MBNMS OFFICE REPORT March 31st through June 16th, 2003

Management

The MBNMS Visitor Center Site Feasibility Study Phase I Report was released to the public via our website on March 28, 2003; community interest has been extremely high. On Wednesday, March 26 Sanctuary staff (Bill Douros, Dawn Hayes, Rachel Saunders and Jen Jolly) presented the report to a large self-organized group from the Santa Cruz community, including staff and officials from the City of Santa Cruz, the Santa Cruz Seaside Co., the Natural History Museum Association, UC Santa Cruz, Congressman Farr's office, and state Senator McPherson's office. On Monday March 31 the report was presented at a meeting of invited representatives from the Seacliff State Beach and its surrounding neighborhood, and a presentation to staff of the City of Monterey is planned. The Sanctuary Advisory Council received a presentation on the report from the study consultants at their meeting on Friday, April 4.

On Friday March 28th Bill Douros spoke to 60 members of the Leadership Training course for Santa Cruz County about the MBNMS. On Sunday night, March 30th, he addressed 250 members of the California Association of Environmental Professionals as their keynote speaker commencing a 3-day conference.

Bill Douros, Dawn Hayes, Michele Roest and Scott Kathey met with David Bizot and others from the National Marine Sanctuary Program headquarters and the Institute for Exploration on the logistics surrounding the expansion of the current "telepresence" effort in Monterey. This 2-day workshop in late March was very helpful for all parties as it outlined the needs of expanding the system coupled with the details of future expansion, partnership opportunities and additional uses for the system. For more information, contact Dawn at dawn.hayes@noaa.gov.

Bill Douros traveled to the Mystic Aquarium on May 21-22, 2003 to see the telepresence program in action and investigate how MBNMS can better assist Mystic staff in their outreach regarding MBNMS. For more information, contact Bill at (831) 647-4201.

Bill met with fellow California Sanctuary Managers and the NMFS Regional Administrator on Wednesday, June 4, 2003 in Long Beach to discuss improved coordination between the National Marine Sanctuaries and National Marine Fisheries Service. Related to MBNMS, Bill briefed the group on the various JMPR action plans that affect fishing.

Rachel Saunders prepared a press release for clearance announcing the MBNMS's release of a set of proposed action plans to its Advisory Council. The release announces the availability of the report, identifies upcoming Council meetings and details how the public may provide comment. The report and press release are expected to go out on June 10th. For more information, contact Rachel at 647-4237.

Rachel Saunders prepared a press release for clearance announcing the launching of this year's MBNMS Team OCEAN Kayak Outreach Program. The release was cleared and distributed on May 30, 2003. A reporter from the Watsonville paper, The Register-Pajaronian, did a story on the program the week of June 9th. For more info, contact Rachel at 647-4237.

Bill Douros sent a letter to Patty Wolf, Marine Region Director for the California Department of Fish and Game, requesting that the Department back fill a recent vacancy in a CDFG marine warden position in Monterey. The letter stressed the importance of continued support of the MBNMS.

Cooperative Enforcement Agreement and suggested future joint funding of additional wardens to improve Sanctuary enforcement.

Joint Management Plan Review

On April 15, 2003 Huff McGonigal, MBNMS Environmental Policy Specialist and Rachel Saunders, MBNMS Community and Public Relations Coordinator attended the Conservation Working Group (CWG) meeting in Moss Landing. Huff and Rachel provided a staff report to the CWG. Directly following the CWG meeting, Huff and Steve Lonhart, MBNMS SIMoN Scientist, helped facilitate a meeting of CWG members and others focused on finalizing an action plan on Invasive Species for the JMPR. For more info, contact Huff at 647-4254, Steve at 647-4222 or Rachel at 647-4237.

