Saving our coral canyons

New England’s rugged, iconic beauty is a key economic driver for our entire region. In the six states, the Outdoor Industry Association reports that the outdoor-recreation industry generates a total of $28.8 billion in consumer spending, creating 299,000 jobs and producing $2.06 billion in state and local tax revenue.

How are some of these billions generated? Anyone who has driven along any of our highways on a fall day can vouch for the throngs of visitors from around the world who flock here. These visitors are here to leaf-peep. Or watch whales and seabirds. Or pursue kayaking, sailing, fishing, hiking and many other recreational activities. Our outdoor recreation and tourism industry has become a mainstay of the regional economy.

Whether generated by local residents, once-in-a-lifetime tourists or regulars from “away” who return every year to beloved vacation spots, these economic benefits depend on our great outdoors, including the vibrant, deep ocean wilderness just off our shores.

Our ocean is as stunning as New England’s rocky shores and picturesque mountains. The Coral Canyons and Seamounts area, 150 miles southeast of Cape Cod, for instance, includes five undersea canyons and four nearby seamounts – the only seamounts in U.S. Atlantic waters.

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The area, discussed at a recent National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-hosted public listening session in Providence, supports a remarkable richness and diversity of ocean life. It is home to the most abundant and diverse communities of deep-sea corals on the Atlantic seaboard, some hundreds of years old and the height of small trees. This rich and dynamic ocean environment attracts an array of ocean wildlife, including whales, sea turtles, tunas and sea birds.

Despite their ecological importance and the benefits they bring to our economy, these ocean treasures do not yet enjoy the same protections as our rocky shores and mountains.

The commonsense protection provided by a national monument designation would allow future generations to continue reaping the benefits of a healthy ocean. I urge President Barack Obama to protect New England’s natural heritage – and our continued economic growth – by designating the Coral Canyons and Seamounts area as the Atlantic Ocean’s first marine national monument. •

Will Manzer is the former chairman of the Outdoor Industry Association and a partner at a consulting firm specializing in the retail industry.

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