In the early eighties oil and gas companies set their sights on potentially rich fields off the Peninsula. Their plans brought a firestorm of opposition from Indian tribes, Environmentalists, commercial fisherman, stat agencies and Olympic National Park Officials.

All said they wanted to protect the wild, pristine coast, its rugged sea stacks sunken kelp Forests and the nutrient-rich waters that rise from undersea canyons to support birds, fish, invertebrates and mammals. As a result, oil and gas exploration stopped.

In July 1994, the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary was dedicated. It stretches from Cape Flattery in north to Copalis, sharing nearly 60 miles of coastline with the national park and Indian tribes. The sanctuary runs seaward between 30 and 40 miles, Encompassing some of the world's richest marine habitats both above and below the waters. It covers more than 3300 square miles of water.

According to spokesman Bob Steelquist, the explosive growth of marine life on continental shelf and in the deep canyons in produced by a combination of sun, currents, and nutrients. "There is nothing else like it in the lower 48 states," said Steelquist, who has written several books about the Olympic Peninsula. "Whales travel here from Japan to feed. It's an important part of the migratory path for sea lions, birds and other animals.

The area has a profound cultural importance because of the four Indian tribes that life there on the west coast. "Those communities continue to have a strong interdependence With the ocean and rivers, he said. But it's not just native people who use the region. Crabbers workout of Westport, and commercial trawler and draggers come sown from Heah Bay. There is an important fishery resource out there that we want to protect.

Peninsula Daily News, December 10, 2001 Section A3