April 8, 2026
NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries is initiating a public process for reviewing the management plan of Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. This management plan review will ensure that the sanctuary’s resource protection, research, and education and outreach activities continue to effectively address current and emerging issues in the sanctuary.
NOAA is asking for comments, through May 21, on the scope of the management plan review. This comment period is the first of multiple opportunities that interested parties will have to provide input into this review. For more information on NOAA’s topic areas of focus, please review the notice published on April 6, 2026.
In addition to accepting written comment, NOAA will hold three public meetings to provide information on the review process and to gather oral comments:
April 20, 2026, 6 - 8 P.M. CT
Location: Virtual. See details online at https://flowergarden.noaa.gov/management/mpr.html
May 19, 2026, 2 - 4 P.M. CT
Location: Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, 4700 Avenue U, Building 216, Galveston, Texas 77551
May 19, 2026, 6 - 8 P.M. CT
Location: Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, 4700 Avenue U, Building 216, Galveston, Texas 77551
We also invite you to review the updated sanctuary condition report which will inform management plan revisions. This peer-reviewed report summarizes the condition and trends of the sanctuary’s resources and ecosystem services, as well as pressures on the resources and management responses to those pressures.
Sanctuary Saturday at Moody Gardens
Join us on Saturday, April 11, 2026 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. in the Moody Gardens Aquarium in Galveston, Texas, to learn more about the restoration of deep Gulf coral habitats impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. This event will take place at “The Gulf in Depth” area, located by the Conservation Lab in the Aquarium, featuring interactive educational displays created in partnership with Artist Boat. Discover what lives in the depths of the Gulf, the impacts of the oil spill, and how experts are restoring important deep coral habitats through seafloor mapping, coral propagation, and more.
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