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Reports & documents – 2012 management plan

reticulated butterflyfish and whitebar gregroy swimming among the coral at Fagatele Bay
A reticulated butterflyfish (tifitifi maono) and whitebar gregory (tu'u'u pa) swim among the coral in Fagatele Bay. Photo: Greg McFall/NOAA

In 2012, sanctuary managers developed a new combined final management plan and a final environmental impact statement, along with a rulemaking. The final management plan/final environmental impact statement presents eight action plans designed to help achieve specific sanctuary goals, directly address current priority resource management issues, and guide sanctuary management over the next five to 10 years. A number of changes have been made in the final management plan and rule based on the response NOAA received on the draft during the 123-day public comment period.

The final management plan/final environmental impact statement also evaluates the potential environmental, cultural, and socioeconomic impacts of the proposed sanctuary actions, including: changing the name from Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary to National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa, including additional units in the sanctuary, revising sanctuary regulations, and implementing new sanctuary action plans. In addition, it provides responses to public comments previously submitted on the draft management plan, draft environmental impact statement, and proposed rule. The final environmental impact statement has been prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq., its implementing regulations (40 CFR parts 1500–1508), and NOAA's implementing procedures for NEPA (NAO 216-6).

NOAA published a record of decision (ROD) and final rule in the Federal Register on July 26, 2012 (after a 30-day mandatory waiting period following release of the final management plan/final environmental impact statement). The final rule contains the official revised sanctuary regulations, revised sanctuary boundaries, and responses to public comments on the proposed rule. Below are options for getting a copy of the documents, and further below under "Additional resources" you can also download a summary guide to the management plan/environmental impact statement in English or Samoan.

Download a copy of the final management plan/final environmental impact statement & final rule:

Download a copy of the draft management plan/draft environmental impact statement & proposed rule:

You can help us conserve government funds and paper by downloading the documents.

Unable to download the documents? Review a hard copy or CD-ROM:

  • Visit the American Samoa Department of Commerce/Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary office: A.P. Lutali Executive Office Building, 2nd Floor Pago Pago, American Samoa
  • Visit the Feleti Barstow Public Library or the American Samoa Community College Library

Additional resources

For more information about the management plan and management plan review process, you can download the following resources: