The long-awaited expansion of the Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries northward from Bodega Bay to Pt. Arena, a decision that will add 2700 square miles of protected waters, has been announced, accompanied by the dates and locations of upcoming public hearings in the affected communities and the release of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement.
The Northern California coast between Bodega Bay and Pt. Arena attracts millions of visitors and is the centerpiece of the region's economy, hosting one of the planet's four most productive ocean upwelling systems, in which nutrient-rich waters rise from the depths to provide the base of the marine food chain which embraces a globally significant, extraordinarily diverse, and productive marine ecosystem that supports abundant wildlife and valuable fisheries.
It provides breeding and feeding grounds for at least twenty-five endangered or threatened species; thirty-six marine mammal species, including blue, gray, and humpback whales, harbor seals, elephant seals, Pacific white-sided dolphins, and one of the southernmost U.S. populations of threatened Steller sea lions, plus over a quarter-million breeding seabirds.
Pursued for many years in a bipartisan effort by affected local elected officials and our Representatives and Senators in Congress, this is an outcome that will permanently prohibit offshore oil and gas drilling and establish rules for sewage dumping from cruise ships on the entire Sonoma Coast and on the Southern Mendocino Coast.
Upcoming Public Hearings:
May 22, 2014, Sausalito, 6 pm-U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Bay Model Visitor Center, 2100 Bridgeway Blvd., Sausalito, CA 95465
June 16, 2014, Point Arena, 6 pm-Point Arena City Hall, 451 School Street, Point Arena, CA 95468
June 17, 2014, Gualala, 6 pm-Gualala Community Center, 47950 Center Street, Gualala, CA 95445
June 18, 2014, Bodega Bay, 6 pm-Grange Hall, 1370 Bodega Avenue, Bodega Bay, CA 94923
To comment online go to: https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2014/04/14/2014-08061/proposed-expansion-and-regulatory-revision-of-gulf-of-the-farallones-and-cordell-bank-national
Written comments will be accepted until June 30, 2014, and should be sent to: Maria Brown, Superintendent, Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, 991 Marine Drive-The Presidio, San Francisco, CA 94129.
More details can be found at: http://SanctuaryExpansion.org