Project Yukon

Almost 2 miles off San Diego's beautiful Mission Beach, the HMCS Yukon rests on her port side in 100 feet of water. A SCUBA-equipped visitor to the 366-foot Canadian destroyer escort experiences remarkable things: not only a flag-to-keel tour of an historic military vessel, but face-to-face encounters with anemones, brittle stars, giant kelp, fish, and nudibranchs. Originally conceived by the San Diego Oceans Foundation (a non-profit group devoted to ocean stewardship) as a marine habitat, the ship is now also a premier recreational and educational dive destination.

Artificial reefs - objects sunk and allowed to become a marine habitat - aren't uncommon. Every coastal state has some, and Florida leads the nation with over 430 "reefed" vessels. Artificial reefs have also been made out of cars, bridges, and old tires. Despite the variety of substrates, properly prepared reefs have many benefits in common: They provide badly needed habitat for ocean life - an advantage of increasing importance given the current rate of habitat destruction from pollution, dredging, and overfishing. Artificial reefs also offer relief from tourist pressure on fragile natural ecosystems such as coral reefs. When it comes to obsolete military vessels, reefing costs over 60% less than conventional scrapping methods, and is environmentally safer. Finally, projects like the Yukon preserve historically significant ships.

But reefing, while not uncommon, is a complicated affair. In addition to choosing a vessel and site, one must then clear both with various governmental bodies. The Amry Corps of Engineers, for example, must permit the site to ensure water quality and navigability. The ship must then be scrubbed to comply with stringent environmental regulations. The Coast Guard oversees the removal of petrochemicals and other industrial substances, while the EPA supervises the removal of PCB's, asbestos, heavy metals and other contaminants (incidentally, the Environmental Impact Report for the Yukon received an award of merit from the Association of Environmental Professionals). The boat then must be rendered structurally safe for divers, which includes welding shut or removing hatches, cutting out miles of entangling hazards like cables, and placing exits throughout the vessel. And finally, once the boat is sunk, someone has to accept responsibility for its ongoing maintenance. The city of San Diego now owns the Yukon.

Project Yukon required over 7,000 person-hours not only to prepare the boat, but also to navigate the considerable bureaucratic waters around it. Although ships have been reefed before, the knowledge has remained tribal and prior to the Yukon, there was no cohesive process for doing so in the U.S. Fortunately, along with the Canadian ship came the expertise of the world leaders in reefing: the Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia. The ARSBC has reefed six ships in Canada, the US and Australia. Their knowledge (which SDOF dubbed "The Canadian Model") formed the base for Project Yukon's success. Other experts, such as Thomas Maher of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, assisted SDOF in deciphering and complying with government regulations.

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