On April 16, 2003 Sean Morton, MBNMS Management Plan Coordinator, Andrew DeVogelaere, MBNMS Research Coordinator and Rachel Saunders, Community and Public Relations Coordinator traveled to Morro Bay. Sean gave a presentation at a Fisheries Workshop organized and hosted by the Marine Interests Group - a group set up by community leaders in San Luis Obispo County to consider whether or not the community should support the creation of a national marine sanctuary for the waters off San Luis Obispo County. Sean was asked to clarify the role of sanctuaries in fisheries management, the status of the JMPR process and stakeholder involvement. Andrew met with members of the fishing community who had concerns about MBNMS involvement in fishing, and the potential inclusion of the Davidson Seamount in the MBNMS. For more info, contact Sean at 647-4217 or Andrew at 647-4213.

MBNMS held a June 7 workshop for the region's commercial and recreational fishing communities to provide information on a variety of JMPR Action Plans that relate to fishing--Marine Protected Areas, Benthic Habitat, Krill Harvesting, Fishing in Research and Education, and Wildlife Disturbance--Marine Mammals, Seabirds and Turtles. The workshop provided information on the white paper outlining authorities under the NMSA, which was released several months ago from headquarters, as this continues to be a topic of concern among fishermen. The workshop was an opportunity to exchange information with a broader array of fishermen beyond those who have been involved in our JMPR workgroups. For more information, contact Holly Price at (831) 647-4247
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Holly Price, Resource Protection Coordinator, met with the Coastal Sediment Management Workgroup, a coalition of state and federal agencies, to discuss several JMPR plans related to coastal erosion and sediment, including the coastal armoring plan and the dredge disposal plan. Several agency members of the group requested that the Sanctuary's JMPR allow a more flexible approach to beach nourishment, which is currently considered a discharge violation unless it occurs at an approved beach nourishment dredge disposal site. We indicated that additional scientific analyses of the need for and utility of beach nourishment would need to be conducted for us to further pursue the issue. For more information contact Holly at (831) 647-4247.

Sean Morton represented the MBNMS at the Big Sur Multi-Agency Advisory Council meeting on Friday, May 23rd. Sean presented the proposed action plan for agency coordination in the Big Sur Region including the need for a single website for the many agencies working on similar issues in the area, more communication between the public and resource agencies, and the need for one integrated resource management plan for the coastal ecosystem. For more information, contact Sean at (831) 647-4217.

On Tuesday, June 10, MBNMS released a report to the MBNMS Sanctuary Advisory Council with the Proposed Action Plans for the Monterey Bay site specific and Cross Cutting issues in the Joint Management Plan Review. This report contains 27 action plans developed by working groups and internal teams addressing issues ranging from Coastal Development to Wildlife Disturbance. The report will be presented to the SAC on June 26 and 27 in Monterey. The public is invited to comment to the SAC on July 30th at a workshop in Santa Cruz and the SAC will be providing feedback to MBNMS and NMSP on July 31st and August 1. For more information, contact Sean Morton, Management Plan Coordinator, at 831-647-4217.

Several field staff of congressional members along the MBNMS shoreline had requested copies of the MBNMS JMPR proposed action plans. Copies were mailed to Alec Arago and Amanda Leland of Sam Farr’s staff, Greg Haas of Lois Capps’ staff and Karen Chapman of Anna Eshoo’s staff.

Education and Outreach

On April 2, Michelle Templeton gave a Sanctuary awareness presentation to Dachen Duncain's Watsonville Adult Education class. The class consisted of 14 beginning-high English language learners. The presentation was followed by a demonstration of the watershed model which included information on how to protect our watershed and Sanctuary resources, where to go to enjoy the Sanctuary, and how to actively participate in watershed and ocean protection on a day-to-day basis. For more information regarding this presentation series at Watsonville Adult Education, please contact Michelle at (831) 423-5942.

The California Center for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence (CA-COSEE) Advisory Committee met on April 3rd and 4th in Monterey to discuss the function of the group and to begin review on the general plan as laid out by COSEE staff and PI's. Dawn Hayes, Education and Outreach Coordinator, is a committee member and can provide more information. Dawn Hayes (831) 647-4256 or dawn.hayes@noaa.gov.

