Monument Management Plan

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration jointly developed the Monument Management Plan to guide the work of the Monument for the next 15 years and provide a framework for stewardship and management of this special place.  

This Plan establishes the long-term vision and framework needed to provide proper care for the Monument’s unique ecosystem, marine life, and natural and historical resources, as well as set priorities and goals for managing the Monument into the future.   

Draft Management Plan and Environmental Assessment

The Draft Management Plan and Environmental Assessment was released on September 12th 2023. To view all written comments, please visit https://www.regulations.gov/document/FWS-R5-NWRS-2023-0154-0001.

Past Public Meetings 

All six public meetings have taken place. If you like to view the public meeting presentation, please click here. Meeting transcripts will be made available as they become developed. 

In-Person Meetings  

• Plymouth, Massachusetts - EVENT HAS OCCURED 
  Date: Wednesday September 27th, 2023 
  Find the meeting transcript here
   
• Providence, Rhode Island - EVENT HAS OCCURED 
  Date: Tuesday October 10th, 2023
  Meeting had no attendees and therefore no transcript was created
   
• Portsmouth, New Hampshire - EVENT HAS OCCURED 
  Date: Wednesday October 18th, 2023 
  Find the meeting transcript here

Virtual Meetings

• Wednesday October 4th, 2023 - EVENT HAS OCCURED
  Find the meeting transcript here
   
• Friday October 13th, 2023 - EVENT HAS OCCURED 
  Find the meeting transcript here
   
• Monday October 23rd, 2023 - EVENT HAS OCCURED 
  Find the meeting transcript here

Why is this Plan needed?  

The Plan is a government mandate for the benefit of the American public. The Plan will guide the Monument’s stewardship to effectively invest resources in protecting, caring for, and sharing the story of this important place.   

Planning Process  

Bold text = The current step in the planning process 

Step 1: Foundation and Problem Analysis – Public Scoping! Bring those ideas; the more brains the better! 
Step 2: Explore Solutions – Stakeholder Focus Groups - taking the public’s ideas to form a foundation and framework to care for the Monument. 
Step 3: Confirm range of options and opportunities and develop draft plan – Double-checking the work and getting the foundation and framework down on paper.  
Step 4: Public review of draft plan and environmental assessment- How does this look? Did we capture things correctly?  
Step 5: Analysis of public comment- Thanks for the feedback! We will go back and take a look at it.  
Step 6: Prepare final Plan and decision document - Making edits based on your comments and suggestions.   
Step 7: Release final Plan and decision document to the public - Thank you for your help guiding the direction for the Monument’s stewardship and thriving future!   

To stay up to date on the Monument Management planning process, sign up for Monument Management Plan updates.  

For any planning inquiries, please reach out to the Monument Management Planning email: ncsmnm_planning@fws.gov

Navigate back to the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument Main Page

You can download the complete version of the plan (10.1 MB) within the Documents Section: 
Chapter 1: Draft Management Plan 
Chapter 2: Draft Environmental Assessment 
Appendix A: Presidential Proclamation 9496, September 15, 2016 
Appendix B: Presidential Proclamation 10287, October 6, 2021 
Appendix C: Joint Statement of Intent for Management of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument 
Appendix D: Public Scoping Key Takeaways Report 
Appendix E: Focus Group Report