Coastal Services Center

The idea of finding lost treasure on a sunken pirate ship has been the fantasy of numerous children. The reality for coastal resource managers trying to preserve and regulate shipwrecks is a series of conflicting politics, legal questions, and public interests that make navigating this issue as difficult as sailing a ship that's taking on water.

"I have a lot of empathy, frustration, and alliance with coastal managers who are dealing with this relatively new public resource," said Ken Vrana, director of the Center for Maritime and Underwater Resource Management at Michigan State University. "They have historic shipwrecks dangling in front of them, when their plates are already full with environmental concerns and they're already stressed financially. This is a really big issue."

When looking at shipwrecks, coastal resource managers are seeing federal mandates that are being challenged in the courts; state politicians who have varying degrees of interest in the issue; the public's increasing awareness and interest; the need to provide regulations balancing access with preservation; competition with existing programs; and an overall lack of funding.

"It can be hard to be optimistic about it," Vrana said.

Tom Graf, land and water management analyst with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, said, "Because of the Titanic movie, shipwrecks are receiving a lot more attention. That combined with all the litigation going on means this issue is going to get a lot more attention from coastal managers."

Graf said Michigan began recognizing shipwrecks were an important cultural resource in 1980 when legislation was passed creating the state's underwater preserve system. The issue received national attention in 1987 when the U.S. Congress enacted the Abandoned Shipwreck Act. Under the act, the U.S. transfers the title of abandoned shipwrecks to the state where they are located. Each state is encouraged to enact laws to comprehensively manage their underwater cultural resources.

"How each state deals with this issue really varies," said Graf, who administers Michigan's Underwater Salvage and Preserve Program. "A lot of states aren't dealing with it at all and some are probably more advanced than we are. One of the problems is when it's underwater, it's out of sight, and when it's out of sight, it's out of mind. What we have to remember is that these are publicly owned resources on publicly owned lands.

"The difficulty is that there are so many perspectives on how we should take care of what we have and any new wrecks we might discover," he said. "You have museums, divers, non-divers, law enforcement, and archeologists, and there's a vast difference in what each of these groups wants and needs. It's not easy to manage."

Vrana said the shipwreck act has been helpful, "but it's created a lot more questions than answers." He noted a recent lawsuit by the California State Lands Commission over the ship S.S. Brother Jonathan that went to the U.S. Supreme Court on appeal. A salvage company that located the wreck went to federal court seeking the rights to the vessel and cargo. California moved to dismiss the salvager's claim under the shipwreck act.

"The court found unanimously in favor of the salvagers," Vrana said. "This puts in question state ownership of many historic shipwrecks. The case has costly implications for management all over the U.S."

Vrana said the shipwreck act also does not directly assist states with funding. "This is an unfunded request of the state. It identifies two funding sources, but these are limited pots of money where you are competing with brick and mortar, land archeological projects, and with coastal zone projects focusing on environmental resources. Shipwrecks are really the new kids on the block and there is enormous competition for funds that are wholly inadequate."

Bruce Terrell, archeologist/historian with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Sanctuaries Division, said another issue is that state agencies receiving federal funds are required to comply with a number of federal laws for historic preservation. "You can't just think about shipwrecks. Submerged cultural resources also include prehistoric sites, historic piers, lighthouses – anything that preserves human culture."

Terrell said coastal zone managers "have to make sure that permits for building piers, breakwaters, office buildings, or parking lots don't impact cultural resources, or if they do, that you do the necessary surveys to protect the information [gathered from the resources]."

He noted that federal agencies are impacted in different ways. "The main responsibility of the sanctuary program is directed by the National Historic Preservation Act, which requires the sanctuaries to inventory the historic properties on the land we manage, assess a site for its historic significance, and nominate a site to the National Register of Historic Places," Terrell said. National Estuarine Research Reserves "are in a different situation because the bottom lands are still state property and submerged cultural resources are managed by the state. Their main mandate becomes education."

Terrell said education is vital because "the public doesn't really get the message on the archeological importance of these resources. Submerged cultural resources are a limited resource, a nonrenewable resource. These artifacts can tell us amazing things. When a ship sinks, time stops. It's really a time capsule. It's important that we care for, retrieve, and record that information. When this cultural information is destroyed it can never be recreated. Education is something every coastal management agency can, and should do."

He added, "Some communities are doing a really good job of getting the message out, but those sites are often tied with tourism, where a lot of people are visiting the sites."

Vrana said tourism and the recreational value of shipwrecks has been the backbone of Michigan's underwater preserves program. "We've had to show that these sites have more than just archeological value," he said. "We've expanded education to include the economic benefits, the connection with heritage and culture, and their value as a recreation site. Shipwrecks on some scale also have value as biological habitat. The community and legislature responded better when we broadened our focus."

Vrana said this direction does create problems of its own. "As a diving destination, it's good for the economy, but it puts more wear and tear on the resources. The key is finding a balance between use and preservation. The best way to do that is to develop partnerships with other agencies and interests that can help promote, manage, and protect these sites.

"There's a lot of partnering that can be done," he said. "By working together, we can begin to put this puzzle together."

For more information on Michigan's underwater preserves system, contact Tom Graf at (517) 335-3471 or graft@state.mi.us, and Ken Vrana at (517) 353-9735 or vranaken@pilot.msu.edu. For more information on NOAA's Marine Sanctuaries Division call, Bruce Terrell at (301) 713-3145, ext.155 or e-mail him at bterrell@ocean.nos.noaa.gov.