By John Driscoll, Eureka Times-Standard
January 20, 2010
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved partial funding of a project to measure the anticipated social and economic effects of the Marine Life Protection Act on the North Coast.
Supervisors approved $50,000 to go to the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District to look into the value of fishing along the coast, a project to help gauge the impacts of forming marine reserves here. The Harbor District, which is coordinating a large group of governments, tribes and stakeholders, had asked for nearly $200,000 from the Headwaters Fund Community Investment Fund.
But the Headwaters Fund Board said it wanted the district to show that it had more matching funds for the study and more public support before funding the remainder of the request. It approved $50,000 in funding. Supervisors on Tuesday approved that amount for the first phase of the study and asked the Headwaters Fund Board to consider the remainder of the request at its Feb. 16 meeting.
Harbor District Executive Officer Dave Hull voiced concern about the tight timeline set up by the state for developing the network of marine reserves, and said that it's vital the North Coast be able to show how they will affect the economy and way of life here.
Hull laid out a slate of other grants the district earned to look into the status of fish populations on the North Coast and to help develop proposed marine protected areas. That funding totals about $250,000.
”It's all one big package,” Hull said. “We need all of that information.”
The MLPA aims to set up a network of marine reserves meant to protect habitat and species along the California coast. In the North Coast study area, nearly every elected body has expressed concerns about the potential for the process to harm the region's economy and way of life.
”There will be damage done to the coastal fisheries, that's for sure,” said 1st District Supervisor Jimmy Smith.
Supervisors also approved an agreement among counties, tribes, cities and special districts to coordinate efforts regarding the Marine Life Protection Act. The board is asking for applications from those interested in serving on the North Coast Local Agency Coastal Coordination Committee for up to three years. Two representatives for the county are expected to be chosen at the Feb. 8 supervisors' meeting.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Supes to give Humboldt Bay's MLPA efforts Headwaters funding
By Donna Tam, Eureka Times-Standard
January 18, 2010
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors may financially support a study about the potentially negative impact the California Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) would have on the local community.
The board will vote on the $50,000 Headwaters Fund grant to the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District's proposed pre-MLPA study on Tuesday.
The board will also discuss entering into an agreement with the Harbor District to provide staff and organizational assistance for any MLPA-related coastal projects.
The MLPA aims to set up a network of marine reserves meant to protect different habitats along the California coast, such as rocky areas and kelp forests, as well as the species that live in them.
The process has been controversial in other areas of the state, and in the North Coast study area essentially every elected body has expressed concerns about the potential for the process to harm the region's economy and way of life.
According to a staff report, the Headwaters Board is recommending the grant because the analysis being done for the MLPA will not consider the economic impacts beyond the dock, including dock activities, processing, or fishing industry-related products.
The Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District is trying to contract with a company, Impact Assessment Inc., to do a report that will detail current socioeconomic trends, conditions and the effects the MLPA would have on commercial and recreational fishing sectors and associated businesses and communities.
The Harbor District requested almost $200,000 from the Headwaters Fund to cover the entire cost of the report, but the Headwaters Board is asking the district to pursue other funding sources as well.
The Headwaters grant will pay for the first phase of the study, which will characterize the existing socioeconomic conditions as they relate to the fishing industry.
The Headwaters Fund is also recommending the approval of three other grants totaling about $80,000. The fund
is recommending awarding about $16,000 to the Humboldt County Agriculture, Nature and Heritage Tourism Project, about $16,000 to the Mattole Diversified Economy Project, and $48,000 to the Eel River Digital Media Academy.
January 18, 2010
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors may financially support a study about the potentially negative impact the California Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) would have on the local community.
The board will vote on the $50,000 Headwaters Fund grant to the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District's proposed pre-MLPA study on Tuesday.
The board will also discuss entering into an agreement with the Harbor District to provide staff and organizational assistance for any MLPA-related coastal projects.
The MLPA aims to set up a network of marine reserves meant to protect different habitats along the California coast, such as rocky areas and kelp forests, as well as the species that live in them.
The process has been controversial in other areas of the state, and in the North Coast study area essentially every elected body has expressed concerns about the potential for the process to harm the region's economy and way of life.
According to a staff report, the Headwaters Board is recommending the grant because the analysis being done for the MLPA will not consider the economic impacts beyond the dock, including dock activities, processing, or fishing industry-related products.
The Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District is trying to contract with a company, Impact Assessment Inc., to do a report that will detail current socioeconomic trends, conditions and the effects the MLPA would have on commercial and recreational fishing sectors and associated businesses and communities.
