We would like to provide an update on our petition to increase protections at Duxbury Reef by turning it into a full marine reserve. Duxbury Reef is already an existing state marine conservation area, which is a type of marine protected area (MPA).
This petition is our recommendation for a proposed regulation change that would better protect Duxbury Reef’s unique and vulnerable intertidal habitat and the amazing creatures that live there, like crabs, turban snails, and octopi. Our request is based on the peer-reviewed science that fully protected reserves are the most effective in preserving and restoring biodiversity and in gaining public understanding of regulations, and based on Marin MPA Watch human use data (collected since 2013 as part of a statewide community science program) which has shown high levels of visitation and unpermitted take at the reef, as well as the recommendations of local agencies and scientists.
Compliance is higher with clearer regulations, and the number of harmful activities will likely be reduced in a marine reserve. This critical change will benefit the reef and complement our other efforts to protect it, like clear signage, enforcement, and the Duxbury Docent program.
Currently, California Department of Fish & Wildlife staff are conducting their own, independent analysis of all pending MPA petitions across the state, including our Duxbury Reef petition, taking a holistic look at adaptively managing California’s 124 MPAs in light of changing environmental and climatic conditions, and as part of a decadal review of existing MPAs. We expect the Department to release its recommendations to the Fish and Game Commission in late February. This recommendation could be something different than what we asked for, part of what we asked for, or denied altogether.
In the past few months, we’ve been in communication with Department staff about changes we would like to make to the petition based on community feedback and new information that informed us that a portion of our petition request was mapped larger than requested or intended. These changes were summarized in a letter sent to the Fish & Game Commission in November (see below), requesting a reduction of the offshore portion of the Southern Extension area and a recommendation to reconsider the need for the offshore portion of the Northern Extension. These changes intend to avoid significant impacts to offshore commercial and recreational fishing, which we know is of significant concern to the local community.
Fish and Wildlife Department staff have communicated that they are no longer considering amendments in their evaluative process, but that requested changes will be considered by the full Fish & Game Commission after the Department’s recommendations come out and the Commission begins discussions on individual petitions.
We eagerly await the recommendations and support a balanced decision that considers all perspectives while providing more protection for the highly vulnerable and rare rocky intertidal reef habitat. In the meantime, we continue to welcome conversations about the petition with all stakeholders and community members, and presented earlier this month at a community meeting in Bolinas.
If you have questions about the Duxbury Reef Petition, please reach out to Ashley or Isabel or visit our Duxbury Reef Petition webpage.
