"This decision upholds protections for one of the most fragile and scientifically important areas in the North Atlantic from destructive activities like oil drilling and industrial fishing."
Image of Ocean from Wikimedia Commons
Defenders of ocean habitats celebrated Friday after a federal court
upheld a lower court ruling defending the right of the U.S. executive branch
to set aside marine areas as national monuments.
Citing the authority found under the Antiquities Act of 1906 to establish
marine national monuments, the U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of
Columbia sided against a lawsuit brought by large fishing industry interests
that challenged President Barack Obama's designation of the Northeast
Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, which encompases 4,913
square miles of the Atlantic Ocean off the nation's northeast coast, as a
protected area.
Conservation groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and
the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF)—which had intervened in the
case—applauded the court's ruling.
"Today's decision is a clear victory for our oceans and for the Atlantic's
only marine national monument," said Peter Shelley, Senior Counsel at CLF.
"This decision upholds protections for one of the most fragile and
scientifically important areas in the North Atlantic from destructive
activities like oil drilling and industrial fishing. Safeguarding the
Northeast Canyons and Seamounts ensures that we are leaving a proud legacy
for the people of New England."
Kate Desormeau, senior attorney for the NRDC, also celebrated the ruling
as a victory.
"Like one of America's very first national monuments, the Grand Canyon, the
Northeast Canyons and Seamounts is a natural treasure," Desormaeu said in a
statement. "It provides habitat for a wide range of species, from endangered
whales to Atlantic puffins to centuries-old deep-sea corals."
The court's decision, she added, "affirms that presidents have the authority
to protect marine areas like this for the benefit of current and future
generations. Preserving ocean areas like this one will be absolutely key to
ensuring the resilience of our oceans in a changing climate."
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