The Ocean Needs Your Support!

Northeast citizens, communities, scientists and advocates are calling on the U.S. federal government to protect the Northeast Ocean by creating the Cashes Ledge National Marine Sanctuary. Protecting vital areas like Cashes Ledge is crucial to creating a healthy, thriving ocean and marine sanctuaries are key to protecting biodiversity and building resilience to climate change and serve as undersea classrooms through research and education. We now need your voice!!

Why Cashes Ledge? 

Cashes Ledge is an extraordinary underwater mountain range in the Gulf of Maine and one of the most unique ecological structures in U.S. ocean waters. This 32-mile underwater expanse contains sharply rising submerged granite ridges and deep basins in the mountain range, allowing a treasure trove of marine life among its diverse terrain. 

It contains the deepest, densest kelp forest on the Eastern Seaboard, the crown jewel of the Cashes Ledge area. The diverse habitats of the Cashes Ledge Area, ranging from the lush kelp forest to the rocky outcroppings to the deep muddy basins, provide a haven for a remarkable diversity of marine life. Residents include the Atlantic wolfish, the rare blue sponge, and the unusual red cod, along with seasonal visitors including humpback and sei whales.

Permanently protecting this special place would provide unparalleled scientific research and educational opportunities and one of the most comprehensive opportunities for biodiversity and climate stewardship in the Gulf of Maine. We now need your voice!!

Why a National Marine Sanctuary?  

A National Marine Sanctuary is a protected area of ocean waters with outstanding ecological, historical, scientific, educational, recreational, cultural, archeological, or esthetic significance. The level of protection offered to sanctuaries varies based on the area’s specific needs and is ultimately determined during the designation process. As proposed, the Cashes Ledge Sanctuary would prohibit incompatible activities such as oil, gas, and mineral extraction and offshore wind development in the Sanctuary. It would also prioritize biodiversity and conservation.

The proposed sanctuary would also include a smaller, fully protected sub-area that prohibits all extractive and otherwise damaging activities. This would safeguard the biodiversity of the rare, intact kelp forest and interconnected, adjacent habitats in the face of dramatic climate impacts. The fully protected area would also provide a living laboratory to better understand the impacts of climate change in the Gulf of Maine without the confounding influences of damaging human activities.

Ultimately, what will be allowed in the Sanctuary will be determined through a multi-year, public process that will provide opportunities for engagement at each phase to ensure community-based decision making and collaboration. We now need your voice!!

Why We Should Support Cashes Ledge as a National Marine Sanctuary.

Cashes Ledge is the crown jewel of the Gulf of Maine.  Climate change and other negative human impacts pose a serious threat to this precious place. Some protections are currently in place, but those are far from comprehensive or permanent. 

The Gulf of Maine’s waters are warming faster than 97% of the world’s ocean, making it one of the regions most threatened by climate change. Protecting Cashes Ledge and its remarkable diversity of wildlife and habitats would help build climate resilience in the Gulf. 

How Can You Support Cashes Ledge and the Sanctuary Process? 

The Office of National Marine Sanctuaries is now going over the nomination document. Then, they will hopefully accept Cashes Ledge into their “inventory,” a list of sites that they’re considering for sanctuary status.

Right now we can add our voices and tell the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries we support this designation!!