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- Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary is administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) and was designated in 1994 as the first National Marine Sanctuary in the
Pacific Northwest.
- Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary encompasses 3,310 square miles off of Washington State's
Olympic Peninsula, extending 135 miles along the Washington Coast from about Cape Flattery to the
mouth of the Copalis River.
- The seaward boundary of the Sanctuary varies from about 25 to 40 miles offshore. This includes
most of the continental shelf, as well as parts of three important submarine canyons, the Nitinat
Canyon, the Quinault Canyon and the Juan de Fuca Canyon.
- The Sanctuary shares 65 miles of coastline with Olympic National Park, including some of the last
remaining wilderness coastline in the lower 48 states. Olympic National Park and the Sanctuary
share resource management jurisdiction in the intertidal zone.
- Sanctuary waters include many types of crucial habitat. Nearshore kelp beds, subtidal reefs,
rocky and sandy intertidal zones, submarine canyons and plankton-rich upwelling zones all support
biodiversity.
- Three national wildlife refuges are located within the Sanctuary: Flattery Rocks NWR, Quillayute
Needles NWR and Copalis Rock NWR. The refuges protect over 800 named and unnamed offshore rocks,
seastacks and islands.
- Significant natural resources include 29 species of marine mammals, nesting seabirds, including
common murres, rhinoceros auklets and tufted puffins, haul-outs for Steller sea lions and nest
sites for peregrine falcons, both protected under the Endangered Species Act.
- Sea otters, eliminated by fur hunters in the early 20th century, were reintroduced in 1969 and
1970. Their numbers have risen since then to more than 500 animals.
- The Sanctuary includes traditional fishing areas for four coastal Indian tribes, the Makah,
Quileute, Hoh and Quinault Tribes. Each of the tribes is represented on the Sanctuary Advisory
Council and is an important resource management partner for the Sanctuary.
- Nearly 180 documented shipwrecks occurred within the area of the Sanctuary. Protecting cultural
and historical resources is an important Sanctuary mandate.
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