The Harbor District requested almost $200,000 from the Headwaters Fund to cover the entire cost of the report, but the Headwaters Board is asking the district to pursue other funding sources as well.
The Headwaters grant will pay for the first phase of the study, which will characterize the existing socioeconomic conditions as they relate to the fishing industry.
The Headwaters Fund is also recommending the approval of three other grants totaling about $80,000. The fund
is recommending awarding about $16,000 to the Humboldt County Agriculture, Nature and Heritage Tourism Project, about $16,000 to the Mattole Diversified Economy Project, and $48,000 to the Eel River Digital Media Academy.
Schwarzenegger Tours Earthquake Damage As MLPA Proceeds on Fast Track
By Dan Bacher, IndyBay
January 14, 2010
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday toured damage caused by the 6.5 magnitude earthquake that took place in the Eureka area of Humboldt County on Saturday. He also received a briefing on the status of recovery efforts as the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative Blue Ribbon Task Force was holding its meeting in Crescent City.
On Tuesday, Schwarzenegger proclaimed a state of emergency in Humboldt County due to the earthquake that impacted the northern coast of California, disrupted utilities and damaged hundreds of homes and businesses.
"Luckily there were not lives lost; we were very happy when we heard about that," said Schwarzenegger. "However, it did cause damage to 251 buildings, homes and businesses in this area here. We estimate the total damage that was caused to exceed $43 million."
"This is why on Tuesday I declared a state of emergency here in Humboldt County. This will cut through the red tape," he added.
However, if Schwarzenegger is so concerned about the disaster-stricken residents of the North Coast, why did his staff go ahead with conducting the MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force meetings held in Crescent City Wednesday and Thursday? You would think that Mike Chrisman and the MPLA Initiative Team would have the compassion to cancel the meeting at a time when many businesses and residents are dealing with the aftermath of the earthquake damage. The meeting could have been easily rescheduled.
Even better yet, why won't Schwarzenegger really help out North Coast communities by suspending the MLPA initiative in light of strong criticism of the process by the overwhelming majority of the residents of the region?
The Kashia Pomo and other tribes will be removed from their traditional gathering areas off Stewarts Point and Point Arena when the new Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) on the North Central Coast go into effect on April 1, 2010. We cannot allow the MLPA process to remove more North Coast tribes from their traditional gathering areas as the initiative, a process infested with conflicts of interest, mission creep and corruption of the democratic process, unfolds on the North Coast north of Point Arena.
Atta P. Stephenson, a traditional North Coast tribal seaweed harvester who was honored by Organic Sacramento and Friends of the River in December for her many efforts on behalf on environmental water justice, has strongly criticized the fast-track MLPA process for violating traditional tribal seaweed gathering and fishing rights.
"The MLPA process has railroaded communities and tribes in southern and central California and now has come to the North Coast," said Stephenson at the Organic Capital Celebration of Sustainability in Sacramento. "The state is calling areas where we traditionally harvested seaweed 'no take' zones where seaweed gathering will no longer be allowed."
Kenyon Hensel to MLPA Task Force: "Please Leave This Area"
During Thursday's meeting, recreational fishermen, commercial fishermen, environmentalists and representatives of North Coast Indian Tribes provided excellent, heart-felt testimony to the task force about their concerns with the MLPA process.
“We all (North Coast tribes) are aligned as far as our way of life is concerned,” said David Gensaw Sr., a Yurok tribal councilman, as quoted in the Crescent City Triplicate by reporter Kurt Madar (http://www.triplicate.com/20100115107950/News/Local-News/MLPA-panel-hears-local-concerns). “We know how serious this is, and we’re here to tell you how serious it is to us.”
"Since you continue to deny our local requests and act without a majority of local people on your Task Force, it is plain you do not have our best interests in mind," said Kenyon Hensel, a Crescent City fisherman. "Please leave this area and move on to some other part of California. Leave us and we will continue the creation of our own reserves and the side-by-side management of our resources that will exceed the intent of the MLPA. Give us three years and support our local effort if you are truly interested in seeing meaningful management of our renewable ocean resources."
I encourage everybody who supports environmental justice to read Hensel's excellent article in the Daily Triplicate about the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative and Native American sovereignty at http://www.triplicate.com/20100113107931/Opinion/Editorials/Coastal-Voices-Guest-Opinion-Native-sovereignty-and-the-MLPA.
