Trump administration axes federal panels on marine sanctuaries, invasive species

The Trump administration, earlier this week, quietly and without warning, eliminated federal advisory boards for America's marine protected areas, and on potential dangers posed by invasive species.

Gone are the Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee, an offshoot of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Invasive Species Advisory Committee, reporting to the U.S. Department of the Interior.

The axing will snuff out scientific papers associated with the committees. The invasive species panel's final work, requested by the Department of Defense, was a white paper on dangers of tick-born illness.

The marine panel was established in 2003 under Republican President George W. Bush. The U.S. has more than 1,700 protected marine areas, the largest a marine monument in the Pacific Ocean near Midway Island, initially protected by Bush and later enlarged by President Barack Obama.

Washington is home to the 3,188 square mile Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, which stretches offshore up to 40 miles from Cape Flattery south to the mouth of the Copalis River, north of Hoquiam.

The Olympic Coast has galvanized public figures from both parties, since the Trump Administration proposed to open more than 90 percent of the Outer Continental Shelf, off the coast, to oil and gas leasing.

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