A Marine Sanctuaries Study Bill was first proposed in 1967 with lobbying efforts by the
Sierra Club. The
Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 authorized the
United States Environmental Protection Agency to monitor off-shore dumping. In 1975, the
California Coastal Commission recommended a marine sanctuary and in 1976
Santa Cruz County and
Monterey County joined the lobbying effort. In 1983 the
Ronald Reagan administration dropped the area from consideration as a sanctuary. In 1988 the
United States Congress re-authorized the Sanctuaries Act and proposed a sanctuary in Monterey Bay. However, public hearings, with the memory of the
1969 Santa Barbara oil spill, brought protests demanding a larger size. The first draft
environmental impact statement was released in 1990, and a final management plan in June 1992 proposing the extended area. NOAA states both that it designated the sanctuary on September 18, 1992, As part of the 2008 management plan for MBNMS, a boundary change included the Davidson Seamount Management Zone (DSMZ), which surrounds
Davidson Seamount, a pristine undersea mountain habitat located 80 miles to the southwest of Monterey and 75 miles west of San Simeon. The boundary change added a 775 square mile area to MBNMS, increasing the sanctuary to 6,094 square miles.
Management There have been six superintendents of MBNMS since its designation: • Terry Jackson (1992 to 1997): Jackson was an officer with
NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps who was assigned to the MBNMS as its first manager in 1992. Over the next year, Jackson hired additional MBNMS staffers. As a NOAA Corps officer, Jackson's land-based assignment ended in 1997. Jackson retired from the NOAA Corps in 1998. • Carol Fairfield (June and July 1997): A call for superintendent applicants went out in the spring of 1997. However, that process was ended by the chief of NOAA's
Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, Stephanie Thornton, because she "did not believe any of the current applicants had the skills she was looking for to be the MBNMS Superintendent." The call for applicants was re-advertised, and Carol Fairfield (with NOAA's
National Marine Fisheries Service Protected Resources Program) was selected in June 1997, but was reassigned in July 1997. • Joanne Flanders (1997): At the time of Jackson's departure, Joanne Flanders (another NOAA Corps Officer) was Assistant Superintendent. Flanders was appointed acting superintendent for about six months. • William J. Douros (1998 to 2006): In January 1998, William J. Douros, who had previously worked for Santa Barbara County, became superintendent. In 2006, Douros was promoted to regional director for the
Office of National Marine Sanctuaries - West Coast Region. • Paul Michel (2007 to 2020): Paul Michel, who had worked at the
Environmental Protection Agency since 1987, became superintendent. • Lisa Wooninck (2021 to present): Lisa Wooninck started her federal career with
National Marine Fisheries Service as a fishery biologist before joining
Office of National Marine Sanctuaries - West Coast Region as a resource protection specialist and policy coordinator. She became MBNMS superintendent in November 2021.
Management of northern section MBNMS was established in 1992 with only one staff member being assigned shortly thereafter. Since
Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary (GFNMS) was designated in 1981 and had established staff, GFNMS had taken on administrative jurisdiction over the northern portion of Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary from the San Mateo/Santa Cruz County line (Año Nuevo Point) northward to the existing boundary (Rocky Point) between the two national marine sanctuaries. == Oil and gas reserves ==