The process of designating or expanding National Marine Sanctuaries (NMS) and National Estuarine Research Reserves (NERRs) can take several years. To provide more regular updates, measure tracks progress in advancing proposed designations and expansions through these processes. The area for a proposed expansion or designation is only added to the measure once it completes a step in process, and only steps completed on or after 10/1/2021 are counted. For Sanctuaries, target and actual areas (sq. miles) are estimated based on proposal information; they remain estimates until actual designation or expansion is complete. For NERRs, the area for a proposed reserve cannot be estimated (and therefore are not included in targets or actuals) until the state-directed site selection process is complete and a range of alternatives (i.e., proposed reserve boundaries) has been developed for the environmental analysis process.