April 22nd, 23rd and 26th were Storm Drain Stenciling Days organized by Lisa Emanuelson, Resource Issue Education Specialist. Three separate classes of students, two in Pacifc Grove and one in Salinas, participated in storm drain stenciling in the neighborhoods around their schools. Thirty-one 6th grade students from Natividad Elementary painted 18 drains along Rainier Street in Salinas. Eleven students from PG Middle School painted close to 40 drains in PG with the help of Erica Burton. The last group of students from Pacific Grove Community High School were rained out and are eagerly awaiting the rains cessation in order to begin painting. For more information, contact Lisa at (831) 372-7918.

Michelle Templeton, Bilingual Education Specialist, gave two presentations on watershed and marine protection to 30 beginning English language learners through Watsonville Adult Education. The presentation was followed by an interactive demonstration of the watershed model. All participants received free passes to the Elkhorn Slough Estuarine Research Reserve. This MERITO presentation series in partnership with Watsonville Adult Education will continue through June. For more information, contact Michelle at (831) 423-5942.

On May 13th, Karen Grimmer led a MERITO tidepool expedition at Point Pinos for fifteen 7th grade students from San Jose. The students are enrolled in Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program, which is designed to ensure they enter mainstream school activities, enroll in college, and become educated and responsible citizens. For more information, contact Karen at (831) 647-4253.

The MERITO team met with Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary staff and partners on May 27 to discuss the CINMS multicultural education initiative, and expanding MERITO to the south. MERITO will present their findings over the past year, and make some recommendations on potential strategies for CINMS. For more information, contact Karen Grimmer at (831) 647-4253.

On Tuesday, May 20th Lisa Emanuelson and Liz Love ventured out at Point Pinos with 5 students from Watsonville High School as part of the LiMPETS program. The students collected data and checked species identification within the permanent plots at Point Pinos. Also joining the group was Matt Buonaguidi from State Parks and Satina Ciandro, a teacher from Watsonville High. For more information, contact Lisa at (831) 372-7918.

On Wednesday, May 21st Lisa Emanuelson led a group of 7 students from Community High School in Pacific Grove for storm drain painting. The seven students, one teacher and Lisa painted 26 storm drains in a 3-hour stretch, in neighborhoods around the school. For more information, contact Lisa at (831) 372-7918.

On May 19th, Julie Barrow, West Coast Community Liaison, co-presented with Jennifer Stock, CBNMS, to the Ocean Shore School (300 students and teachers) in Pacifica about research in the Sanctuaries and types of technology used. The presentation looked at work done on Cordell Bank and the Davidson Seamount. We also showed the students what type of gear a researcher might need on a research cruise.

On May 21, 22 and 23 Michelle Templeton gave presentations to 51 beginning English language learners through Watsonville Adult Education. The presentation was followed by a demonstration of the watershed model. Free passes to the Elkhorn Slough Estuarine Research Reserve were handed out to all participants. This MERITO presentation series in partnership with Watsonville Adult Education will continue through June. For more information, contact Michelle at (831) 423-5942

The Sanctuary's TeamOCEAN Kayaker Outreach Program hit the water on Memorial Day weekend. Twenty-five volunteers completed the naturalist training class on Tues. May 27, and are ready to join four seasonal staff in Sanctuary kayaks in Monterey and Elkhorn Slough to outreach to fellow ocean kayakers on the water. TeamOCEAN naturalists serve as docents for the MBNMS and promote respectful wildlife watching every Friday, Saturday & Sunday from June through September. For more information, contact Jen Jolly (831) 420-1630.

Research and Monitoring

Beach COMBERS surveys have been continuing in 2003. During December and January the heavy storms took their toll. Beaches were heavily eroded and tons of driftwood made for difficult beach walks. Deposition of birds and mammals were low because of these factors. In January, some interesting specimens were found including a dead Risso’s Dolphin. Also, there were more oiled birds than in February or March. The interesting finds for February were that several sea otters were counted, a Xantu’s Murrelet was found and in San Simeon there were over 100 endangered Snowy Plovers (live) spotted. In March, there were more tarballs noted, Cassin’s Auklet, a Red-throated Loon, Black-vented Shearwater, and a Northern Elephant Seal with a shark bite. The most unusual find was a cow found along Moonstone Beach in Cambria. March typically is considered to be the month with the highest deposition of seabirds; however, there was not a big increase from February’s data. For more information, contact Jennifer Parkin at (831) 647-4204.

