November 2009

National Marine 

Protected Areas Center

STRATEGIC PLAN

2010 - 2015

National Marine Protected Areas Center
MPA Center Strategic Plan

November 2009

For more information please contact:

National Marine Protected Areas Center

NOAA’s National Ocean Service

 Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management

1305 East West Hwy, N/ORM

Silver Spring, MD 20910

(301) 713-3100 x136

mpa.comments@noaa.gov

www.mpa.gov

www.mpa.gov
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National MPA CENTER 

STRATEGIC PLAN

2010 - 2015
MPA Center Strategic Plan

INTRODUCTION

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have long been used 

as a management tool for conserving marine resources. 

The United States (U.S.) has nearly 1,700 MPAs 

established by individual federal, state, territorial, tribal 

and local authorities for a wide range of purposes. 

However, there is a growing need to ensure that MPAs 

are coordinated within a larger ecosystem framework 

to effectively protect the nation’s natural and cultural 

resources, and represent the diversity of U.S. marine 

ecosystems. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA) National Marine Protected 

Areas Center (MPA Center) was created to develop and 

implement such a framework, facilitating the effective 

use of science, technology, training, and information 

in the planning, management and evaluation of the 

nation’s system of MPAs. This mission has assumed 

even greater importance as the nation and the world 

continue planning for the potential effects of climate 

change. Work under Executive Order 13158 also has 

particular relevance to the Administration’s developing 

ocean policy goals and a framework for coastal and 

marine spatial planning.

Presidential Executive Order 13158 defines the term 

“MPA” as “any area of the marine environment that 

has been reserved by federal, state, territorial, tribal or 

local laws or regulations to provide lasting protection 

for part or all of the natural and cultural resources 

therein,” with the term ‘marine environment’ including: 

(a) ocean or coastal waters (note: coastal waters may 

include intertidal areas, bays, or estuaries); (b) an area 

of the Great Lakes or their connecting waters; (c) 

an area of lands under ocean or coastal waters or 

the Great Lakes or their connecting waters; or (d) a 

combination of the above. Issued in May 2000, the 

Executive Order directs federal agencies to work 

together with states, territories, tribes, regional fishery 

management councils, and nongovernmental partners 

to develop and maintain an effective National System 

of MPAs in the U.S. and to accomplish a variety of 

related tasks working with public and private partners. 

The Executive Order also directed NOAA to establish 

the MPA Center to lead these activities in partnership 

with the Department of the Interior.

The MPA Center is headquartered in Silver Spring, 

Maryland, and has an office in Monterey, California. 

Staff in the headquarters office are responsible 

primarily for program management, planning, policy 

development, consultation, coordination, and outreach. 

The Monterey office focuses on targeted scientific 

research, assessment and policy analysis on aspects of 

design, management and evaluation of MPAs to bring 

sound science into the MPA policy arena. 

The MPA Center Strategic Plan was revised in 2009 

to more accurately reflect the organization’s evolving 

structure and priorities, with a greater emphasis on 

further developing the national system of MPAs and 

its operational capabilities. The plan also includes 

special interest areas of importance to the design and 

implementation of the national system over the next 

five year planning cycle.
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NATIONAL MPA CENTER VISION

An effective, science-based, and collaborative national 

system of marine protected areas conserving U.S. 

marine ecosystems and their associated natural and 

cultural resources.

NATIONAL MPA CENTER MISSION

To facilitate the effective use of science, technology, 

training, and information in the planning, management, 

and evaluation of the nation’s system of marine 

protected areas.

NATIONAL MPA CENTER GOALS

The Center has three goals that all support the 

Executive Order’s vision of a national system of MPAs 

that meets multiple conservation and management needs 

for current and future generations. They also support 

the Ecosystem Goal within NOAA’s Strategic Plan.

1. Build and maintain the national system of MPAs.

2.Improve MPA stewardship and effectiveness.

3.Facilitate international, national and regional 

coordination of MPAs activities.

CROSS-CUTTING SUPPORT 

FUNCTIONS WITHIN THE 

NATIONAL MPA CENTER

The MPA Center works with state, territorial, tribal, 

federal, and nongovernmental partners to support key 

functional areas that cut across our goals. Principal 

among these functional areas are:

Capacity Building – strengthening the knowledge, 

abilities, relationships and values that enable institutions, 

organizations, groups and individuals to more effectively 

address MPA use and management and make informed 

decisions in adapting to new challenges. 

Communication – making objective information 

available and accessible to diverse audiences involved in 

or affected by MPA issues.