Environmentalists and fishermen must support tribal seaweed gathering and fishing rights on traditional areas on the North Coast - and stand firm against any attempts by the state of California to pursue a "divide and conquer" strategy under Schwarzenegger's MLPA process. The fast-track MLPA initiative is being promoted by the same Governor who has presided over the collapse of Central Valley salmon, Delta smelt and other fish populations - and is planning to drive imperiled fish species into the abyss of extinction by building a peripheral canal and more dams to expedite the export of Delta water to corporate agribusiness and southern California.
Below is a copy of Hensel's testimony before the task force:
To the Blue Ribbon Task Force,
These are some of the unique local qualities you must take into consideration before further restricting access to our local renewable ocean resource.
Our area has the highest unemployment rate in the state. Our county is one of the poorest in California. The state or federal government owns over 75% of our county land, depriving us property taxes needed to maintain services. Our local jobs and revenue streams must be protected to offset this loss. Historically isolated from state population centers, our community knows the value of self-sufficiency. If you do not honor that value, you diminish both our community and our state.
The coastal waters of this management area already have the strictest rules of anywhere in the state. Because of these rules, our sport season is now measured in weeks, and our commercial landing limits are at less then ten percent of historic levels. Our harbor sport slip rental has gone from 1000 boats 15 years ago to less then 40 now. Our local commercial near shore fleet has been reduced from over 70 boats to less then 18. These reductions are due to fishing regulations applied since the MLPA was passed, restrictions that have greatly increased the overall stocks of fish, while locking them out reach. The crab fleet has grown, but that harvest is a boom and bust cycle, barely keeping the small near shore boats going. This has strained our fishing community and it’s infrastructure to the point of collapse. We can’t take the burden of more closures.
Local weather severely limits our time on the water, and how far small boats that fish the near shore can safely travel. We regularly experience less then 120 fishable days a year. More then half of those days, weather limits safe travel and time on the water. Closing fishing areas we can reach, where we have been traditionally fishing, will compound these conditions. Making us jump over a MPA to reach fishable waters creates an unacceptable risk to life and property.
There is no imminent environmental threat that justifies creating hardships for our coastal communities. All sea going mammals and their haul out areas, sea birds and their rookeries, coral and invertebrates are fully protected by existing federal and state laws.
The MLPA can be interpreted many ways. The initiative you are acting under is a narrow-minded approach, little but window dressing, to true effective fishery management. You are not using the accepted MPA science or process to create marine reserves. Without the science and the time we have asked for, you are only making little no fishing areas. They will drain enforcement, and create a false sense of higher protection. The process you are pushing will only lower the protection of our resources.
Since you continue to deny our local requests, and act without a majority of local people on your Task Force, it is plain you do not have our best interests in mind. Please leave this area and move on to some other part of California. Leave us and we will continue the creation of our own reserves and the side-by-side management of our resources that will exceed the intent of the MLPA. Give us three years and support our local effort if you are truly interested in seeing meaningful management of our renewable ocean resources.
January 14, 2010
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday toured damage caused by the 6.5 magnitude earthquake that took place in the Eureka area of Humboldt County on Saturday. He also received a briefing on the status of recovery efforts as the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative Blue Ribbon Task Force was holding its meeting in Crescent City.
On Tuesday, Schwarzenegger proclaimed a state of emergency in Humboldt County due to the earthquake that impacted the northern coast of California, disrupted utilities and damaged hundreds of homes and businesses.
"Luckily there were not lives lost; we were very happy when we heard about that," said Schwarzenegger. "However, it did cause damage to 251 buildings, homes and businesses in this area here. We estimate the total damage that was caused to exceed $43 million."
"This is why on Tuesday I declared a state of emergency here in Humboldt County. This will cut through the red tape," he added.
However, if Schwarzenegger is so concerned about the disaster-stricken residents of the North Coast, why did his staff go ahead with conducting the MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force meetings held in Crescent City Wednesday and Thursday? You would think that Mike Chrisman and the MPLA Initiative Team would have the compassion to cancel the meeting at a time when many businesses and residents are dealing with the aftermath of the earthquake damage. The meeting could have been easily rescheduled.
Even better yet, why won't Schwarzenegger really help out North Coast communities by suspending the MLPA initiative in light of strong criticism of the process by the overwhelming majority of the residents of the region?
The Kashia Pomo and other tribes will be removed from their traditional gathering areas off Stewarts Point and Point Arena when the new Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) on the North Central Coast go into effect on April 1, 2010. We cannot allow the MLPA process to remove more North Coast tribes from their traditional gathering areas as the initiative, a process infested with conflicts of interest, mission creep and corruption of the democratic process, unfolds on the North Coast north of Point Arena.