Volunteer training for Beach COMBERS began on May 31st and concluded the weekend of June 7th consisting of intensive education in seabird, marine mammal, and sea turtle identification; beach survey techniques; oil documentation techniques; and natural history of local seabirds and marine mammals. Beach COMBERS is a long-term monitoring project, whereby volunteers survey a 2-3 mile beach segment in the Monterey Bay area during the first week of the month to determine rates of beach strandings for all species of marine birds and mammals. There are now 18 more volunteers added to the program, which puts the total at 77 to walk approximately 20 beaches in the greater Monterey Bay and Cambria areas. For more information, contact Jennifer Parkin at (831) 647-4204.

MBNMS staff received the 3rd and final report, "Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Submerged Cultural Resources Study: 2001," by Sheli O. Smith and Jack Hunter (Underwater Archeological Consortium). Erica Burton, Research Specialist, is reviewing the report for compliance with the Scope of Work. Copies were sent to Robert Schwemmer (Cultural Resources Coordinator, CINMS) and Bruce Terrell (Archeologist and Historian, NMSP) for content review. For further information, contact Erica at (831) 647-4246.

On March 27th and April 15th, Chad King, SIMoN Data Analyst, and Josh Pederson, SIMoN Outreach Specialist, met with Paul Orlando of the National Oceanic Data Center (NODC) to discuss deliverables for an upcoming collaboration to develop SIMoN's data infrastructure. NODC will be providing technical assistance throughout the coming months. For more information, contact Chad at (831) 647-4248.

On April 7, Chad King and Josh Pederson attended a data management and visualization workshop at MBARI. They also gave a brief technical presentation on SIMoN's infrastructure. For more information, contact Chad (831-647-4248) or Josh (831) 647-4260.

On April 15th at Moss Landing Marine Lab, Steve Lonhart, SIMoN scientist, was a guest lecturer for Dr. Nick Welschmeyer's graduate student seminar class. Steve gave a 45 min talk on nonindigenous species and the various projects underway within the MBNMS that are tackling this issue. For more information, contact Steve at (831) 647-4222.

The research platform pages (http://montereybay.noaa.gov/research/platforms.html and
http://montereybay.noaa.gov/research/regional_boats.html ) of the MBNMS website have been updated. For more information, contact Jean de Marignac at 831-647-4214.

Jean de Marignac met with Dave Kohler from The Florida Environmental Research Institute at the Monterey Jet Center for a demonstration of hyperspectral remote sensing equipment aboard the NOAA airplane, Rockwell Aero Commander Shrike. The Shrike is on the West Coast until the end of April in an effort to acquire a comprehensive set of high resolution hyperspectral images of the Central California Coast. Jean also participated in a research cruise on the R/V John Martin with Dr. Richard Zimmerman's team from Moss Landing Marines Laboratories as part of extensive groundtruth efforts to support the overflight. For more information, contact Jean at (831) 647-4214.

On April 21st, Erica Burton met with MBARI staff to determine methods to quantify video transects from the ATOC Cable survey off Half Moon Bay, CA. Erica will continue to quantify video from the February survey and the upcoming July survey. For more information on the ATOC Cable survey, contact Irina Kogan, Research Fellow, at (831) 647-4228.

On April 21st at UCSC's Center for Ocean Health, Steve Lonhart participated in a CRANE (Cooperative Research and Assessment of Nearshore Ecosystems) meeting. Facilitated by Mary Bergen at California Department of Fish and Game, CRANE participants from southern and central CA discussed protocols for a one-time SCUBA diver survey that will range from Santa Cruz down to San Diego. Funded by a grant from the California Impact Assistance Program, CRANE has the opportunity to capture a "snapshot" of fishes, selected inverts, and habitat features found in nearshore kelp beds along southern and central California. For more information, contact Steve at (831) 647-4222.

SIMoN and Education staff interviewed 3 web design students from MPC to fill an intern position for maintenance of the LiMPETS website. Of the two students, Steele Davis was chosen and began working on expanding and maintaining the LiMPETS website on June 2nd. This is a step in forging a relationship between the Sanctuary and the MPC web design program to help with our current and future web needs. For more information, contact Josh Pederson at (831) 647-4260.