Education – providing information to teachers, 

students and targeted stakeholders to increase their 

understanding of MPA issues.

International Coordination – transferring U.S. and 

international experiences and ensuring linkages to and 

participation in international MPA efforts, including 

MPA systems and networks.

Policy Analysis - analyses of current and emerging 

issues and policies affecting MPAs at the national, 

regional, tribal, state, and territorial levels.

Regional and National Coordination – facilitating 

dialogues and partnerships at the national and regional 

levels to elicit, understand, and support MPA priorities.

Science and Analysis – targeted research and analysis 

of natural and social science issues relevant to MPAs.

Synthesis – objective summaries of complex science 

and policy issues in a form that is useful to agencies and 

stakeholders engaged in the MPA arena.

Technical Assistance – developing tools and 

technologies needed to design, plan, manage, and 

evaluate MPAs.

Technology Applications – disseminating tools and 

technologies for their broad use and application in 

designing, planning, managing, and evaluating MPAs and 

MPA networks. 

Training – providing specialized courses about MPA 

issues targeted to both practitioners and stakeholders.
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SPECIAL INTEREST AREAS

Fostering Resilience to Climate Change 

through Enhanced MPA Management

Climate change is having a profound impact on the 

functioning of ocean ecosystems. Expected impacts, 

some of which are already being realized, include 

increased ocean temperatures, sea level rise, altered 

weather patterns, changes in ocean currents, melting sea 

ice, and the effects of ocean acidification. In addition, 

these impacts will be felt by ecosystems already affected 

by existing stressors on the marine environment such 

as overfishing, habitat loss and land-based sources of 

pollution. MPAs are increasingly recognized as a key 

tool for maintaining and restoring ecosystem resilience. 

The MPA Center is planning for climate change impacts 

in the design and implementation of the national 

system of MPAs and is establishing regional, national 

and international partnerships to better address these 

threats through an ecosystem-based, adaptive approach. 

Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning

Demands for the use of ocean and coastal resources 

and space are increasing, and with them the potential 

for more conflicts among ocean users and other 

stakeholders. Historically, governance of the marine 

and coastal environment has occurred through a 

fragmented, sector-by-sector approach that fails to 

address the interactions among uses. The U.S. has 

recognized a need for a practical way to organize 

the use of marine resources and space through an 

integrated, dynamic and adaptive approach. Coastal 

and marine spatial planning (CMSP), which is gaining 

momentum in the U.S. and abroad, provides a more 

transparent and rational approach to the development, 

use and conservation of the marine and coastal 

environment to achieve social and economic objectives. 

The MPA Center will seek to participate in CMSP 

processes and provide tools and information to ensure 

that the important functions of MPAs are recognized 

within the context of multiple ocean uses. 

MPA CENTER LINKS TO NOAA AND 

THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR

The National MPA Center is housed within NOAA’s 

Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management 

(OCRM) and coordinates across NOAA programs, as 

well as with pertinent federal, state, territorial, regional, 

and tribal MPA and MPA-support programs. At the 

federal level the MPA Center works closely with the 

Department of the Interior (DOI), which manages 

many marine areas under the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service’s National Wildlife Refuges and National Park 

Service, as well as the Minerals Management Service, 

which is responsible for managing outer continental 

shelf leases for mineral, oil and gas exploration, and 

conducting supporting research.

The location of the MPA Center within OCRM offers 

opportunities for collaboration with the National 

Coastal Zone Management, National Estuarine 

Research Reserve and Coral Reef Conservation 

programs, and supports OCRM’s strategic goals to 

protect and restore coastal and ocean resources, foster 

resilient coastal communities, and improve people’s 

ability to take action to benefit coastal communities 

and ecosystems. The MPA Center also draws on 

NOAA’s resources and expertise in ocean, ecosystem 

and fisheries science – critical components of effective 

MPA management. The Center is part of NOAA’s 

Coastal and Marine Resources Program, within the 

National Ocean Service, which supports NOAA’s 

Ecosystem Goal, “to protect, restore and manage the 

use of coastal and ocean resources through ecosystembased management.”
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The MPA Center completed the Framework for the National System of Marine Protected Areas of the United 

State of America in November 2008 (Framework). This Framework outlines the goals and objectives, principles, 

and operating processes for the national system. Over the next five years the MPA Center will work on the initial 

implementation and continued development of the national system of MPAs, focusing on: 

□ Strengthening Marine Conservation through the National System Partnership 

□ Planning for the Future

□ Engaging Stakeholders and the Public in Support of the National System and Marine Conservation

Objective 1. Implement the national system and maintain the List of MPAs. 

