How do I submit a public comment on Draft Revised Management Plans for the ACE Basin, Elkhorn?

Follow the official notice linked on this page; it names the comment channel in its ADDRESSES section. This page includes talking points and a starter comment.

When is the public comment deadline for Draft Revised Management Plans for the ACE Basin, Elkhorn?

Comments are due by November 19, 2026. Comments received after the deadline may not be considered by the agency.

Do public comments actually change federal decisions?

Yes, when they are substantive. Agencies are legally required to read and respond to substantive comments before finalizing a rule, and specific personal comments about real places and real uses carry far more weight than identical form letters. Courts have overturned rules when agencies ignored substantive comments.

Support updated protections for ACE Basin, Elkhorn Slough, and Weeks Bay reserves

4 holes in the agency’s own analysis

Make these points, in your own words

I support revising the management plans for the ACE Basin, Elkhorn Slough, and Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserves, as these updated plans will set the direction for each reserve's programs and replace outdated plans approved as far back as 2007.
Approve boundary changes that expand protected areas at ACE Basin in South Carolina, Elkhorn Slough in California, and Weeks Bay in Alabama to strengthen long-term estuary conservation.
These management plans guide programmatic evaluations and track progress toward reserve goals, so revising them now ensures each reserve has a current, effective framework for protecting these coastal ecosystems.
Support simultaneous review of both the management plan revisions and the proposed boundary changes so NOAA can make coordinated, comprehensive decisions about all three reserves at once.

Say something only you can say. The law requires the agency to consider and respond to substantive comments, and specifics are what make a comment substantive.

Protective action worth supporting

PLAN’s own label for this notice, read from the official notice ↗.

Public comments now shape how three coastal estuarine reserves are managed and bounded for years ahead.

What’s at risk

Clean water, wildlife habitat, and climate resilience at three federally protected estuaries depend on strong management plans. Proposed boundary changes could expand or shrink the protected areas at each reserve.

If we stay silent

Updated plans will guide programs, funding priorities, and boundary lines at ACE Basin, Elkhorn Slough, and Weeks Bay for at least the next five years.

Our plain-English read of the official notice ↗. Check it against the agency’s own words below.

In the agency’s own words

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is soliciting comments from the public regarding a proposed revision of the management plans for the Ashepoo[hyphen]Combahee[hyphen]Edisto Basin (ACE Basin) National Estuarine Research Reserve in South Carolina, Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve in California, and Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Alabama. A management plan provides a framework to guide a reserve's programs, track progress toward meeting its goals, and identify potential opportunities or changes in direction. It is also used to guide programmatic evaluation…

Federal Register 2026-21418 ↗

The groups on this fight

3 groups predicted likely to care in Alabama and California

Predicted likely to care is a guess from the group's sourced work in Alabama and California, with no link to this decision. Give straight to them; nothing routes through us.

California Wilderness Coalition
Predicted likely to care · a guess
Chuckwalla National Monument, California: Spent years building the designation campaign with Tribal nations and now defends the monument as an intervenor in federal court.
Los Padres ForestWatch
Predicted likely to care · a guess
Los Padres National Forest, California: Has led opposition to oil drilling in the Los Padres region for two decades and is fighting the plan to reopen 400,000 acres to leasing.
Southern Environmental Law Center
Predicted likely to care · a guess
Works Alabama: 1 live federal case across all their work.

Every group above is on STAND for Public Lands, with its court record, its filings and who backs it.

Who signs it

The notice names no signer PLAN could read. PLAN names a decision-maker only when the document names one.

The ground

This fight isn’t bound to a map place in PLAN’s record yet. The notice names ACE Basin National Estuarine Research Reserve, Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (AL, CA, SC); none is a unit on the threatened lands map, so there’s no place page to open or watch.

The photograph on this page: Tidal marsh channels at Elkhorn Slough, California (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service photo). More Than Just Parks.

Who holds the vote

PLAN’s record doesn’t tie a member of Congress to this fight yet. The scorecard grades the votes and bills that decide public lands; nothing joins a vote or a bill to this decision, so there’s no member to name here without guessing.

See how your members vote ↗

Calling your two senators and your representative is the Call door on this page.

Filed underClean water Wildlife Climate Estuaries Coastal

Know an open comment period we are missing, or spotted a wrong deadline? .

Support updated protections for ACE Basin, Elkhorn Slough, and Weeks Bay reserves

4 holes in the agency’s own analysis

In the agency’s own words

3 groups predicted likely to care in Alabama and California

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