WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.600 --> 00:00:05.410 This is one of 15 sanctuaries in the sanctuary system. 2 00:00:05.820 --> 00:00:08.490 These are our coastal and underwater national parks. 3 00:00:09.030 --> 00:00:11.610 And you know what the National Park system does for recreation, 4 00:00:11.750 --> 00:00:15.090 for the appreciation of preserving our natural resources. 5 00:00:15.270 --> 00:00:17.690 That's all reflected in the National Marine Sanctuaries. 6 00:00:17.710 --> 00:00:21.610 You have history and heritage, pristine, natural postal resources. 7 00:00:21.860 --> 00:00:24.810 Let's build a similar legacy for these national marine actuaries 8 00:00:31.110 --> 00:00:35.130 At the iconic feature that everybody knows about. Malice Bay is the ghost fleet, 9 00:00:35.630 --> 00:00:40.490 the remains of 100 World War I era of wooden steam ships that were built as 10 00:00:40.490 --> 00:00:42.210 part of our entry into World War I. 11 00:00:42.390 --> 00:00:45.930 But the sanctuary itself encompasses 18 square miles. 12 00:00:46.590 --> 00:00:50.850 So there's so much more here all the way back to thousands of years in the 13 00:00:50.850 --> 00:00:52.810 Peoples of the Piscataway. 14 00:00:53.720 --> 00:00:57.930 What we have is aerial surveys to support the global 15 00:00:58.690 --> 00:01:03.530 Chesapeake Bay program and what we know about sea grasses either increasing, 16 00:01:03.530 --> 00:01:07.170 decreasing, staying the same, but we only know where the grasses are, 17 00:01:07.170 --> 00:01:08.290 where light penetrates. 18 00:01:08.470 --> 00:01:11.970 So we think we have an incomplete story that you guys are gonna help to fill in 19 00:01:11.990 --> 00:01:12.823 for us. 20 00:01:19.980 --> 00:01:21.970 Right? Here's the edge. We got some, 21 00:01:22.090 --> 00:01:26.250 a lot of different species down here fix celery and some of that cotton, 22 00:01:26.810 --> 00:01:27.643 whatever it is, 23 00:01:27.720 --> 00:01:30.170 They are serving sav uh, 24 00:01:30.170 --> 00:01:33.210 submerge aquatic vegetation to get an idea of what species are present along 25 00:01:33.210 --> 00:01:36.690 this bed. So with the aerial imagery, we get the acreage and the density, 26 00:01:37.390 --> 00:01:39.810 but we don't get the species compositions. 27 00:01:40.150 --> 00:01:43.370 The more species that are present in a bed, the more diverse it is, 28 00:01:43.710 --> 00:01:47.730 the better off it is. When environmental conditions shift and fluctuate, 29 00:01:47.920 --> 00:01:50.050 some species handle that change better than others. 30 00:01:50.810 --> 00:01:54.730 Whenever you've got good diversity, you've got options when things change. 31 00:01:55.270 --> 00:01:57.290 So you got wild celery naad, and 32 00:01:59.390 --> 00:02:01.490 So seagrass is important for numerous reasons. 33 00:02:01.510 --> 00:02:05.930 So it's a really vital habitat for juvenile fish species, for blue crabs. 34 00:02:06.250 --> 00:02:09.050 Sav is also, um, important for carbon sequestration, 35 00:02:09.390 --> 00:02:11.690 and it's a really important indicator of water quality. 36 00:02:11.990 --> 00:02:16.530 So when water quality is poor due to pollution or impacts of climate change, 37 00:02:16.830 --> 00:02:20.010 the sav may disappear or die off more. 38 00:02:20.110 --> 00:02:22.290 So it's important to study these long-term trends. 39 00:02:22.960 --> 00:02:27.330 This is under the water here. Oh, this is on top of the water here. 40 00:02:27.550 --> 00:02:28.383 Got it. 41 00:02:28.580 --> 00:02:32.210 Coral reefs, kelp beds, marine mammals, fisheries, 42 00:02:32.390 --> 00:02:36.530 our nation's history is all right here in National Marine sanctuaries where 43 00:02:36.530 --> 00:02:41.490 people don't know getting other people to know and appreciate what is possible 44 00:02:41.870 --> 00:02:44.730 in a National Marine sanctuary. That's what Forest Blue does. 45 00:02:45.620 --> 00:02:48.090 We've been operational now for five years, 46 00:02:48.350 --> 00:02:52.330 but now because the sheer breadth of the National Marine Sanctuary system, 47 00:02:52.540 --> 00:02:57.410 we're gonna get to put every single one of those skills into play for something 48 00:02:57.630 --> 00:03:02.480 as amazing as our United States National Marine Sanctuary system. 49 00:03:02.820 --> 00:03:06.680 And for veterans who have served this country to now be put back into service 50 00:03:07.150 --> 00:03:10.960 with a mission that is that special. Frankly, it's, it's life changing. 51 00:03:11.940 --> 00:03:13.680 I'm excited to go to these different places, 52 00:03:13.830 --> 00:03:17.480 help out the researchers raising that awareness is good, that, you know, 53 00:03:17.480 --> 00:03:21.040 this stuff is in people's backyards. As a nation, it's in our backyard, 54 00:03:21.180 --> 00:03:24.600 so we should know about it. We should understand it, and we should treasure it. 55 00:03:25.300 --> 00:03:30.160 Having this initiative to get to every National Marine sanctuary was a 56 00:03:30.160 --> 00:03:34.040 perfect opportunity to showcase all that the sanctuary system has to offer in 57 00:03:34.040 --> 00:03:38.040 terms of science and education and engagement with local communities, 58 00:03:38.500 --> 00:03:43.160 but also the incredibly powerful work that Forest Blue does to restore 59 00:03:43.200 --> 00:03:46.640 veterans and their health and give them opportunities to contribute. 60 00:03:47.780 --> 00:03:50.640 All these ships are here. Nature is taking 'em back. You know, 61 00:03:50.640 --> 00:03:52.800 trees are growing on 'em, plants are growing around them. 62 00:03:52.800 --> 00:03:56.600 They're providing structure for fish. It's just the continuation of service. 63 00:03:56.740 --> 00:04:00.320 You know, working with the veterans today, having them out here with us, 64 00:04:00.510 --> 00:04:03.480 it's just amazing that they wanna do something like this. I hope they love it, 65 00:04:03.480 --> 00:04:05.640 you know, like it seemed like they had a good time today. 66 00:04:05.860 --> 00:04:08.160 So we're nothing without our environment. 67 00:04:08.300 --> 00:04:12.840 We need Eco warriors and people to give back. I love that they're part of that. 68 00:04:12.840 --> 00:04:13.673 Now. 69 00:04:14.710 --> 00:04:16.160 This is a tour of duty, 70 00:04:16.560 --> 00:04:20.280 a commitment on the part of forced blue veterans to perform conservation 71 00:04:20.280 --> 00:04:24.840 missions and community engagement events in every National Marine sanctuary 72 00:04:25.300 --> 00:04:29.640 across the United States. From Hawaii to Florida, Michigan, to Texas. 73 00:04:30.380 --> 00:04:32.760 If you have a company, a corporation, 74 00:04:33.140 --> 00:04:36.880 or a just an individual interested in supporting this historic effort, 75 00:04:37.220 --> 00:04:42.200 please visit www.forceblueteam.org/tour of 76 00:04:42.200 --> 00:04:44.720 duty to learn how you can get involved.