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I am responding to a techdiver posting that was forwarded to me. Karen = Flynn posted (in part): >> "...what bothers me most about the UNESCO concern, is that we don't = need to look very far to understand the ramifications of having large = bueraucratic organizations handling issues of shipwrecks. You only need = to look at the "USS Monitor" site as an example . . . initially NOAA made it nearly impossible for fully qualified wreck divers = to access the site. Then, with the expansion of tech diving in the mid-90= s they allowed the "general public" on the wreck for the first time = through the "Special Use Permit" program. Now after 4 years, it looks as = though that "public access" program is coming to an end. ... Maybe with = my new "Ph.D in Underwater Archeaeology", I'll at least be able to get a = Research Permit for the Monitor...."<< ------------------------------------------------------- Here's the current situation with the Monitor: Although it is true that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric = Administration (NOAA) was initially opposed to recreational divers diving = the Monitor, primarily because of safety concerns, recreational divers = have been visiting the Monitor each year since 1990. The first visits = were under NOAA Research Permits. Because of the growth of technical = diving and the increasing number of requests to visit the Monitor without = a requirement to conduct research, NOAA created a Special Use Permit for = non-research diving. During the four years this type of permit has been = in effect, scores of divers have visited the Monitor. During 1998, = however, the concessionnaire (Capt. Art Kirchner) had difficulty = recruiting enough divers and two of the three originally-scheduled trips = were cancelled. (At my suggestion, divers from the two cancelled trips go= t together and made one trip.) Another factor is that NOAA has accelerated its own program for research = at the Monitor Sanctuary, since we have discovered that collapse of the = Monitor's hull is imminent. We have teamed up with the Navy and others = to try and stabilize the Monitor before it disintegrates. As a result, = we are suspending Special Use Permits for the next year or two in order = to make certain that there are no scheduling conflicts with private = charters. Once site stabilization is completed, we expect to resume the = non-research schedule, assuming there is still a demand for such dives. As a person with a long career in recreational diving (certified in = 1969) I have tried to maintain a fair and cooperative relationship with = the dive community. I think it is important to note that one of the = principal partners in last year's Monitor Expedition was the Cambrian = Foundation--a nonprofit organization made up of technical divers, many of = whom I had met when they came to dive the Monitor under a NOAA permit. = To Karen Flynn, who has dived the Monitor before: You don't need a Ph.D. = (at any price!) in order to apply for a research permit, and we have = issued at least two such permits each year since 1990 for private = research at the Monitor. On the more general question of who should protect and manage = shipwrecks, I'll post a separate message. I hope you will forgive the long response, and I hope you will contact = me at the address below if you would like additional information about = the Monitor, NOAA's National Marine Sanctuary Program, the UNESCO = Convention, or cultural resource management in general. John Broadwater =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D John D. Broadwater, Manager MONITOR National Marine Sanctuary The Mariners' Museum, 100 Museum Drive Newport News, VA 23606-3759 757-599-3122 (fax 591-7353) jbroadwater@oc*.no*.no*.go* http://www.nos.noaa.gov/nmsp/monitor/ =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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