five years of the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation's work to protect, preserve and promote our marine sanctuaries, I have to acknowledge that our guiding principles have been Vision, Fierce Passion, and Discipline.

While there are a multitude of marine conservation organizations committed to good works, what has set us apart is our unique relationship to the National Marine Sanctuary Program of the United States, stewards of America's underwater treasures - more than 150,000 square miles of marine and Great Lakes waters from Washington State to the Florida Keys, and from Lake Huron to American Samoa.

Hundreds of my colleagues in federal agencies and in Congress want to protect our life sustaining ocean resources; since our inception in 2000, they have increasingly turned to the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation to help them get the job done.

Why? Because we are small, we are nimble, we are focused, and we are strategic. These capabilities allow the Foundation to protect our critical water resources. And equally important, we can leverage public dollars with contributions from the private sector to advance marine conservation.

For five years, we have depended on our small band of visionary donors to keep the Foundation's engine running. In March of 2005, we received a federal appropriation of nearly $5 million to endow a fund for ocean awareness grants and activities, known as the Ernest F. Hollings Ocean Awareness Trust Fund. Through these combined efforts, we are developing and supporting effective marine conservation efforts, educational programs, a policy initiative, and communications and outreach activities. In turn, these four Foundation initiatives are building a constituency for America's Ocean World.

I am grateful for your support and that of the Foundation's visionary trustees. Together we are making a difference.

In this annual report I want to especially draw your attention to our work with the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve sanctuary designation process and the Eco-Discovery Center in the Florida Keys. These two groundbreaking efforts are indicative of our progress in the January 2004 to June 2005 period.

In this annual report, you will see these and other tangible accomplishments we have achieved in an 18-month period. I look forward to the months and years ahead with great excitement and purpose as we advance ocean conservation and ocean literacy on many strategic fronts!

Best wishes and thank you!
Lori Arguelles signature
Lori Arguelles
Executive Director