CONTACT: Matt Stout                FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                                   June 11, 1998

MONTEREY, CA. To recognize outstanding dedication to the marine environment, the Clinton Administration today awarded Seven Environmental Heroes at the National Ocean Conference in Monterey , Ca. Katie McGinty, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, presented plaques and recognition letters from Vice President Gore to California environmentalists during a luncheon today.

The recipients of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Environmental Hero Awards are among 25 recognized this year for their "tireless efforts to preserve and protect the nation's environment."

The award recipients include:

• Ted Danson, president of the American Oceans Campaign, an organization dedicated to protecting and preserving the vitality of coastal waters, estuaries, bays, wetlands and deep oceans. Danson has narrated two public service announcements for the International Year of the Ocean, one of which debuts at the National Ocean Conference. American Oceans Campaign as an organization has also been recognized as one of this year's Environmental Heroes. The American Oceans Campaign will also be receiving an award.

• Jean-Michel Cousteau, head of the Jean-Michel Cousteau Institute, who served as host at NOAA's kickoff at the International Year of the Ocean, and has spent his life exploring the world's oceans aboard the research vessels Calypso and Alcyone.

• Dr. Sylvia Earle, explorer in residence at the National Geographic, who has spent more than 6,000 hours doing underwater diving and research.

• Bob Talbot, noted marine photographer, has donated the beautiful images he creates to NOAA for a variety of projects aimed at protecting marine resources, both during the International Year of the Coral Reef and the International Year of the Ocean.

• Moss Landing Marine Laboratories faculty, staff and graduate students have worked extensively with NOAA's Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary programs in Monterey, Calif., including the mapping of habitats.

• Nathaniel Shaw Bingham was given a posthumous Environmental Heroes Award for his work as one of the nation's most effective fisheries conservation advocates. Bingham, who died in May, had been the habitat protection director for the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, a commercial fishing lobbying group.

In addition to the award presentations, Ted Danson will be premiering the latest PSA for Year of the Ocean. The theme of the 30-second PSA Danson narrates is "connections" and it is the second in a three-part series sponsored by NOAA and entitled: Ocean The Things You Do

. The PSA debuting at the conference points out that not only are small bodies of water connected to the ocean, but each of our actions is connected to the ocean. In the International Year of the Ocean, the message is that each action you take, even changing your car's oil, can have an impact on the ocean. Everything we dispose of has the potential of winding up in the ocean, whether through rainstorm runoff or through direct dumping.