Atta P. Stephenson, a traditional North Coast tribal seaweed harvester who was honored by Organic Sacramento and Friends of the River in December for her many efforts on behalf on environmental water justice, has strongly criticized the fast-track MLPA process for violating traditional tribal seaweed gathering and fishing rights.
"The MLPA process has railroaded communities and tribes in southern and central California and now has come to the North Coast," said Stephenson at the Organic Capital Celebration of Sustainability in Sacramento. "The state is calling areas where we traditionally harvested seaweed 'no take' zones where seaweed gathering will no longer be allowed."
Kenyon Hensel to MLPA Task Force: "Please Leave This Area"
During Thursday's meeting, recreational fishermen, commercial fishermen, environmentalists and representatives of North Coast Indian Tribes provided excellent, heart-felt testimony to the task force about their concerns with the MLPA process.
“We all (North Coast tribes) are aligned as far as our way of life is concerned,” said David Gensaw Sr., a Yurok tribal councilman, as quoted in the Crescent City Triplicate by reporter Kurt Madar (http://www.triplicate.com/20100115107950/News/Local-News/MLPA-panel-hears-local-concerns). “We know how serious this is, and we’re here to tell you how serious it is to us.”
"Since you continue to deny our local requests and act without a majority of local people on your Task Force, it is plain you do not have our best interests in mind," said Kenyon Hensel, a Crescent City fisherman. "Please leave this area and move on to some other part of California. Leave us and we will continue the creation of our own reserves and the side-by-side management of our resources that will exceed the intent of the MLPA. Give us three years and support our local effort if you are truly interested in seeing meaningful management of our renewable ocean resources."
I encourage everybody who supports environmental justice to read Hensel's excellent article in the Daily Triplicate about the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative and Native American sovereignty at http://www.triplicate.com/20100113107931/Opinion/Editorials/Coastal-Voices-Guest-Opinion-Native-sovereignty-and-the-MLPA.
Environmentalists and fishermen must support tribal seaweed gathering and fishing rights on traditional areas on the North Coast - and stand firm against any attempts by the state of California to pursue a "divide and conquer" strategy under Schwarzenegger's MLPA process. The fast-track MLPA initiative is being promoted by the same Governor who has presided over the collapse of Central Valley salmon, Delta smelt and other fish populations - and is planning to drive imperiled fish species into the abyss of extinction by building a peripheral canal and more dams to expedite the export of Delta water to corporate agribusiness and southern California.
Below is a copy of Hensel's testimony before the task force:
To the Blue Ribbon Task Force,
These are some of the unique local qualities you must take into consideration before further restricting access to our local renewable ocean resource.
Our area has the highest unemployment rate in the state. Our county is one of the poorest in California. The state or federal government owns over 75% of our county land, depriving us property taxes needed to maintain services. Our local jobs and revenue streams must be protected to offset this loss. Historically isolated from state population centers, our community knows the value of self-sufficiency. If you do not honor that value, you diminish both our community and our state.
The coastal waters of this management area already have the strictest rules of anywhere in the state. Because of these rules, our sport season is now measured in weeks, and our commercial landing limits are at less then ten percent of historic levels. Our harbor sport slip rental has gone from 1000 boats 15 years ago to less then 40 now. Our local commercial near shore fleet has been reduced from over 70 boats to less then 18. These reductions are due to fishing regulations applied since the MLPA was passed, restrictions that have greatly increased the overall stocks of fish, while locking them out reach. The crab fleet has grown, but that harvest is a boom and bust cycle, barely keeping the small near shore boats going. This has strained our fishing community and it’s infrastructure to the point of collapse. We can’t take the burden of more closures.
Local weather severely limits our time on the water, and how far small boats that fish the near shore can safely travel. We regularly experience less then 120 fishable days a year. More then half of those days, weather limits safe travel and time on the water. Closing fishing areas we can reach, where we have been traditionally fishing, will compound these conditions. Making us jump over a MPA to reach fishable waters creates an unacceptable risk to life and property.
There is no imminent environmental threat that justifies creating hardships for our coastal communities. All sea going mammals and their haul out areas, sea birds and their rookeries, coral and invertebrates are fully protected by existing federal and state laws.
The MLPA can be interpreted many ways. The initiative you are acting under is a narrow-minded approach, little but window dressing, to true effective fishery management. You are not using the accepted MPA science or process to create marine reserves. Without the science and the time we have asked for, you are only making little no fishing areas. They will drain enforcement, and create a false sense of higher protection. The process you are pushing will only lower the protection of our resources.
