US to create first Atlantic marine monument read more at here www.spinonews.com/index.php/item/855-us-to-create-first-atlantic-marine-monument

The move, in the works for more than a year, will further Obama's conservation efforts in the final months of his presidency, an initiative he views as a major component of his environmental legacy.

President Barack Obama plans to designate on Thursday an undersea range of canyons and peaks off the US Eastern seaboard as the country's first Atlantic marine national monument.

The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, situated 130 miles southeast of Cape Cod on the southern edge of George's Bank, will protect 4,913 square miles of ocean from commercial activity and development, the White House said.

That includes barring undersea drilling and mining, as well as commercial fishing activity. An administration official downplayed the effect on local fisherman, describing a limited number of vessels who regularly operate in the newly protected area.

Some fishing groups had protested the long-rumored designation of the canyons and seamounts as a national monument, saying the move could harm the region's economy and impede the work of existing fishery management groups.

Recreational fishing will still be permitted within the monument's boundaries.

Obama was set to make the announcement during remarks at a State Department-sponsored conference focused on marine protection. The decision was hailed by environmental groups.

The creatures who populate the protected area range from unique types of coral to several species of mammals, including sperm, fin, and sea whales. Some of the specimens exist only in that particular ecosystem.

Responsibility for managing the area will fall to the departments of Interior and Commerce.

Earlier this month Obama traveled to Midway atoll in the Pacific to view the expanded Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, which he quadrupled in size in August. While there he argued for the importance of using his conservation powers to protect vulnerable environments.