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Sanctuary Currents 2008
Oceans of Change: Our Climate, Our Sanctuary, Our Future

General Info & Program | Session Abstracts | Ricketts Lecture | MBNMS Awards | Exhibitors
Poster Abstracts & Awards

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.


2007/2008 Awards

 

 

Ruth Vreeland Public Official: Ross Clark
Citizen: Anjanette Adams
Conservation: Reverend Deborah Streeter
Education: Jim Covel
Science/Research: Dr. Jeff Paduan
Business: Asilomar Conference Grounds
Organization: Resource Conservation Districts
Special Recognition: Brian E. Baird

 

Ruth Vreeland Public Official: Ross Clark

Ross Clark has worked for the Non-point Source Program of the California Coastal Commission for 11 years. In that capacity, Ross has been a strong supporter of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary's Water Quality Protection Program. Ross has a powerful presence at the state level, especially in wetland assessment, protection and restoration, and successfully promotes Sanctuary programs and brings resources to improve habitat and water quality on the Central Coast. He has been instrumental in bringing hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Central Coast for monitoring programs, including the Snapshot Day citizen monitoring program, data analysis, and wetland mapping and assessment. Ross has worked to promote land use planning and water quality protection decisions that support and complement stormwater programs in many central coast jurisdictions.

Citizen: Anjanette Adams

Anjanette Adams has been instrumental in the success of the Team OCEAN Kayaker Outreach Program. She has been able to donate space for Team OCEAN kayaks and storage sheds at her business in both the Monterey and Elkhorn Slough locations. She has offered new Team OCEAN volunteers a substantial reduction in the cost of kayak training in order to make certain our representatives on the water are as safe as possible. Additionally, Anjanette has kept space for MBNMS brochures and kayaker information in the rental bay at the Monterey shop and allowed counter space for information at the Elkhorn Slough shop. Anjanette has also given rental discounts to kayakers with the MERITO Program, so that our multi-cultural students and families can get out on the Elkhorn Slough and experience its beauty. Anjanette also served a number of years on the Sanctuary Advisory Council, further supporting and promoting the sanctuary's missions.

Conservation: Reverend Deborah Streeter

Reverend Deborah Streeter is the Director of Upwellings: A Ministry of Environmental Stewardship, that seeks to unite faith communities, science and educational institutions, and environmental activist groups in our shared concern for protecting the coasts and oceans. She preaches, teaches and advises a broadly interfaith group of faith communities on California's Central Coast about how to be good stewards of God's creation. She directs the Living Ocean Initiative, which in early 2007 brought together 120 Central Coast religious leaders; Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, New Age, Buddhist, Moslem, Hindu, and Unitarian Universalist, with ocean scientists and ocean activists to build partnerships on ocean conservation. She has been a Volunteer Guide at the Monterey Bay Aquarium for ten years and a Docent at Point Lobos State Reserve for eight years. She has served as a Member at Large on the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council for six years, the past four as its Chair. She ordained for 25 years in the United Church of Christ (UCC), she has been a local church pastor in the San Francisco Bay Area, a campus chaplain at UC Berkeley and a hospital chaplain at Stanford, from which she graduated in 1973.

Education: Jim Covel

In his 20 years at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Jim Covel has guided staff and introduced people of all ages to the beauty of the Monterey Bay. His penchant for storytelling has set him apart as a model for effective communication of important ocean issues that relate to individuals. Jim joined the Aquarium in 1987 and in 2006 Jim assumed the position of Manager of Guest Experience Training and Interpretation within the Guest Experience Group. His involvement in many organizations is well recognized, and he most recently was appointed President of the National Association of Interpretation - a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting excellence in interpretation, with over 5,000 members worldwide. He is known for his interpretive training skills, his skills to interact with the public, and most importantly, his ability to present himself as a leader to over 600 volunteers who are the bearers of ocean conservation messages. He was one of the first recipients of the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Conservation Hero award.