Since you continue to deny our local requests, and act without a majority of local people on your Task Force, it is plain you do not have our best interests in mind. Please leave this area and move on to some other part of California. Leave us and we will continue the creation of our own reserves and the side-by-side management of our resources that will exceed the intent of the MLPA. Give us three years and support our local effort if you are truly interested in seeing meaningful management of our renewable ocean resources.
Coastal Voices Guest Opinion: Native sovereignty and the MLPA
By Kenyon Hensel, Special to the Daily Triplicate
January 13, 2010
The process to close off public access in our ocean waters is now entering a critical stage.
Local groups, hoping to keep important access open, have almost finished their proposals for closures. This process will result in one group of possible Marine Protected Area sites that match the sizing and spacing requirements of the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative. It is a local good-faith effort to minimize the impact of the closures on our fishing community.
This well-meaning group can’t change the MLPA Initiative process. The Blue Ribbon Task Force (BRTF) makes the final decisions. This is the group that will decide what closures to send to the state Fish and Game Commission. They can choose from the proposals that come from the local arrays now being finished, the future Science Advisory Team (SAT), or Regional Stakeholder Group (RSG) yet to be formed. These proposals may or may not include local arrays. The Blue Ribbon Task Force is also allowed to mix, match or make up its own.
The biggest oversight of the MLPA Initiative process has been ignoring Native American rights to hunt and gather. This has left everyone involved in the North Coast process very uncomfortable. The local groups preparing MPA sites, whose members include first-nation representatives, cannot make any decisions affecting those rights. Yet, they are forced to try and propose sites, or leave the decisions completely to some one else.
No one locally can resolve this issue, but the Blue Ribbon Task Force will discuss it at their meeting here in Crescent City on Thursday. The task force also does not have the power to decide the issue, the only way this can be resolved is if the state enters into direct talks with the sovereign Indian nations.
For all of you who care about maintaining access to our renewable ocean resources, please take the time on Thursday to attend the task force meeting at the Elk Valley Rancheria conference room.
The meeting starts at 8 a.m. Public comment is on the agenda at 12:30. I will be trying to comment on the futility of this process and how destructive it is to our communities. We need everyone who cares about access to our renewable ocean resource to be there. Please join us and watch history being made.
Kenyon Hensel is a local fisherman who has been closely involved with California’s MPA process.
January 13, 2010
The process to close off public access in our ocean waters is now entering a critical stage.
Local groups, hoping to keep important access open, have almost finished their proposals for closures. This process will result in one group of possible Marine Protected Area sites that match the sizing and spacing requirements of the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative. It is a local good-faith effort to minimize the impact of the closures on our fishing community.
This well-meaning group can’t change the MLPA Initiative process. The Blue Ribbon Task Force (BRTF) makes the final decisions. This is the group that will decide what closures to send to the state Fish and Game Commission. They can choose from the proposals that come from the local arrays now being finished, the future Science Advisory Team (SAT), or Regional Stakeholder Group (RSG) yet to be formed. These proposals may or may not include local arrays. The Blue Ribbon Task Force is also allowed to mix, match or make up its own.
The biggest oversight of the MLPA Initiative process has been ignoring Native American rights to hunt and gather. This has left everyone involved in the North Coast process very uncomfortable. The local groups preparing MPA sites, whose members include first-nation representatives, cannot make any decisions affecting those rights. Yet, they are forced to try and propose sites, or leave the decisions completely to some one else.
No one locally can resolve this issue, but the Blue Ribbon Task Force will discuss it at their meeting here in Crescent City on Thursday. The task force also does not have the power to decide the issue, the only way this can be resolved is if the state enters into direct talks with the sovereign Indian nations.
For all of you who care about maintaining access to our renewable ocean resources, please take the time on Thursday to attend the task force meeting at the Elk Valley Rancheria conference room.
The meeting starts at 8 a.m. Public comment is on the agenda at 12:30. I will be trying to comment on the futility of this process and how destructive it is to our communities. We need everyone who cares about access to our renewable ocean resource to be there. Please join us and watch history being made.
Kenyon Hensel is a local fisherman who has been closely involved with California’s MPA process.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Governor Can Really Help North Coast by Suspending MLPA Process
By Dan Bacher, IndyBay
January 11, 2010
On January 10, Melissa Miller-Henson from the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative sent a message to the "north coast community" regarding the magnitude 6.5 earthquake that struck the Eureka area Saturday. The quake damaged homes and businesses, toppled chimneys, knocked out traffic signals, snapped power lines and left a trail of broken windows, dishes and bottles.
"The MLPA Initiative staff would like to extend our deepest and most heartfelt wishes to those living in the Eureka area," the MLPA I-Team stated. "It has been a relief to hear from news reports that there were no fatalities and, overall, the region fared relatively well given the magnitude of the earthquake. May you and yours be safe and out of harms way."
