Updated Surfrider Map Recommendations

We decided to change our Laguna map shape so that the lines are facing perpendicular to the coast (as we mentioned in our memo that we submitted on Oct 11 to the BRTF).

In addition, we know there is support from other RSG members to have the lines moved perpendicular. So now it's reflected here:

Attend the Next MLPA Meeting to Support Surfrider Recommendations.

The time has finally come!

After a year of community outreach, "one-on-one" meetings, and working with Chapter Leaders, Surfrider is proposing recommendations to the final maps.

See our recommendations here: http://www.surfrider.org/files/SurfriderBRTFMemoFINAL.pdf

Now, we need you to attend the Blue Ribbon Taskforce on Oct 21 and say you support the balanced and creative solutions Surfrider proposes (meeting location info below)!

If you would like help drafting talking points, please email Stefanie: Ssekich@surfrider.org

Meeting Information:

Wed, Oct 21, 2009

MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force (BRTF) meeting

Hilton Long Beach & Executive Meeting Center

701 West Ocean Blvd.

Long Beach, CA 90831

Public comment regarding the maps starts at 1:30pm and will go to approximately 4:30pm. Arrive before 1pm to fill out our speaker slip.

We hope you can make it on Oct 21 to support the map recommendations Surfrider is purposing!

Surfrider's Map Recommendations

The Surfrider Foundation sent the following map recommendations to the BRTF for consideration before their Oct 21 meeting .

View our recommendations here:

The meeting in Long Beach on Oct 21 is a very important meeting to attend. We hope Surfrider supporters will agree our recommendations and come to testify in support.

If you like some sample talking points about what to say when referencing Surf'rider's recommendations, please email Stefanie: Ssekich@surfrider.org

You can view all the current maps here:

Recap on Surfrider Forums and What's next.

Thanks to everyone who attended our community forums over the past two weeks and everyone who has participated with us during our other outreach efforts. We greatly appreciate your feedback and specific comments about the proposed maps.

We have received some inquires about what's next in the process, as well as Surfrider Foundation’s role in the next steps

As we have said from the beginning, we will be representing our 10 chapters in the region and will make recommendations that reflect the will of our chapters and members.

Here's a break down of the timeline and activities:

What’s next for Surfrider and the MLPA?

Surfrider is compiling a comment letter that will go to the Blue Ribbon Taskforce (BRTF) by Oct 11. The letter will contain recommendations about the current maps based on the feedback we received from our community forums, our Chapter leaders, the outreach we conducted over the past year and the results of the Science Advisory Team’s analysis.

The BRTF will meet in Long Beach on Oct 20-22 where they will identify a 'preferred map' that will then be sent to the Fish and Game Commission for a final vote.

In December, the Fish and Game Commission has the final say and will vote to implement one map.

What does Surfrider Support?

The Surfrider Foundation is chapter member-driven organization. We listen to, and rely on, our chapter leaders, paid members, and supporters to make decisions; hence the reason we held community forums around Southern California.

At this point we are compiling all the information we have gathered to make recommendations to the Blue Ribbon Task Force for amending the current proposals. Why? Based on past experiences, there is a chance the BRTF could make amendments to the three proposed maps of the region.

We are taking this opportunity to make recommendations to the current proposals to more accurately reflect the concerns and recommendations we have received from our outreach efforts. We will have to wait and see the outcome of that process and what alternatives the BRTF will forward for final approval by the Fish and Game Commission.

In the meantime, here is a quick break down of what we heard from our members at our community forums and other outreach efforts. In general there is support for a proposal that includes as much protected area as possible, but with a "balanced" approach that takes into account the concerns of our members who fish. This is not surprising given the diversity in our membership. This "balance" is reflected in the message we are hearing from members in the areas below:

• Santa Barbara Area--There was support for Map 3 and Map 1. That general support was balanced with the following recommendations: 1) Naples should be a Conservation Area that allows spearfishing for pelagic finfish; 2) there should be a small conservation area within the reserve at Devereaux (specifically at "Jailhouse Point") that allows spearfishing for pelagic finfish. We understand any modification at Devereaux will require flexibility in the Department of Fish and Game's "feasibility" guidelines – something we have been requesting all along.

• LA Area--There was support for Map 3 and Map 1 -- especially in the Pt Dume area. Again, there was a mix of support for the larger area in a reserve (Map 3) as well as support for the "balance" member saw in Map 1. There was no support for the Map 2 proposal at Point Dume.