On Thursday, May 1st, Josh Pederson met with Tom Rebold, computer science professor at MPC, to discuss technical needs of SIMoN that he and his programming students would like to help with. This is not an internship program, but local students looking to volunteer their time to help the Sanctuary with technical issues. This is also the start of a relationship between the Sanctuary and the MPC Computer Science Department. For more information, contact Josh at (831) 647-4260.

The Pacific Coastal Observing System (PaCOS) concept was presented by John Hunter (Southwest Fisheries Science Center, La Jolla, CA) to various NOAA staff and local academic researchers during a meeting on May 15, 2003 at the Pacific Fisheries Environmental Laboratory in Pacific Grove, California. Formerly known as the Alliance for California Current Ecosystem Observation (ACCEO), PaCOS is a joint effort between the National Marine Fisheries Service, Naval Postgraduate School (Monterey), Center for Integrated Marine Technologies (at UC Santa Cruz), Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, and the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary to extend the California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigation (CalCOFI) back into central California. With seed money from SWFSC, CalCOFI line 67 (and perhaps one other) will be occupied for four quarters in 2004. For more information, contact Steve Lonhart at (831) 647-4222.

MBNMS completed and submitted reviews of the 2003 NCCOS/proposals. There were four proposed projects, and this format of funding NCCOS projects is a great improvement from the past in terms of collaboration with the sites. For more information, contact Andrew DeVogelaere at (831) 647-4213.

From April 30 through May 2, Chad King attended the Spatial and Ecological Analysis of Megavertebrate Populations (SEAMAP) workshop at Duke University. SEAMAP is a new program that is soliciting national institutions and programs for marine mammal, seabird and turtle tracking and telemetry data for public access via their interactive mapping website. This workshop featured presentations from data providers as well as various data integration and dissemination programs, including a presentation about SIMoN given by Chad. For more information, contact Chad at (831) 647-4248.

Southern sea otter deaths have increased dramatically since 1995. A total of 100 animals have washed up dead on California beaches since January. The latest census for the southern sea otter indicates that the population now stands at about 2,000, from a peak just a few years ago of 2,377. Researchers at UC Davis have been following this trend and their analyses indicate that nearly two-thirds of the otters died of some form of disease of which 38% were from parasitic infections (including thony-headed worms, acanthocephalans) and protozoa (Toxoplasma gondii and Sarcocystis, carried only by two land-based animals, domestic cats and opossums, respectively). The UC Davis/California Fish and Game analysis also has found that the largest proportion of dead sea otters (47%) were 4-9 years old (otters in their prime-breeding ages) which are needed for population growth. One other unusual find is that these deaths seem to be occurring in geographic clusters, indicating some possible link to storm-drain run-off. For more information, contact Jennifer Parkin at (831) 647-4204.

The Center for Integrated Marine Technologies (CIMT, http://cimt.ucsc.edu/siteNew/index.html) held its first quarterly meeting at the Center for Ocean Health at UC Santa Cruz on May 19, 2003. Each of the board members presented their group's latest achievements and progress over the last three months. Presentation topics covered ship-board surveys, remote sensing and modeling, database management and data visualization, moorings, HF radar, and outreach. For more information, contact Steve Lonhart at (831) 647-4222.

The MBNMS completed a proposal review for the USFW on west coast seabird studies. For more information, contact Jennifer Parkin at (831) 647-4204.

Sea squirts, both native and nonindigenous, were the focus of a workshop on May 30, 2003 at Bodega Marine Lab. Led by Gretchen and Charles Lambert, world-famous experts on the biology of ascidians (commonly called tunicates or sea squirts), and sponsored by the National Park Service, local biologists had a chance to dissect some of the local and newly arrived species from San Francisco harbors, Tomales Bay, and Bodega Bay. The Lamberts have recently updated their Sea Grant sponsored survey of nonindigenous tunicates in southern California and have the new data in review at Marine Ecology Progress Series. For more information, contact Steve Lonhart at (831) 647-4222.

