Wait, they have said, until the Environmental Impact Statement for the revised plan, which will include boundary-expansion options, is complete. Locals, in other words, can react to the plan. They cannot help shape it from the outset. But local folks want to help shape the plan. In part, their motivation is economic.
Recreational fishing adds to that tally.
But the new localism debate goes beyond the matter of economics. These officials say they have a better understanding of marine habitat than federal managers. Yet expansion of the marine reserve area could squeeze fisheries into an ever-smaller area. Dredge disposal looms as another potential environmental problem. Harbor dredging now occurs with oversight from federal, state, and local authorities.