The MPA Center will manage the nomination process for existing federal, state, commonwealth, territorial, tribal 

and local MPA programs to join the national system. All national system MPAs will be included in an official “List 

of National System MPAs” that will guide federal agency requirements to avoid harm to the resources protected 

by these MPAs. The Center will work with member programs to enhance their effectiveness in meeting regional, 

national and international conservation goals. 

Revised Goals and Objectives

for MPA Center Strategic Plan

Goal 1: Build and maintain the National System 

of MPAs.
6 MPA Center Strategic Plan

Objective 2. Identify regional and national gaps, opportunities and priorities for placebased conservation within the context of ecosystem-based management. 

The national system of MPAs will enhance the effectiveness of existing national system MPAs through 

coordination; science analysis and tools; and capacity building. The MPA Center will also work with other 

science and MPA management agencies, and non-governmental stakeholders to identify gaps in protection 

among ocean areas important to national system objectives whose current management does not adequately 

address existing or emerging threats. Both priorities will be addressed through a collaborative gap analysis 

process designed to guide the developing national system of MPAs, as well as to inform and support its partner 

MPA programs and sites across the U.S. Gap analysis has many applications and clients, and the MPA Center 

will create and disseminate natural and cultural resource data, map products, and planning tools that can inform 

and support many forms of ocean management.

Commission for Environmental Cooperation - Marine Ecoregions of North 

America (classification of 24 marine ecoregions according to oceanographic 

features and geographically distinct assemblages of species: www.cec.org/marine)

Objective 3. Conserve representative 

examples of the nation’s natural and 

cultural heritage and ecologically 

significant places. 

The MPA Center will work to ensure the national 

system is both representative (in terms of geography, 

ecology, culture and levels of government) and 

resilient (in the face of large-scale and long-term 

changes such as climate change). This will enhance 

the national system’s ability to maintain ecosystem 

functions and will ensure continued representation of 

the nation’s important natural and cultural resources.

Objective 4. Foster the establishment of 

ecological and institutional networks to 

enhance the conservation of the nation’s 

natural and cultural heritage. 

Recognizing the importance of ecological networks 

in sustaining many marine species, the national 

system aims to increase connectivity and to include 

MPA network design as a component of the regional gap analysis process. Institutional networks are important 

for capacity building and sharing lessons learned. The MPA Center will work through MPA system partners and 

regional coordination mechanisms to enhance institutional networks through collaborative planning, projects, and 

information exchange. 

Objective 5. Evaluate the effectiveness of the national system in meeting its goals and objectives. 

The MPA Center will establish mechanisms, including periodic external evaluations and performance measures, to 

evaluate the effectiveness of the national system. Evaluation measures will focus on appropriate biological, cultural, 

social and economic indicators that measure the contribution of the national system and its member MPAs to national 

goals and objectives. Evaluation measures will be developed collaboratively with input from MPA system partners and 

the MPA Federal Advisory Committee (FAC).
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Goal 2: Facilitate international, national and 

regional coordination of MPA activities.

Objective 1. Coordinate nationally among federal, state, commonwealth, territorial, regional, 

tribal and local agencies to support the national system of MPAs and its stewardship goals. 

A key responsibility of the MPA Center is to coordinate with federal agencies and state, commonwealth, territorial, 

tribal and local governments and regions on MPA system activities. The Center will work with partner MPA 

programs to coordinate, support and strengthen program initiatives important to many MPAs, thus enabling 

the national system to meet its broader stewardship goals. The National System MPA Programs Workgroup will 

facilitate coordination at the national level, and provide operational guidance to the national system from the 

perspective of MPA programs and managers. The Center will also continue to work with the federal Interagency 

MPA Working Group on the design and implementation of federal aspects of the national system of MPAs. 
8 MPA Center Strategic Plan

Objective 2. Foster regional coordination of agencies and stakeholders to support the 

national system of MPAs and its stewardship goals. 

The MPA Center will continue to align with regional ocean governance initiatives in the development and 

implementation of the national system. The national system, through its regional science and stewardship plans, 

and databases and analyses (see Goal 3, Objective 2), can help strengthen and link the conservation components 

of diverse regional initiatives around the nation. The MPA Center also will coordinate among MPA stakeholders 

to enhance the effectiveness of the national system, both regionally and at the national level. 

Objective 3. Improve linkages with international MPA programs to advance U.S. conservation goals. 

