Three advisory working groups taking the lead on possible rule changes for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary plan to convene their first meetings within a few weeks.</p><p>The groups will focus on specific topics that could lead to proposed regulatory changes. Group suggestions will be considered by the full Sanctuary Advisory Council along with state and federal officials.</p><p>The working groups:</p><p><LI> Coral Reef Ecosystem Restoration.</p><p><LI> Seagrass and Shallow-Water/Hard-Bottom Habitat Protection.</p><p><LI> Ecological Reserves, Preservation Areas and Wildlife Protection.</p><p>Each panel of about 15 people will include members of the Sanctuary Advisory Council, along with community members with expertise in specific areas.</p><p>"Working groups allow the Advisory Council to gather information from community experts, user groups and scientists," said sanctuary communications director Karrie Carnes.</p><p>Final membership in the working groups has not been set. But all of their meetings will be open, with times and places posted on the sanctuary's website, http://floridakeys.noaa.gov.</p><p>People also can be added to an e-mail list for meeting announcements.</p><p>The Reef Restoration and Bottom Habitat Protection groups will work to meet in time to make an initial report at the Sanctuary Advisory Council's next meeting, on Feb. 19 at Hawks Cay Resort on Duck Key, Carnes said.</p><p>The Reserves and Preservation Areas group, possibly drawing the most interest from sanctuary users, will hold its first meeting in March "since recommendations made by the other working groups may feed into [its] discussion," Carnes said.</p><p>"This is a very important process so anyone interested should become involved," Carnes said. "Get to know the [Advisory Council] members who represent you."</p><p>In general, the multi-year effort to undertake the first major review of Keys sanctuary rules and protected-area boundaries seems to be on track, she said.</p><p>Congress created the sanctuary in 1990 and its current management plan went into effect in July 1997.</p><p>As proposed, the Sanctuary Advisory Council could decide on its preferred alternatives at its October 2013 meeting. Writing an environmental-impact statement and going through the federal rule-making process means any rule changes would not take effect until summer, 2015.