Marine Mammal Protection Act Celebrates 40 Year Anniversary
Media Tool Kit
Contact:
Kim Betton
Office of External Affairs, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
703-358-2081 Kim_betton@fws.gov
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its partners celebrate this year the 40th anniversary of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), one of the nation’s most important conservation laws. The groundbreaking legislation, enacted on October 21, 1972, helps to conserve our nation’s marine mammals – including polar bears, sea otters, walruses, and manatees – as well as the ocean ecosystems that support them.
Journalists Build Your Story!
Soundbites: Courtesy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Right click on Soundbite/Quote and select "Save As" to download.
You must install the Flash Player Browser Plug in from Adobe to view this content.
Subject Matter Expert:
Mike Weimer/Chief, Branch of Research Mapping Support, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Soundbite/Quote – 1: “We work with NOAA as well and help with marine mammals in the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific – and again why is this important? We have the focus in particular on the marine ecosystem, with these iconic species as sord of the poster species effort.”
Soundbite/Quote – 2: “You go down to Florida and you can go to the many communities and see the towns embracing eco-tourism – people going out and observing manatees and other animals. Up north people take great pride in managing the walrus and polar bear ..and others out west in the states of California and Washington. So we want to see these populations not just hold their own – but rebound and do well.”
Soundbite/Quote – 3: “It was the first environmental law that we have that actually took into consideration – whole ecosystems, verses, whole environment verses a single species, so obviously the focus is on marine mammal protection, but the Act protects the entire marine ecosystem.”
Marine Mammals B-ROLL: Courtesy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