Numerous international MPA efforts and linkages can contribute to and benefit from the national system. To 

strengthen international coordination, the MPA Center will enhance existing linkages or establish new ones with 

efforts in other countries, with a focus on countries that share boundaries and resources within the United States. 

The MPA Center will continue to help lead U.S. participation in the North American Marine Protected Areas 

Network (NAMPAN) to address common challenges inherent in the protection of marine biodiversity and jointly 

prioritize conservation actions. The MPA Center will also work toward enhancing U.S. commitments under the 

Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW Protocol) in the Wider Caribbean Region, with 

Pacific Islands’ partnerships, and with placed-based management initiatives in the Arctic to provide greater protection 

to rare and fragile ecosystems and habitats through data sharing, initiating new data gathering efforts and capacity 

building efforts.

Goal 3: Improve capacity for effective MPA 

stewardship through the national system.

Objective 1. Foster awareness and understanding of the national system and place-based 

ecosystem-based management. 

Consistent communication with both the public and management entities to provide information about the national 

system and place-based ecosystem-based management is essential. Through the www.mpa.gov website, newsletters, 

a virtual library, educational resources, audio and video media, presentations and other communication mechanisms, 

the MPA Center conducts outreach to a wide range of stakeholders. The MPA Center will expand its use of existing 

networks to share and improve access to information, relying on a variety of communication mechanisms to conduct 

targeted inreach to government agencies, including states and tribes.
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Objective 2. Develop, enhance and disseminate the science, tools and strategies for the 

design, evaluation and adaptive management of MPAs within the context of coastal and 

marine spatial planning. 

The MPA Center will maintain and enhance databases on place-based management and ocean governance and 

provide access to essential information for MPA and other ocean planning. These databases contain natural and 

cultural resource information, as well as geospatial data from the MPA Inventory, DeFacto MPAs, the Ocean 

Uses Atlas project, and cultural and natural resource gap analyses efforts. These data resources will serve as the 

backbone for the spatial analysis of existing MPAs and the identification of conservation gaps. Databases will be 

made accessible in various formats through the www.mpa.gov website for use by MPA partners, stakeholders and 

resource managers. 

Objective 3. Increase the capacity for meaningful, collaborative stakeholder participation 

in MPA processes. 

Meaningful stakeholder participation leads to decisions that are responsive to community interests and values, and 

also can help resolve user conflicts, build trust and educate the public about marine resource issues. The MPA 

Center works closely with the MPA Federal Advisory Committee (FAC), made up of 30 individuals of diverse 

backgrounds and experience, to effectively solicit the views and advice of the broader stakeholder community. 

In addition, the MPA Center will continue to work directly with stakeholder groups to address their interests and 

concerns. The MPA Center also works to build the capacity of MPA programs to plan and implement their own 

effective outreach and engagement strategies. 

Objective 4. Address cross-cutting technical and management priorities of member MPAs 

through collaborative initiatives and demonstration projects. 

The national system provides a venue for coordinated regional planning about place-based conservation priorities, 

as well as an opportunity to engage stakeholders on MPA issues. It will leverage scarce resources toward crosscutting management needs, and initiate collaborative science and technical projects and targeted research to 

support conservation priorities. 
10 MPA Center Strategic Plan

The Future

The MPA Center recognizes that the ongoing development and implementation of 

the national system of MPAs is a dynamic process requiring adaptive management. 

As the national system of MPAs matures, this Plan also will evolve in recognition of 

accomplishments and future requirements. 

www.mpa.gov

As of the date of the publication of this plan the Administration is continuing development of its ocean policy and the 

framework for coastal and marine spatial planning. The MPA Center’s strategic plan will be adjusted, as appropriate, to 

pursue strategies linked to Administration priorities once the final report of the Task Force is released. When compared with 

the recommendations of the Interim Report of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force (September 2009), the MPA Center 

already is pursing a number of complementary strategies including: ecosystem-based management; coastal and marine 

spatial planning; inform decisions and improve understanding; coordinate and support; resiliency and adaptation to climate 

change and ocean acidification; and regional ecosystem protection and restoration. 

Throughout its work, the MPA Center will adopt ecosystem-based management as a foundational principle for comprehensive 

management. Along with other objectives, the MPA Center and the national system of MPAs will work toward balanced, 

productive, efficient, sustainable, and informed ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes use, management, and conservation within 

the global community, recognizing that America’s stewardship of the ocean, our coasts, and the Great Lakes is intrinsically 

and intimately linked to environmental sustainability, human health and well-being, national prosperity, adaptation to climate 

and other environmental change, social justice, foreign policy, and national and homeland security.