That's nice that Miller-Henson and the MLPA "I-Team" are expressing their "deepest and most heartfelt wishes" to those living in the Eureka area. However, what would be even nicer if Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Secretary of Natural Resources and the MLPA "I-Team" would really help out the communities of the North Coast by immediately suspending the Governor's fast-track MLPA process.
In fact, if the Schwarzenegger administration is so concerned about the people recovering from the earthquake on the North Coast, they should cancel the MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force set for this Wednesday, January 13 and Thursday, January 14, 2010 at the Elk Valley Rancheria Community Center in Crescent City!
The fast-track MLPA Initiative, a process infested with conflicts of interest, racism and corruption of the democratic process, is opposed by a broad coalition of environmentalists, fishermen, Indian Tribes and North Coast cities and communities.
On December 24, Secretary of Natural Resources Mike Chrisman turned down a request by a coalition of North Coast fishermen, tribes and local governments for more time to draft marine protected areas (MPAs), keeping the widely-contested process on Schwarzenegger's fast track. Chrisman rejected the request, sent by Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District Commissioner Pat Higgins on behalf of the North Coast Local Interest MPA Workgroup, because he felt that an additional extension of the deadline is "unnecessary at this time."
"While I understand your concerns and have thoroughly considered the points you raised regarding the timeline and availability of information, I am confident that given that all that is available to you now, the current timeline provides ample opportunity for your group to submit a quality first-round draft array," said Chrisman, a Central Valley agribusinessman who has been an adamant proponent of the peripheral canal, more dams and the destruction of Central Valley salmon and Delta smelt populations.
Chrisman will retire from state "service" on February 1 to continue his career of corporate greenwashing at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. He will be replaced by Lester Snow, the Director of the Department of Water Resources. Hopefully, Snow will respond to the grassroots movement against the MLPA initiative and suspend this process.
Just as Schwarzenegger and his staff are fast-tracking the MLPA process to kick Indian Tribes, fishermen and seaweed harvesters off traditional areas on the ocean, they are relentlessly pushing for the construction of the peripheral canal and new dams and the gutting of Endangered Species Act protections for Central Valley salmon and other fish species. There is nothing "green" about the MLPA process, since it aims to privatize ocean public trust resources to serve the interests of the oil industry, real estate companies, marina developers, water districts and corporate agribusiness.
As John Lewallen said so eloquently, "It is unconscionable for true environmentalists to participate in the MLPAI process of cultural genocide. May we Californians put a stop to the genocidal MLPAI, support Tribal Sovereignty, and emulate the sense of personal and cultural sovereignty of the tribal peoples of Northern California."
January 11, 2010
On January 10, Melissa Miller-Henson from the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative sent a message to the "north coast community" regarding the magnitude 6.5 earthquake that struck the Eureka area Saturday. The quake damaged homes and businesses, toppled chimneys, knocked out traffic signals, snapped power lines and left a trail of broken windows, dishes and bottles.
"The MLPA Initiative staff would like to extend our deepest and most heartfelt wishes to those living in the Eureka area," the MLPA I-Team stated. "It has been a relief to hear from news reports that there were no fatalities and, overall, the region fared relatively well given the magnitude of the earthquake. May you and yours be safe and out of harms way."
That's nice that Miller-Henson and the MLPA "I-Team" are expressing their "deepest and most heartfelt wishes" to those living in the Eureka area. However, what would be even nicer if Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Secretary of Natural Resources and the MLPA "I-Team" would really help out the communities of the North Coast by immediately suspending the Governor's fast-track MLPA process.
In fact, if the Schwarzenegger administration is so concerned about the people recovering from the earthquake on the North Coast, they should cancel the MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force set for this Wednesday, January 13 and Thursday, January 14, 2010 at the Elk Valley Rancheria Community Center in Crescent City!
The fast-track MLPA Initiative, a process infested with conflicts of interest, racism and corruption of the democratic process, is opposed by a broad coalition of environmentalists, fishermen, Indian Tribes and North Coast cities and communities.
On December 24, Secretary of Natural Resources Mike Chrisman turned down a request by a coalition of North Coast fishermen, tribes and local governments for more time to draft marine protected areas (MPAs), keeping the widely-contested process on Schwarzenegger's fast track. Chrisman rejected the request, sent by Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District Commissioner Pat Higgins on behalf of the North Coast Local Interest MPA Workgroup, because he felt that an additional extension of the deadline is "unnecessary at this time."
