Letter from the Executive Director | |
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
As we move into September, I am filled with pride and optimism as we continue to make meaningful strides in our mission to protect and restore our oceans and coastal watersheds.
By securing one of the largest climate resilience grants in California history, advancing critical monitoring for offshore wind energy, broadening our understanding of equitable ocean access, and supporting the next generation of leaders, CMSF is charting a course toward a more sustainable and inclusive future for our oceans.
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Each project, each survey, and each partnership we foster is a testament to our collective commitment to our mission.
We invite you to explore the stories and updates in this newsletter, and to join us in the exciting journey that lies ahead.
Sincerely,
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Robert Mazurek
Executive Director
California Marine Sanctuary Foundation
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Regional Adaptation for Climate Resilience of Monterey Bay Coastal Communities
On July 26th, 2024 CMSF was awarded one of the largest single grants in the history of California after being selected to receive funding through NOAA’s Climate Resilience Regional Challenge.
This transformational grant, with funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, will bring over $71 million into the Monterey Bay area. It will provide Climate Resilience Adaptation funds for dozens of projects led by CMSF and a coalition of 21 partners including local governments, academic institutions, and other nonprofits.
Learn more about the project here: www.californiamsf.org/climateresilience
Read the press release here.
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Collaborative Roadmap for Offshore Wind Impact Monitoring: Celebrating Six Months of Progress
The CMSF team is excited to mark a significant milestone this September: six months since the kick-off of our Ocean Protection Council-funded Collaborative Roadmap for monitoring offshore wind impacts. Kicking off March 2024, the team has been diligently working to engage with experts, coordinate multiple working groups, and facilitate workshops, all while keeping pace with the rapidly evolving offshore wind sector.
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The project aims to develop a scientifically robust road map and monitoring guidance for assessing environmental impacts of floating offshore wind development in California. To celebrate our progress in this two-year initiative, the team has compiled an impact statement that highlights the scale and significance of our collaborative efforts.
A few numbers included in the impact statement were:
- 5 scientific expert working groups coordinated
- 270+ experts mobilized
- 32 hours of workshops facilitated
- 120+ institutions represented
The final impact statement will be showcased on our new project landing page at OSWEM.org.
In the meantime, you can stay informed about latest developments in environmental science related to offshore wind by exploring these resources:
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Photo credit: Julia Dombroski, 2023. | |
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Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to advance toward milestones in this project!
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Equity in California Ocean Access and Management | |
To improve our understanding of ocean access in California, our social-ecological scientist Dr. Jennifer Selgrath is co-leading a project with Dr. Timothy Frawley to assess how people use and benefit from the ocean, what they value about the ocean, barriers to ocean access, and the influence of social and environmental change. The survey is funded by the California Ocean Protection Council and was designed using principles of community-engaged research. This is one of the very few studies that has ever evaluated ocean access in California, and it has focused on getting representative perspectives from communities that have not been included in ocean management in the past. In the past few months our team has done surveys in English, Spanish, and Chinese at community events and at places ranging from fishing piers to laundromats. We’ve surpassed our goal of surveying 600 people - to date we’ve heard from nearly 1,000 people. We are hoping to get many more before the survey closes at the end of September. | |
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You can help!
Survey Link | Enlace de la encuesta | 调查链接: tinyurl.com/ocean-access-online-t
Join us in documenting how Californians use and value the ocean, and how environmental, social, and regulatory changes might affect these benefits. The survey takes about 20 minutes, is anonymous, and will be used to inform state and federal ocean management. If you complete the survey you’ll be entered into a drawing to win free ocean trips.
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CMSF is Hiring for Three New Positions! | |
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Climate Resilience Grant Manager:
CMSF is seeking a Climate Resilience Grant Manager to help provide daily leadership and accountability and ensure impact for a large collaborative multi-institutional project across the Monterey Bay region of California.
Senior Grant Accounting Specialist:
CMSF is seeking a Senior Grant Accounting Specialist to help with accounting tasks across several conservation grants in California, including a large collaborative multi-institutional project in the Monterey Bay area
Monterey Bay Climate Adaptation Action Network Coordinator:
CMSF was recently awarded a Climate Resilience Regional Challenge (CRRC) grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for a 5-year term beginning October 1, 2024. The CRRC grant will support the development and launch of the Monterey Bay Climate Adaptation Action Network (MBCAAN). MBCAAN will coordinate and plan for future adaptation and resilience actions in the Monterey Bay region and act as a forum for planning and information sharing to ensure the coordinated, integrated implementation of climate adaptation activities.
Learn more about the job opportunities here.
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Meet Our Ocean Protection Council Interns! | |
As part of the Equity in California Ocean Access and Management project, CMSF is able to support two great summer interns who are conducting surveys, translations, GIS analyses, and many other great activities. | | |
Manuela Diaz
My name is Manuela, and I was born and raised in a small town near Santiago, the capital of Chile. I completed my undergraduate degree in Interdisciplinary Design in Chile, and I am currently a MESM student at the Bren School at UCSB. Here I’m pursuing specializations in Coastal Marine Resource Management and Business and Sustainability. I’m a certified scuba diver, passionate about the ocean and committed to helping coastal ecosystems and local communities thrive. I’m excited to apply interdisciplinary approaches to advance coastal marine protection and promote inclusive access to coastal spaces.
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Lucas Lowe
Hi, my name's Lucas! I was born and raised in San Francisco, CA, and I recently graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a B.S. in Environmental Studies. I love hiking, reading, and anything having to do with the ocean. I began working on the ocean access project last year, quantifying accessibility to the coast through GIS (check out my blog post about that work!). This summer, I'm excited to continue working on the project by conducting in-person surveys about ocean access and environmental justice in my hometown! I look forward to gaining experience conducting surveys as it will greatly benefit my career in environmental justice and ocean-related research.
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Follow Us On Social Media | |
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Let's connect on social media!
We post a lot of program related updates on our social channels so you can keep up on all things CMSF.
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