• Laguna Area--There was support for Maps 2 and 1. A lot of our members in the area are concerned about how the proposed marine reserves will impact local fishing. There is also support for the larger reserve. Finally, there is some discussion about the need for a large reserve in Laguna when this area is looked at in the context of surrounding areas (Palos Verdes to the north and Encinitas to the south).

• San Diego--A large percentage of audience members at this forum supported Map 3 as long as the conservation area north of Scripps is removed. Several attendees at the forum who expressed support for Map 2, after further discussion, appeared to support a reserve between Windansea and the Crystal Pier, but could not support Map 3 because of the conservation area north of Scripps. Interestingly, this sounds like two different ways to support for the same proposal.

Again, we will be taking this local input into consideration and awaiting the report from the Science Advisory Team to finalize our recommendations to the Blue Ribbon Task Force. We will post our written comments to the Blue Ribbon Task Force on October 11.

Once the Blue Ribbon Task Force has forwarded their recommendations to the Fish and Game Commission, we will re-evaluate all of this information, engage our members once again, and make a decision on the map that best represents our members’ diverse interests.

Thanks again for your support and awareness. Stay tuned!

View Regional Stakeholders Discuss Draft Final Maps.

Regional Stakeholders have spent close to a year perfecting maps of Marine Protected Areas for So Cal. Last week, they discussed their draft final designs. At our community forums we will be discussing these maps and the final step in the MLPA process. Check out their presentations!

MLPA Round 3 Map Discussions from Surfrider Foundation on Vimeo.

Surfrider Shares Ideas with the "Map-Makers"....the MLPA Regional Stakeholder Group.

Over the past year, Surfrider has been scurrying around meeting with our members, Chapter activists, elected officials, environmentalists, fishermen, recreationalists and other people interested in the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA). We also polled our members and non members to gauge their views on where marine protected areas should be placed.

Last month at a MLPA meeting, we presented our findings to the Regional Stakeholder Group (AKA "the Map-Makers"). We also made recommendations on how we think the maps should continue to grow.

The below video is a compilation of testimony that will give you an idea of how we are working to build consensus within the MLPA process and introduce more creative thinking.

Hopefully some of our recommendations made into the final maps....we shall see! At our community forums later this month, we will examine the final proposals and discuss the different 'sets of maps' with our supporters. After the forums, we will compile all constrictive comments and rely them to decision makers before a final map is picked. We hope to see you at one of our forums!

Coastal Recreation Is Big Business for Southern California

A new peer-reviewed study by economists Linwood Pendleton and Chris LaFranchi found that the vast majority of coastal recreation in southern California is non-consumptive (does not involve the take or destruction of marine life). Moreover, these non-consumptive activities generate far more money than fishing. Protecting the ocean resources that attract millions of visitors to the south coast each year is not just a moral obligation for local communities; it’s an economic imperative.

The Pendleton and LaFranchi survey was commissioned by the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Foundation to help inform efforts to protect southern California’s ocean. It measured the number and type of coastal visitors and the amount of money they generate for local economies.

Recreational activities such as beach walking, swimming in the ocean, surfing, SCUBA diving, visiting tide pools and watching birds and other marine life attract millions of visitors to the south coast each year, where they spend money on parking, ice, food, rentals, accommodations and other items. These expenditures support local businesses, create jobs and provide tax dollars. The survey found that non-consumptive ocean visitors spent 40 times more during their visits than sport and commercial fishermen.

Below is a summary of the key findings from the report:

• More than 93 percent of all visits between Point Conception and Point Fermin are estimated to be purely non-consumptive.
• Of the total expenditures on coastal visits by Southern California residents, 81 percent came from purely non-consumptive visits, and only 2 percent came from purely consumptive visits. The remaining 17 percent came from trips that were a combination of consumptive and non-consumptive.
• Non-consumptive visitors spend nearly $115 million annually.
• Nearly 8 million nature-based visits were made by Southern California residents to coastal sites in this region.
• On average, each non-consumptive ocean visitor spends between $25 and $32 per visit, per day.
• The most popular activities for ocean visitors is “beach going” (63 percent of respondents participated), followed by “sitting in your car and watching the scene” (48 percent), “watching birds and/or other marine life from the shore” (31 percent) and “swimming in the ocean” (30 percent).
• Coastal recreation generates tens of billions of dollars for local economies.
• 70 percent of all Californians visit the ocean annually