"While I understand your concerns and have thoroughly considered the points you raised regarding the timeline and availability of information, I am confident that given that all that is available to you now, the current timeline provides ample opportunity for your group to submit a quality first-round draft array," said Chrisman, a Central Valley agribusinessman who has been an adamant proponent of the peripheral canal, more dams and the destruction of Central Valley salmon and Delta smelt populations.
Chrisman will retire from state "service" on February 1 to continue his career of corporate greenwashing at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. He will be replaced by Lester Snow, the Director of the Department of Water Resources. Hopefully, Snow will respond to the grassroots movement against the MLPA initiative and suspend this process.
Just as Schwarzenegger and his staff are fast-tracking the MLPA process to kick Indian Tribes, fishermen and seaweed harvesters off traditional areas on the ocean, they are relentlessly pushing for the construction of the peripheral canal and new dams and the gutting of Endangered Species Act protections for Central Valley salmon and other fish species. There is nothing "green" about the MLPA process, since it aims to privatize ocean public trust resources to serve the interests of the oil industry, real estate companies, marina developers, water districts and corporate agribusiness.
As John Lewallen said so eloquently, "It is unconscionable for true environmentalists to participate in the MLPAI process of cultural genocide. May we Californians put a stop to the genocidal MLPAI, support Tribal Sovereignty, and emulate the sense of personal and cultural sovereignty of the tribal peoples of Northern California."
Visalia rancher to leave state post
Chrisman is retiring as secretary of resources agency
By E.J. Schultz, Fresno Bee
January 5, 2010
Visalia rancher Mike Chrisman will retire next month as the state's Natural Resources Agency secretary to take a job at a fish and wildlife foundation, he said Tuesday.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger -- who continues to deal with turnover among top officials in his final year -- appointed Department of Water Resources Director Lester Snow to replace Chrisman, who will depart Feb. 1.
Chrisman, a 65-year-old Republican, is the third-longest-serving secretary in Schwarzenegger's Cabinet. He took the job in November 2003, but kept his Visalia home, commuting to Sacramento nearly every weekend.
"For the past seven years, Mike has worked tirelessly with me to safeguard our state's precious natural resources and I am grateful to him for his service to the people of California," the governor said in a statement.
The Natural Resources Agency manages 17,000 employees in departments overseeing California's water, wildlife, fish, forests and parks.
Chrisman's retirement follows the recent departures of other top-ranking officials, including Schwarzenegger's finance director, and leaders at Caltrans and the Employment Development Department.
Chrisman said he will start his new job Feb. 1 as director of the southwest partnership office of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit directs public and private money to environmental projects. Chrisman will maintain his Visalia residence, he said.
Snow, a 58-year-old Democrat, last year played a key role negotiating an $11 billion water bond pushed by the governor. The bond still requires voter approval in November. The Senate has a year to confirm Snow, who can serve in the interim, earning a salary of $175,000.
The office of Senate Leader Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, did not immediately comment on the appointment, although it is not expected that Snow will face stiff opposition.
To replace Snow, the governor picked Democrat Mark Cowin, a longtime water department official. Schwarzenegger also appointed John McCamman as director of the Department of Fish and Game. McCamman, a Republican, has been acting director since November. From 1994 to 2003, he was chief of staff for Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa.
Chrisman's tenure was highlighted by the implementation of the Sierra Nevada Conservancy. The grant-giving organization seeks to safeguard the environment and economy of 25 million acres in the state's eastern mountain range.
Chrisman also created a public-private partnership to implement the state's Marine Life Protection Act, which calls for the protection of the state's coastline from overfishing.
In recent years, Chrisman dealt with severe budget cuts that led to a decline in game wardens and cutbacks in the state's parks budget.
"Chrisman led the Resources agency though some very difficult times," said Kim Delfino, California program director at Defenders of Wildlife, an environmental group. "Not all decisions were perfect. But on the whole, I think he did a good job as secretary."
By E.J. Schultz, Fresno Bee
January 5, 2010
Visalia rancher Mike Chrisman will retire next month as the state's Natural Resources Agency secretary to take a job at a fish and wildlife foundation, he said Tuesday.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger -- who continues to deal with turnover among top officials in his final year -- appointed Department of Water Resources Director Lester Snow to replace Chrisman, who will depart Feb. 1.
Chrisman, a 65-year-old Republican, is the third-longest-serving secretary in Schwarzenegger's Cabinet. He took the job in November 2003, but kept his Visalia home, commuting to Sacramento nearly every weekend.
"For the past seven years, Mike has worked tirelessly with me to safeguard our state's precious natural resources and I am grateful to him for his service to the people of California," the governor said in a statement.
