About
The Orange County Marine Protected Area Council (OCMPAC) is the state’s oldest MPA Collaborative, started in 1999. OCMPAC is a collaboration of city and county officials, institutional representatives, environmental advocates, academic faculty, and nonprofit organization members. OCMPAC seeks to provide beach visitors with consistent marine protected area related information throughout the county. For nearly two decades, the organization has accomplished this by developing regional interpretive signage, regional brochures, and holding annual docents trainings. OCMPAC’s accomplishments also include county-wide signage, enforcement trainings, education programs, research & monitoring, and teacher workshops. Based on their success, OCMPAC was used as a model for the development of the statewide network of collaboratives. In addition to establishing programs for docent education, public outreach, and consistent enforcement, OCMPAC is actively engaged in a range of citizen science projects that monitor the health of Orange County’s MPAs. Since its inception, OCMPAC has served a key role in coordinating organizations to support MPA management in Orange County.
Join the OCMPAC Mailing List
Upcoming Events
Related Publications
Projects
Docent Trainings
Each year, OCMPAC provides new docent and recurrent docent trainings for all agencies and organizations providing intertidal interpretive programs within Orange County. This helps ensure that docents educate tidepool patrons in a consistent manner regardless of their organization or location within the County.
*The following sections and the pages linked in it are currently under construction and information may be missing or inaccurate as we work to make updates.
MPA Management at the Local Level
Learn how OCMPAC contributes to MPA management by clicking each of the buttons below. Important information for visitors, educators, and researchers planning a trip to an Orange County MPA is provided on each page.
Orange County MPAs
Approximately 12 of Orange County’s 44-mile coastline has been designated as a marine protected area (MPA). Each MPA can be classified as a State Marine Reserve, State Marine Conservation Area or Special Closure. These classifications have different regulations associated with their status. OCMPAC recommends that individuals research fishing regulations for the location they intend to fish in Orange County prior to arrival, as failure to comply with these regulations may result in a citation.
OCMPAC Leadership Team
Jennifer Burnaford
OCMPAC Co-Chair
Professor; Co-Director Southern California Ecosystems Research Program, CSU Fullerton
jburnaford(at)fullerton.edu
Makana Nova
OCMPAC Co-Chair
Coastal Planning Manager, OC Parks
makana.nova(at)ocparks.com
Sara Ludovise
OCMPAC Co-Chair Emeritus
Coordinator, Inside the Outdoors, Orange County Department of Education
ludovise.sara(at)gmail.com
OCMPAC Members
Last updated February 2023. Do you see information or links that need to be updated? Let us know.
This list is not meant to imply that each affiliated organization is participating in the collaborative at a formal level nor that each collaborative member is representing the official view of their affiliation. All voices and perspectives are welcome and are considered unique to the person sharing them.