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Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Awards

 

In 1993, in celebration of the first anniversary of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, a series of awards were presented to people and organizations who contributed significantly to the development of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary through education, conservation, research, business, political, and public involvement. In subsequent years, awards have been presented to people and organizations that have greatly contributed to the implementation of programs geared towards meeting the goals of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.


2004/2005 Awards

 

 

Ruth Vreeland Public Official: Emily Reilly
Citizen: Carol Maehr
Conservation: Monterey Bay Sanctuary Citizen Watershed Monitoring Network Volunteers
Education: Kelly Miller
Science/Research: Dr. Robert Lea
Business: Monterey Bay Kayaks
Organization: California Department of Parks and Recreation
Special Recognition: Assemblymember John Laird

 

Ruth Vreeland Public Official: Emily Reilly

Emily Reilly, City of Santa Cruz is an enthusiastic supporter for the establishment of a Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Visitor Center at the "Funspot" property in Santa Cruz Beach Area. The National Marine Sanctuary Program, the City of Santa Cruz and the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation are collaborating in a public-private partnership to design, construct, and outfit a premier Visitor Center and Education Facility at this site. She has participated in numerous Visitor Center site planning meetings and presentations. She has served on the Santa Cruz City Council since 2001 and served as the city?s mayor in 2003. She is a strong advocate for community participation in public programs and public decision making, a supporter of sanctuary related community outreach programs and an active member of numerous governmental and community organizations. She has served on AMBAG's Board of Directors since 2003. She is a graduate of University of California Santa Cruz and has lived there since 1979. She is the owner and operator of Emilly's Good Things to Eat.

Citizen: Carol Maehr

Carol Maehr, Monterey has participated in designating the Sanctuary boundary through her testimony in 1990 on the Boundary Alternative #5. She had been a representative on the Sanctuary's Conservation Working Group for the past three years and a Sanctuary Beach COMBER for five years. Carol has written to many newspapers and organizations in order to promote the responsible use of the Sanctuary, particularly by visiting cruise ships. She has been a Point Lobos docent for twenty-two years. Carol has volunteered with SIMoN and the Sanctuary to various groups in the area. She has recently entered over ten years of sea otter sighting data from Point Lobos to be analyzed by SIMoN, and has also begun entering data on the invasive Undaria algae. Carol is a passionate supporter of the Sanctuary and spends a large amount of her time helping the ocean.

Conservation: Monterey Bay Sanctuary Citizen Watershed Monitoring Network Volunteers

Monterey Bay Sanctuary Citizen Watershed Monitoring Networks Volunteers is a consortium of approximately twenty citizen monitoring groups and over two hundred individuals, who monitor water quality in the watersheds flowing into the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. It was established in 1997 by the Coastal Watershed Council, a local non-profit organization, and has since been collecting valuable data in the Monterey Bay area in collaboration with the Sanctuary and other monitoring groups. The Network provides support, training and a central forum and database for citizen monitoring programs. In addition it conducts three annual regional monitoring programs including Urban Watch, First Flush and Snapshot Day. These programs are filling a gap in information by monitoring the quality of waste in storm drains, a source of water pollution that is overlooked by traditional programs. Ultimately, these programs will provide a feedback mechanism on current urban runoff control efforts being undertaken by local municipalities.

Education: Kelly Miller

Kelly Miller, Monterey Academy of Oceanographic Sciences (MAOS) is a talented teacher who has helped to develop the MAOS curriculum at Monterey High School, and has had a long history with a deep commitment to the sciences. Kelly traveled to the Monterey Peninsula to become a student at Moss Landing Marine Labs, and eventually became a dive master and a dive tour leader. Realizing her true calling was in teaching, she attended San Jose State University where she received her teaching credential in 1993. Before she completed her studies, Kelly started teaching part-time at North Salinas High, which turned into a full-time job upon receiving her credential. While at North Salinas High, Kelly started a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) TEAM, was academic advisor for the marine biology club, and coached the cross-country team. In 2002 Kelly moved to the MAOS program at Monterey High School. Kelly is part of the concept design team with 4 other teachers developing MAOS curriculum. She also has coached the Otter Bowl Team for the past three years, leads an ROV team, and has her students involved in the Long-Term Monitoring Program and Experimental Training for Students that looks at rocky inter-tidal communities.

