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Exploring California’s Marine Protected Areas: Submarine Canyon Habitats
Deep and mysterious waters lie just off California’s coast, sometimes within a stone’s throw of the beach. A millennium of tectonic forces, and more recent geologic forces like ice ages and erosion have brought these present-day deep ocean habitats, called submarine...
Celebrating 50 Years of Protection at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve
The Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, located along the California coast just north of Half Moon Bay in Moss Beach, is a place that has inspired people since the first Native Americans inhabited the area thousands of years ago. Its unique geography, spectacular views atop...
Exploring California’s Marine Protected Areas: Sea Lion Cove State Marine Conservation Area
The Point Arena Lighthouse is a popular landmark to visit along California’s picturesque Mendocino Coast. Standing 115 feet above the flat coastal prairie, the lighthouse rises from the headland’s edge, bravely overlooking the pounding waves below. Whether from the...
Applying a Climate Change Lens to California’s MPA Network
Authors: Bryn Power, CSU COAST Science-Policy Intern, and Hayley Carter, Senior Science Officer, California Ocean Science Trust Photos: Michael LanghanExpanding the Tools Available to Tackle Our Changing Ocean In California, climate change poses risks to California’s...
Evaluation of two outreach tools, an educator program and a mobile tidepool exhibit, in reducing deleterious visitor activities and raising marine protected area awareness in rocky intertidal ecosystems of southern California, USA
Rocky intertidal habitats in urbanized settings, such as in southern California, USA, are heavily perturbed by human visitors (tidepoolers) through the deleterious activities of collecting, handling, and trampling. To protect rocky intertidal biota, certain locations...
Exploring California’s Marine Protected Areas: Big River Estuary State Marine Conservation Area
Big River Estuary State Marine Conservation Area (SMCA) is a small marine protected area located just south of the town of Mendocino. It covers less than a quarter square mile of estuary habitat along 1.3 miles of riverbank east of the Highway 1 bridge. Though it may...
Exploring California’s Marine Protected Areas: Reading Rock State Marine Conservation Area and Reading Rock State Marine Reserve
Imagine cruising along Highway 101, enjoying one of California’s most scenic drives north of San Francisco. As the hustle and bustle of California’s Golden Gate City falls far behind, the scenery changes from developed cityscapes and suburban neighborhoods to...
In-kind contributions to Orange County marine protected area management
Blue Earth Consultants conducted a valuation of in-kind contributions made by non-State members of Orange County Marine Protected Area Council (OCMPAC) to marine protected area (MPA) management activities in Orange County. OCMPAC is a leading Community Collaborative...
San Mateo County MPA Collaborative: CDFW MPA Management News
The San Mateo MPA Collaborative brings a diverse group of partners together from local non-profits, county, state, and federal agencies, educators, and citizen scientists. San Mateo Collaborative members support projects that aim to build an inclusive community...
San Diego County MPA Collaborative: CDFW MPA Management News
Created in 2012, the San Diego County Marine Protected Area (MPA) Collaborative has supported local MPAs with talent and dedication. Members have led efforts to install local interpretive and regulatory MPA signs as well as distributing recreational brochures and...
Exploring California’s Marine Protected Areas: Double Point/Stormy Stack Rock Special Closure
California’s coastline north of San Francisco is well-known for rocky cliffs, small coves with sandy shorelines, and numerous offshore rocks of all shapes and sizes. Some of the larger offshore rocks in these cold waters are important to sea birds and marine...
Exploring California’s Marine Protected Areas: Casino Point State Marine Conservation Area
California offers some of the best snorkeling and scuba diving in the world, thanks to its magnificent kelp forests. An underwater counterpart to the incomparable redwood forests on land, divers glide through kelp stipes and blades just as birds soar through forest...