Science/Research: Dr. Jeff Paduan

Dr. Jeff Paduan has contributed significantly to sanctuary research goals both through his own research and his dedicated participation in the activities of the Sanctuary research activity panel as vice chairman and a research alternate member. He is a founding member of the SIMoN Science Committee and has contributed to building ocean observation programs and systems in central and northern California. Jeff's interests in ocean surface currents using shore-based high frequency radar systems and drifting buoys led him to contribute to the creation of the Monterey Bay High Frequency Radar Consortium, bringing together scientists, manufactures, and operators of radar systems. These efforts have helped to describe and understand the primary current processes in the Monterey Bay. The data collected by these systems contribute to improving warnings of coastal and health hazards, more efficient use of coastal resources, safer marine operations, and a better understanding of climate change. He currently serves as a member of the California Marine Life Protection Act Science Advisory Team, and on the board of the Monterey Bay Sanctuary Foundation.

Business: Asilomar Conference Grounds

Asilomar Conference Grounds is registered to ISO14001 standards. Is a Certified Green Business through the Monterey Bay Area Green Business Program and holds the leadership level in the Green Lodging Program by the California Integrated Waste Management Board, and has been recognized by the City of Pacific Grove for the efforts of sewage spill prevention. Over the last several years Asilomar has saved 540,000 kWh of electricity, 92,400 therms of natural gas; 9.5 million gallons of water; reduced gasoline use by over 4,500 gallons; reduced trash disposal by 1,700 tons; recycled over 300 tons of cardboard, 200 tons of paper, 900 tons of mixed empty containers (glass, plastic, metal), 25.5 tons of scrap metal, and 3,555 pounds of E-Waste. They hold an annual Earth Day celebration during which information is distributed and activities are held to increase environmental awareness, protecting our environment with emphasis on our local area and the Monterey Bay including beach clean up and invasive plant species removal and native restoration. In addition, Asilomar Conference Grounds has been a contributing sponsor of the Sanctuary Reflections and Volunteer of the Year Awards and Sanctuary Currents Symposium.

Organization: Resource Conservation Districts

Resource Conservation Districts (RCDs) are non-regulatory public benefit districts that work to protect, conserve, and restore natural resources through information, education, and technical assistance programs. Resource Conservation Districts address a broad range of conservation issues including water quality protection, soil erosion control, wildlife habitat restoration, and others. Six RCDs operate in the watersheds that drain to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The RCDs of Monterey County, San Mateo County, Santa Cruz County, San Benito County, Upper Salinas-Las Tablas, and Loma Prieta have been valuable partners in implementing the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary's Agriculture and Rural Lands Plan. Their collective efforts have been instrumental in reducing nonpoint source pollution from agricultural and rural lands in Sanctuary watersheds through voluntary partnerships with landowners and managers. Some examples of key programs led by local RCDs: The Livestock and Land Program; The Stewardship for Small Acreage Program; Rural Road Erosion Control; Practice Effectiveness Monitoring; Reconciling Food Safety and Environmental Protection Permit Coordination.

Special Recognition: Brian E. Baird

Brian E. Baird is the Assistant Secretary for Ocean and Coastal Policy with the California Resources Agency. He has served as the manager of the California Ocean Resources Management Program under Governors Schwarzenegger, Davis and Wilson. He represents the State of California as the Chair of the Coastal States Organization and was previously chair of its Ocean Policy Committee. Brian was the chief writer of the statewide strategy for protecting and managing the State's ocean resources titled, California's Ocean Resources: An Agenda for the Future (Ocean Agenda) and was recently the chief writer of Governor Schwarzenegger's 2004 strategy titled, "Protecting Our Ocean - California's Strategy for Action." Brian has served on panels and advisory committees with the John H. Heinz Center, the National Research Council, the National Sea Grant Program, the National Marine Sanctuary Program, the National Ocean Service, the National Ocean Data Center, and the Army Corps of Engineers. He has authored or co-authored papers on ocean management, liquefied natural gas facility siting, archaeological resources, oil spill contingency planning, marine managed areas, and coastal economics.

Past MBNMS Award Winners

Reviewed: September 08, 2023
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