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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 118 / Wednesday, June 23, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
grappling hooks and anchors at shipwreck sites. This prohibition will more directly address damage to shipwrecks than the state is able to address. Additionally, as steward of these nationally significant cultural resources, NOAA believes that creating public awareness and engagement in the sanctuary through research, education, and community engagement is an essential means of resource protection and increasing public benefit.
60. Comment: NOAA received a comment asking whether NOAA could charge new fees for a permit or otherwise on citizens for lake activities that are currently free.
Response: NOAA is not proposing to charge any fees on any activity within the proposed Wisconsin sanctuary.

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Funding 61. Comment: NOAA received several comments related to the cost of designating a national marine sanctuary.
The comments included a concern about higher taxes as a result of the designation; a concern that the federal government does not have sufficient funds to manage the area; a statement that federal funds would be better used to protect natural resources; a concern that NOAA has not provided a cost or budget analysis; a comment about financial accountability; and two questions asking about the sources of funding for the sanctuary.
Response: The National Marine Sanctuaries Act 16 U.S.C. Chapter 32
directs NOAA to protect these nationally significant ecological and historical resources. As a federal agency, appropriations for NOAA programs are enacted by Congress, and signed into law by the president. An annual allocation for the management of all the national marine sanctuaries is included in each annual appropriation. NOAA
makes funding decisions for each sanctuary based on the funding level, program priorities, and site needs. As a result, funding for a given site can vary with fluctuations in annual appropriations, which may impact the level of activities completed in the management plan each year. As part of the final management plan for this sanctuary, NOAA included a summary of the sanctuary activities that are possible at several funding levels.
NOAA also anticipates that a varying level of in-kind contributions from comanagers and partners, as well as grants and other outside funding, will contribute to the overall sanctuary goals.
Additionally, ONMS has received roughly $2 million in donations and inkind contributions and 120,000

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volunteer hours per year at its sites nationwide.
62. Comment: One commenter asked what would happen if Congress chose to not appropriate sufficient funds for the proposed sanctuarys operations in any given fiscal year?
Response: The NMSA 16 U.S.C. 1431
et seq. directs NOAA to protect these nationally significant areas and their ecological and historical resources. A
program allocation in NOAAs annual appropriations typically provides funding for the management of all of the national marine sanctuaries. While NOAA makes funding decisions for each sanctuary based on the ONMS
funding level, program priorities, and site needs, it executes the ONMS budget to ensure basic operating costs at all national marine sanctuaries are met.
Economic Impact 63. Comment: NOAA received several comments that the economic impact of the sanctuary would be limited because not many people dive, and local museums already do the outreach that NOAA is proposing. Similarly, NOAA
received several comments stating that the socioeconomic impact study on Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary by the University of Michigan does not demonstrate positive impacts. The commenters asked why NOAA expects positive economic impacts in Wisconsin.
Response: As demonstrated at other national marine sanctuaries, NOAA
believes that broader public outreach and education are also important resource protection activities, because they increase awareness, appreciation, and value of our nations maritime heritage and nationally significant historic sites. That sanctuary activities aimed at the non-diving public could benefit the region was recognized in the 2014 sanctuary nomination, which indicated that a chief goal for the state and communities was to leverage the sanctuary to Build and expand on state and local tourism initiatives and enhance opportunities for job creation.
Letters of support from many area museums accompanied the sanctuary nomination https nominate.noaa.gov/
media/documents/nomination_lake_
michigan_wisconsin.pdf. Consequently, education and outreach activities constitute a significant part of the sanctuarys final management plan.
Initiatives at NOAAs Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Alpena, Michigan, provide an example of a wide range of education, outreach, interpretation, tourism, and partnerships aimed at the benefitting the general public. NOAA disagrees with
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the comment on the 2013 economic study for Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
Draft Management Plan, Sanctuary Name, Operations 64. Comment: NOAA received one comment that NOAA should consider modifying the goal statement in the education and outreach plan to include education and dissemination of the maritime cultural landscape perspective as well as the shipwrecks to be protected by the proposed sanctuary, and that all of the strategies should address the maritime cultural landscape.
Response: NOAA believes the maritime cultural landscape is an essential component of interpreting, understanding, and appreciating historic shipwrecks. The final management plan contains a strategy and two activities aimed at characterizing the sanctuarys maritime cultural landscape. NOAA added a reference to maritime cultural landscapes in the Objectives section of the education management plan. As described by the National Park Service, a cultural landscape is a geographic area including cultural and natural resources, coastal environments, human communities, and related scenery that is associated with historic events, activities, or persons, or exhibits other cultural or aesthetic value.
65. Comment: NOAA received one comment stating that NOAA should fund the sanctuary at the $700,000 level as indicated in a summary of potential funding scenarios in Appendix 1 of the final management plan, as this would include enough resources to hire an education coordinator and implement an education program.
Response: NOAA agrees it is important to implement elements of the Education and Outreach Action Plan.
NOAA makes funding decisions based on annual appropriations to the program, which drive decisions for each sanctuary based on the funding level, program priorities, and site needs. As a result, site level funding can vary from year to year, which may impact the level of activities completed in the management plan each year.
66. Comment: NOAA received one comment stating that NOAA needs to have a presence in each community working on this designation process.
Rather than having a new visitor center created post-designation, NOAA should capitalize on the existing informal learning institutions and allied organizations already working to educate and inspire public appreciation
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