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***PLEASE HAVE YOUR GROUP ENDORSE THIS LETTER! ***
WE WILL ADD YOUR RESOLUTION TO ALL THE OTHERS
FOR PRESENTATION TO THE APPROPRIATE LEGISLATORS

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Hon. Bruce Babbitt
Secretary of the Interior
Department of the Interior
1849 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20240

Hon. Robert Mallet
Deputy Secretary of Commerce
Dept. of Commerce - Rm 5128
14th and Constitution Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20230

re: U.S. Coral Reef Task Force Oversight

Dear Secretary Babbitt
and Deputy Secretary Mallet:

We, the (number) undersigned conservation and diving organizations representing over (number) individuals, respectfully request that the final action plan developed by the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force (USCRTF) fulfill the USCRTF's mandate to protect U.S. coral reefs from damaging federal agency actions by:

• a) clearly specifying the USCRTF's role as an enforcer of Executive Order 13089, and
• b) including a staffed oversight process for the USCRTF to evaluate pending agency actions and prohibit those actions which would degrade coral reef ecosystems.

Executive Order 13089, signed by President Clinton on June 11, 1998, established the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force and its obligations to

• "oversee implementation of the policy and Federal agency responsibilities set forth in this order" (Section 4);
• "develop, recommend, and seek or secure implementation of measures necessary to reduce and mitigate coral reef ecosystem degradation and to restore damaged coral reefs" (Section 5).

Section 2 of the Executive Order states:

• "(a) All Federal agencies whose actions may affects U.S. coral reef ecosystems shall ...
• (b) utilize their programs and authorities to protect and enhance the conditions of such ecosystems; and
• (c) to the extent permitted by law, ensure that any actions they authorize, fund, or carry out will not degrade the conditions of such ecosystems."

These two sections clearly outline the goals of the Executive Order as well as the responsibility of the Task Force to oversee the implementation of the Executive Order, including Section 2's requirement for non-degradation of coral reef ecosystems by any Federal agency actions.

In order to fulfill the obligations of the Executive Order, an oversight process must be developed to ensure that Sections 2, 4, and 5 are met. This process must include personnel with direct responsibility for this oversight.

All Federal agencies should be required to designate personnel who are responsible for reviewing all agency actions for compliance with the Executive Order. In addition, the USCRTF, as the enforcer of the Executive Order, should have a staffed process for enforcing the Executive Order. This staffed process would include reviews of proposed Federal agency actions as well as a mechanism whereby the USCRTF could halt any proposed Federal agency actions that would violate the Executive Order.

Only with an effective oversight process can we be assured that the intent and obligations set forth in Executive Order 13089 are met.

We look forward to your support for and early response to our request.

Respectfully submitted,

(endorsing organizations will be listed alphabetically)

ReefKeeper International
2809 Bird Avenue PMB 162
Miami, FL 33133
Tel. (305) 358-4600
Fax (305) 358-3030
[email protected]

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