We are proud to announce that our Foundation's name has changed.

 

To better reflect the breadth and depth of partnerships and exciting projects that we have with agencies throughout California, we have changed our name to:

 

California Marine Sanctuary Foundation

 

The partnerships that we have with the Channel Islands and Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuaries remain central to our mission, along with support for the state of California's network of MPAs.

 

Additionally, we continue to provide support for projects of the California Coastal Commission, the California Coastal National Monument, the National Marine Fisheries Service, California Water Resource agencies, and many others. Interestingly, our name is actually a return to the original name of incorporation for the organization, back in 1995.

 

The California Marine Sanctuary Foundation is excited to announce the winners of the "My Marine Park!" video contest. Youth and adult entrants were challenged with creating a short video about why they love their MPAs. Recreational enthusiasts from all over California documented how they enjoy their favorite MPAs as a way of increasing awareness to others.  We were thrilled with the number of fun, exciting videos we received. Enjoy exploring our majestic marine parks through the eyes of our contestants. Click here to view the videos!

A three part video webinar series has been prepared that presents an excellent overview of the history of California's leadership in ocean conservation, the science of MPAs and the recent findings off our coast, and finally walks the viewer through pointers on how to talk about and communicate about the MPAs.  The webinar modules are stand alone, and you can offer it to your volunteers, docents, staff or local community group.  Narrated by leading experts in the field, we hope you will use these in your outreach and communications. 

 

The webinars are available on YouTube by following the links below:

California Leads the Nation in Ocean Conservation 

Science of Marine Protected Areas 

Communicating About Marine Protected Areas 

A draft of "The California Collaborative Approach: Marine Protected Areas Partnership Plan" is now available for public and tribal comment, until the closing of the comment period on July 18, 2014 and July 25, 2014, respectively. 

 

The Partnership Plan is an overarching guidance document, developed under the leadership of Ocean Protection Council that promotes a partnership-based model for managing California's network of MPAs. Focused on a shared vision of linking agencies and organizations across geographic and jurisdictional scales, the Partnership Plan aims to tap into the existing energy, expertise, and resources at the local scale through a network of state-wide County Collaboratives. Follow the links below for additional information. 

Draft MPA Partnership Plan 

MPA Partnership Plan Executive Summary 

MPA Partnership Plan FAQ 

Click here for more information on how to submit your comments.  

Organizations, groups, and individuals who are actively involved in managing or overseeing monitoring efforts on the Central Coast are invited to participate in an online survey, open through August 29, 2014. The survey is designed to capture a wide range of data collection efforts and monitoring activities taking place in the region to help identify gaps, overlaps, potential partnerships, and key capacities. For more information see OceanSpaces.org. 

 

Up to $3 million was authorized to support and seed the next five years of Central Coast Marine Protected Area monitoring during the June Ocean Protection Council meeting. Funds will be leveraged through a partnership-based approach to monitoring that will be guided by the monitoring plan and results of the Central Coast monitoring survey. Click here to see a graphic illustrating the timeline currently underway for developing a Central Coast MPA Monitoring Plan.

 

The Ocean Science Trust, in collaboration with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, released a draft of the Central Coast MPA Monitoring Plan for public input from mid-May through early June. A summary of the key themes that emerged from the input received is now available here. The monitoring plan is currently being revised in consideration of all public input received.  

Come create and take home a fun souvenir, an activity for the whole family to share. Find out what gray whales eat by creating a bright sun catcher for your window, or create a fancy fish with paper, paint, and color. Build a seal or sea lion puppet decorated with your own special seal nose, complete with whiskers! Click here for more information. 

Get involved with Save Our Shores! They are hosting a Sanctuary Steward Crash Course to train passionate individuals how to lead beach cleanups and other Save Our Shores outreach events. Fore more information click here.  

Highlights include science exhibits, technology demonstrations, deep-sea videos, presentations about our research, robotic submarines, and children's activities. This free event is fun for the whole family! Click here for more information. 

Join Save Our Shores for an exciting event celebrating our brain on water. Dr. Wallace "J." Nichols is a scientist, wild water advocate, community organizer and author. For more information click here.

We are excited to announce that we have a new team member! Katelyn Sprofera has joined as a program assistant with the California MPAs program. She obtained a B.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology with an emphasis on marine ecosystems from University of California, Santa Cruz. An all around ocean aficionado, Katelyn is an AAUS certified science diver and recently received her NAUI dive master certification. She plans to continue her education in the near future focusing on ocean conservation, subtidal monitoring and scientific research.