The Natural Resources Agency manages 17,000 employees in departments overseeing California's water, wildlife, fish, forests and parks.
Chrisman's retirement follows the recent departures of other top-ranking officials, including Schwarzenegger's finance director, and leaders at Caltrans and the Employment Development Department.
Chrisman said he will start his new job Feb. 1 as director of the southwest partnership office of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit directs public and private money to environmental projects. Chrisman will maintain his Visalia residence, he said.
Snow, a 58-year-old Democrat, last year played a key role negotiating an $11 billion water bond pushed by the governor. The bond still requires voter approval in November. The Senate has a year to confirm Snow, who can serve in the interim, earning a salary of $175,000.
The office of Senate Leader Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, did not immediately comment on the appointment, although it is not expected that Snow will face stiff opposition.
To replace Snow, the governor picked Democrat Mark Cowin, a longtime water department official. Schwarzenegger also appointed John McCamman as director of the Department of Fish and Game. McCamman, a Republican, has been acting director since November. From 1994 to 2003, he was chief of staff for Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa.
Chrisman's tenure was highlighted by the implementation of the Sierra Nevada Conservancy. The grant-giving organization seeks to safeguard the environment and economy of 25 million acres in the state's eastern mountain range.
Chrisman also created a public-private partnership to implement the state's Marine Life Protection Act, which calls for the protection of the state's coastline from overfishing.
In recent years, Chrisman dealt with severe budget cuts that led to a decline in game wardens and cutbacks in the state's parks budget.
"Chrisman led the Resources agency though some very difficult times," said Kim Delfino, California program director at Defenders of Wildlife, an environmental group. "Not all decisions were perfect. But on the whole, I think he did a good job as secretary."
Harbor grants to help fisheries research, MLPA efforts
By John Driscoll, Eureka Times-Standard
January 7, 2010
The Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District has netted $250,000 in grants to coordinate efforts during the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative process and for other related fisheries research.
A $50,000 grant from the Resources Legacy Fund Foundation will help fund the district's work with fishermen, tribes and conservation groups to develop proposals for Marine Protected Areas along the North Coast. The proposals will be submitted to the initiative and the state, which are developing a network of areas off limits or restricted to fishing and other harvesting in California waters.
The North Coast region, including virtually every elected body in Humboldt, Del Norte and Mendocino counties, has opted to try to work in a unified manner to pitch concepts for MPAs, which are supposed to cover a wide variety of nearshore habitats.
Another grant for $198,490, also from the foundation, will go toward a collaborative fisheries research program, which would draw in the district, Humboldt State University and fishermen from the three counties. The goal of the program is to gather information on fish populations -- information that is sorely lacking -- along the North Coast.
District Conservation Director Adam Wagschal said that some of that data may be gathered in time to influence the end of the MLPA process locally. But the program will be more valuable for long-term management of MPAs and other fisheries regulations. For example, the program will look at assumptions about whether fish populations are more affected closer to ports, he said.
District Commissioner Pat Higgins said that the program would begin to collect the information needed to “unlock” the richness off the coast, as access to many fish is regulated based on precaution, not because there is data showing the are struggling.
”We got a jump-start with this grant,” Higgins said.
January 7, 2010
The Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District has netted $250,000 in grants to coordinate efforts during the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative process and for other related fisheries research.
A $50,000 grant from the Resources Legacy Fund Foundation will help fund the district's work with fishermen, tribes and conservation groups to develop proposals for Marine Protected Areas along the North Coast. The proposals will be submitted to the initiative and the state, which are developing a network of areas off limits or restricted to fishing and other harvesting in California waters.
The North Coast region, including virtually every elected body in Humboldt, Del Norte and Mendocino counties, has opted to try to work in a unified manner to pitch concepts for MPAs, which are supposed to cover a wide variety of nearshore habitats.
Another grant for $198,490, also from the foundation, will go toward a collaborative fisheries research program, which would draw in the district, Humboldt State University and fishermen from the three counties. The goal of the program is to gather information on fish populations -- information that is sorely lacking -- along the North Coast.
District Conservation Director Adam Wagschal said that some of that data may be gathered in time to influence the end of the MLPA process locally. But the program will be more valuable for long-term management of MPAs and other fisheries regulations. For example, the program will look at assumptions about whether fish populations are more affected closer to ports, he said.
District Commissioner Pat Higgins said that the program would begin to collect the information needed to “unlock” the richness off the coast, as access to many fish is regulated based on precaution, not because there is data showing the are struggling.
”We got a jump-start with this grant,” Higgins said.
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