Coastal Post Online
MARIN COUNTY'S NEWS
MONTHLY - FREE PRESS
(415)868-1600 -
(415)868-0502(fax) - P.O. Box 31, Bolinas, CA, 94924
September, 2004
Environmental Defense Supports Marine Sanctuary Expansion
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Environmental Defense praised new legislation proposed by Congresswoman Lynn
Woolsey (D-Petaluma) that would substantially expand the existing boundaries of
the Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries to
include the Sonoma County coastline as far north as the town of Gualala.
"The time has come to protect the Sonoma Coast," said Environmental Defense marine conservation advocate Richard Charter. "The
economic importance and biological vitality of this region's nearshore waters,
combined with emerging new threats here, create a compelling need to act
now."
A public hearing on Rep. Woolsey's bill was held at 7 p.m. on
August 12 in the chambers of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors in Santa Rosa.
The Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary was created
in 1981, primarily to ensure permanent protection for the California coastline
along Marin County from offshore oil and gas drilling and other negative
impacts. Rep. Woolsey's Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank National
Marine Sanctuary Boundary Modification and Protection Act would expand the
protections now enjoyed by the existing sanctuaries to extend northward along
the length of the Sonoma Coast. Two prestigious national commissions, the Pew
Oceans Commission and the US Commission on Ocean Policy, have released reports
outlining the problems in our oceans and emphasizing the urgent need for
restoration measures and additional zones of protection.
Environmental Defense, a leading national nonprofit organization,
represents more than 400,000 members. Since 1967, Environmental Defense has
linked science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships to
create breakthrough solutions to the most serious environmental problems.
www.environmentaldefense.org
www.oceansalive.org