Dear Coral Reef Supporter:
An amazing opportunity is upon us to influence Federal government policy and place coral reefs in the spotlight. At the direction of the President of the United States, a multi-agency Task Force is developing an action plan to prevent the degradation of and restore coral reefs. Your input NOW has the power to do the following:
We need you to sign your group onto the enclosed endorsement letter or as an individual add your name to the enclosed petition sheet to take advantage of this opportunity to ensure that all Federal agencies protect coral reefs.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 13089 FOR THE PROTECTION OF CORAL REEFS
Executive Order 13089 for Coral Reef Protection was signed by President Clinton on June 11, 1998. Section 2 of the Executive Order states:
"(a) All Federal agencies whose actions may affect 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."
President Clinton clearly mandated that the actions of all Federal agencies, including those actions for which the agencies issue permits, must do no harm to coral reef ecosystems. This mandate applies to a wide variety of activities such as those listed above. This Executive Order confers landmark federal protection to coral reefs. But this protection will only be realized with adequate oversight.
THE CORAL REEF TASK FORCE The Executive Order also established the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force (USCRTF) and its obligations to:
It is clearly the responsibility and obligation of the USCRTF to ensure that the Executive Order is being met. As such, the USCRTF must act as an enforcer of the Executive Order.
WHY ACT NOW? The USCRTF has prepared a draft action plan to implement the Executive Order. However, the draft action plan places the USCRTF in the role of an observer and advisor, rather than an enforcer. The USCRTF will take action soon to adopt a final action plan. NOW is the time to urge the USCRTF to take its responsibilities seriously and establish an oversight process whereby all actions of all Federal agencies that may impact coral reefs are reviewed and any actions that degrade coral reefs are clearly prohibited because they violate the Executive Order.
HOW YOU CAN HELP If you represent a group or a dive center, please take a few short minutes to read and submit the Endorsement Letter to add your group or dive center's name to the list of organizations signing the letter which requests enforcement of Executive Order 13089.
You as an individual can also sign on to the Petition. And you can also forward it to your friends, fellow divers or others that also care about coral reefs. We will combine your petition sign-on with thousands more for presentation at the next USCRTF meeting.
Thank you in advance for your help,
ALEXANDER STONE President
P.S. When endorsing the letter, please provide an approximate number of members your organization represents.