Are underwater archaeological sites open to the public in any way to visit or directly interact?
DAVE ALBERG: Absolutely, the Monitor is open. There’s a permit process to dive the Monitor, but we work, in fact in June of 2009 we had a private research trip to the Monitor, we have another one in August of 2009, and for years, really for 30 years, we’ve had a long history of private research trips to the Monitor where people can get down on the site and experience first hand the history and the tremendous value that the Monitor represents in terms of our national story. (ROLE OF NOAA IN MARITIME HERITAGE) HOST: Thanks Dave for what you’ve given us so far today on a little bit more background and really explaining the concept of maritime heritage to us more. Can you take a few minutes to talk to us specifically about the role of the National Ocean Service in maritime heritage? DAVE ALBERG: Well, my office, the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, which falls under NOS, has really been on the cutting edge of preserving maritime heritage not only within NOAA, but really within the fe