Science/Research: Dr. Robert Lea

Dr. Bob Lea, California Department of Fish & Game, a well-recognized senior scientist, is one of our nation's noted marine ichthyologists. He is a Research Associate in Ichthyology at the University of California at San Diego - SIO, the California Academy of Sciences, and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. He was the co-author of < class="std13i">Miller and Lea (aka Fish Bulletin 157, < class="std13i">Guide to the Coastal Marine Fishes of California), a widely used book on identification and taxonomy of marine fish. Dr. Lea has published at least 70 scientific papers on fish taxonomy, systematics, and ecology. His latest edition of his book < class="std13i">Common and Scientific Names of Fishes from the U.S. and Canada has just been published this year. He continues to be a long-time collaborator on the research of fish in Monterey Bay and the vicinity with colleagues from NOAA Fisheries, Cordell, GOF, MBNMS, Moss Landing Marine Labs, and many other institutes. He regularly serves on the thesis committees from several regional academic institutes, and lends his expertise to many federal and state resource management panels and committees. After an impressive 37 years of service to the State of California, Bob Lea will retire this year from the Department of Fish and Game.

Business: Monterey Bay Kayaks

Monterey Bay Kayaks (MBK) has introduced thousands of people to sea kayaking as an exciting way to explore and learn about the Monterey Bay Sanctuary, since its opening in 1985. Monterey Bay Kayaks has helped further the goals of the Monterey Bay Sanctuary by promoting responsible ocean stewardship and paddling programs designed to maximize the enjoyment of paddling while minimizing disturbance to marine wildlife. As part of their company philosophy, they have given a tremendous amount back to the community and have supported some of the Sanctuary's most visible and important education programs. They have been avid supporters of the Monterey Bay Sanctuary's TeamOCEAN summer kayak outreach program for the past five years. Since the TeamOCEAN Kayak Program's inception in 2000, MBK has generously donated kayak safety skills certification classes for staff and volunteers, boat storage for team boats and donated cash received during the Paddle Fest in 2003. MBK has donated over $10,000 to the TeamOCEAN Program. They also donated kayak rentals to support special kayak days involving Latino adults and families, sponsored by the Sanctuary's MERITO (multicultural outreach) program. They were one of the first area businesses to display sanctuary-related outreach materials in their store and have sponsored numerous educational forums on the Sanctuary and its wildlife.

Organization: California Department of Parks and Recreation

California Department of Parks and Recreation, the States Parks Districts contiguous with the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, San Luis Obispo Coast, Monterey, Santa Cruz, and the former Bay Area District, have been actively engaged in implementing the mutual goals of the two agencies. Over the past several years, this Federal/State partnership has benefited the sanctuary tremendously and serves to significantly enhance the Sate Parks Districts. Over the past 5 years, the State Parks Districts have been instrumental in the planning of two joint interpretive facilities, using NOAA funds to outfit empty State Park facilities, participate on the Sanctuary Advisory Council and its working groups, participate in the development of a plan for the Sanctuary Scenic trail surrounding the Monterey Bay, co-located staff, cost shared ranger/enforcement personnel, and cross deputized rangers for sanctuary enforcement.

Special Recognition: Assemblymember John Laird

John Laird, Assemblymember 27th District, now serving his second term, has established himself as a leader on environmental issues. He serves on the Assembly Budget, Natural Resources, Judiciary, Labor and Employment committees. Recently he was named to Chair the Budget Committee, along with his role as Chair of the Select Committee on California Needs and Climate Change. John Laird jointly authored legislation banning cruise ship dumping in state waters. Additionally, he authored major legislation to protect agricultural lands from development, enhance efforts to preserve and manage public lands, create the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, and improve water utilization efficiency. Assembly Member Laird has served as the Mayor of the City of Santa Cruz and President of the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments. He is a tireless supporter of the central coast and has been instrumental in many initiatives that have had a positive effect on the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, our ocean, and coastal resources.

Past MBNMS Award Winners

Reviewed: September 08, 2023
Web Site Owner: National Ocean Service

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