Marine Life Protection Act:

Help Protect Double Point

and Duxbury Reef!

On April 23, 2008, the Blue Ribbon Task Force created an Integrated Preferred Alternative for the North Central Coast region for the Marine Life Protection Act.  Unfortunately, despite widespread support on the regional stakeholder group for a marine protected area at Double Point/Duxbury Reef, the task force excluded this important habitat on West Marin's coast from its preferred plan. 

To learn more about the importance of Double Point and Duxbury Reef, click here.

The proposals will now go to the California Fish and Game Commission for their consideration in the next few months. We need your help to make sure that the this important area gets the protection it deserves.  This is the last and best opportunity to ensure that this area, home to harbor seals and 16,000 seabirds, is given adequate protection to ensure the viability of West Marin's wildlife. 

Please write a letter to the California Fish and Game Commission requesting the addition of Proposal 1-3's Double Point state marine conservation area to the Integrated Preferred Alternative.

Send your written comments to: FGC@fgc.ca.gov with MLPA-NCC in the title line.

To learn more about the Marine Life Protection Act, click here

Executive Director's Update: June 2008

During my time participating on the Regional Stakeholder Group for the Marine Life Protection Act, I worked with a broad group of scientists, fishermen, conservationists, divers and coastal residents to protect our marine life by creating science-based marine protected area proposals for potential adoption along the north central coast.

These undersea parks will provide safe havens for fish and wildlife to recover and thrive. While I am happy with the way the overall process has worked so far, the Blue Ribbon Task Force for the project recently excluded some ecologically important areas in its proposed marine protected area network design. This included a marine protected area that encompassed Double Point and northern fourth of Duxbury Reef.

The proposed marine protected area at Duxbury Reef was an ideal example of a hard won compromise between Duxbury Reef Deserves Protection different interests; unfortunately, dropped at the last minute. Because it is important both ecologically and for fishing, the Regional Stakeholder Group spent months negotiating protection for this area. The final proposal left open all salmon, crab and halibut fishing while restricting rockfish and abalone harvest on a small portion of Duxbury Reef and to the north near Double Point. 

These high-quality habitats around Duxbury Reef deserve protection because they provide safe havens for wildlife in nursery habitat and centers of productivity that have high restoration potential if given a break. A marine protected area here would provide important habitat protection for marine life on the reef and forage areas for the 16,000 birds, including Common Murres, Brandtís Cormorants, Pelagic Cormorants, Pigeon Guillemots, and Ashy Storm-Petrels that live on the islands off Double Point.

Our fish and wildlife deserve a fighting chance for recovery. The public needs to speak up and say that conservation is a California value and protecting these coastal areas is an important legacy to leave for

future generations of Californians. The Duxbury/Double Point marine

protected area represents a balanced proposal that protects key resources next to national park lands while maintaining fishing flexibility. It deserves to be adopted as a part of

the protection plan now.