A Presidential Timeline: Commanders in Conservation

Ever visited our DC venue? We represent every National Marine Sanctuary currently under federal protection! Did you know those were established by Presidential executive orders?

In celebration of President’s Day, we’re taking a look back at some of the biggest conservation milestones achieved by our nation’s leaders in the last century:

Theodore Roosevelt - established the U.S. Forest Service, the nation’s first national wildlife refuges, five national parks and 18 national monuments.

Richard Nixon - established the Environmental Protection Agency and signed the Endangered Species Act (ESA) into law. There are currently more than 2,000 species listed as threatened or endangered worldwide.

Gerald Ford - approved the designation of the USS Monitor National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of North Carolina. It became the nation’s first national marine sanctuary.

Bill Clinton - established, by executive order, the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve. His executive order also directed the EPA to reduce the amount of pollution on beaches, coasts and in ocean waters.

George W. Bush - designated nearly 200,000 square miles (larger than all of the country’s national parks combined) of Pacific Ocean as a federally protected area just two weeks before leaving the White House. This has become the largest ocean conservation effort in our nation’s history (it is also one of the largest marine sanctuaries in the world).

Barack Obama - established a National Ocean Council that will for the first time create a coordinated system for managing America’s oceans, coasts and Great Lakes.

While we celebrate these historic milestones in conservation, we know there is still a lot to be done! To find out more about our conservation programs and how YOU can get involved, click here. 

An exciting day!

National Aquarium staff and visitors gathered together in the Aquarium’s 4-D Immersion Theater to watch as Barack Obama was sworn in as our nation’s 44th President. With nearly all of the 225 seats were filled, the room was packed with excitement! Sounds of clapper and cheers spread through the theater as Barack Obama and Joe Biden were sworn into office.

The Baltimore Business Journal captured the celebration at many locations around town. Click here to read about it!

Celebrating the presidential inauguration

On Saturday, January 17, 2009, President-Elect Obama will be visiting Baltimore on his way to his inauguration and will deliver a speech near City Hall at Baltimore’s War Memorial Plaza. The speech is scheduled to commence at 4:15 p.m.  National Aquarium visitors and overflow speech-goers will have a chance to see and hear the speech on a large screen in front of the Aquarium on Pier 3 in the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Waterfront Park.

For the safety and security of visitors to our city, many downtown streets will be closed on Saturday. Plan your visit to Baltimore City accordingly! Visit getarounddowntown.com, a service provided by Downtown Partnership, for a complete listing of these closures. Also, to accommodate visitors in the area, the Aquarium’s ticket center will close at 4 p.m. on Saturday.Visit aqua.org for details.

If you are traveling to Washington D.C. next week and looking for fun things to do around the city, stop by the newly renovated National Aquarium in D.C. located in the basement of the Commerce building.