Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Final Management Plan and Environmental Assessment

This document is the revised final management plan and environmental assessment for the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. The plan’s primary goal is the protection of sanctuary resources, including the conservation of marine biodiversity within the sanctuary. The attendant sub-goals include protecting the sanctuary’s ecological integrity while ensuring sustained provision of the sanctuary’s environmental services. Befitting sanctuary status, the plan advocates a standard for conservation that is higher than may apply broadly throughout the whole Gulf of Maine.