On May 27 and 28, Chad King attended the Modeling Nitrogen in the Watershed Workshop at Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Reserve and Moss Landing Marine Laboratories. The workshop included background and data validation of a 10-year effort to model nitrogen cycling in field crops. Presenters are attempting to apply their model to the Elkhorn Slough watershed. The workshop also included a hands-on training session with their new ArcView GIS component. For more information, contact Chad at (831) 647-4248.

This month the Journal of Biogeography published the paper entitled "The limits to biogeographical distributions: insights from the northward range extension of the marine snail, Kelletia (Forbes, 1852)" by Danielle Zacherl, Steven Gaines, and MBNMS staffer, Steve Lonhart. Zacherl and her co-authors use Kellet's whelk as an example system to explore potential mechanisms that may have influenced both the contemporary and historic distributional patterns of this subtidal marine snail in central California. For more information, contact Steve at (831) 647-4222.

On June 11th, Dawn Hayes, Josh Pederson, John Pearse, Habib Krit, and Dawn Osbourne met to discuss the current and future development of the LiMPETS database and web-entry forms. For more information, contact Josh at (831) 647-4260.

Resource Protection

The Monterey Bay Sanctuary Citizen Watershed Monitoring Network, NOAA and the Monterey Bay Sanctuary Foundation in collaboration with the California Coastal Commission and the Coastal Watershed Council coordinated the Fourth Annual Monterey Bay Sanctuary Snapshot Day and First California Coast Wide Snapshot Day on Saturday, May 17th. On the Central Coast alone, 153 sites were monitored by 155 people from Pacifica to Morro Bay. Four hubs were organized, one in each county, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Luis Obispo. State Senator Bruce McPherson, Gary Shalcross-aide to Assemblyman John Laird, and MBNMS Superintendant Bill Douros spoke at the Monterey hub, and Assemblyman John Laird, County Supervisor Ellen Pirie, and Mayor Emily Reilly spoke at the Santa Cruz hub. For more information, contact Bridget Hoover at (831) 883-9303 or visit www.coastforyou.org

The Monterey Bay Sanctuary Citizen Watershed Monitoring Network and NOAA released a press release on April 2, 2003 announcing the completion of the First Flush 2002 report. It can be downloaded from the Network website at http://montereybay.noaa.gov/monitoringnetwork/events.html. The sampling took place at 19 sites in Monterey, Pacific Grove, Capitola and Santa Cruz on November 7, 2002. Toxicity analysis of three different marine organisms indicated that the water from the First Flush was toxic to the test organisms at the majority of sites. Preliminary findings identify high copper and zinc concentrations as possibly contributing to the toxicity. Each city had at least one site with high concentrations that warrant more investigation and upstream monitoring. We will work closely with the participating cities to evaluate what future monitoring can be done to track sources and reduce the amount of pollutants entering the Sanctuary. For more information, contact Bridget Hoover, Network Coordinator (831) 883-9303.

Sanctuary Enforcement Officer Bob Yerena and Scott Kathey conducted an orientation tour through the northern coastal areas of the MBNMS and met with State and local law enforcement personnel on April 2. MBNMS enforcement is investigating several recent incidents, including removal of a historical artifact, flushing of a seabird colony by private and military aircraft, disturbance of marine mammals by a charter boat, the crash of a truck into the Sanctuary, an overflight zone violation, three coastal construction projects, discharge of cremation containers, and discharges of jet fuel. The Sanctuary is also investigating a recent string of vehicle crashes into the sea near Devil's Slide. Most recently, a large truck carrying two trailers drove over the edge of a 100-foot cliff into the intertidal area below. In recent weeks, 6 vessel groundings and 2 sinkings have occurred in the Sanctuary with no fatalities. Sanctuary enforcement is investigating the incidents. One of the sunken vessels was not recovered. No fatalities were reported. For more information, contact Scott Kathey at 647-4251.

Special Agent Roy Torres issued two summary settlements for elephant seal harassment and a written warning for dismemberment of a sea otter carcass. The latter case has been referred to the US Fish and Wildlife Service for further action under the ESA. In addition, Sanctuary enforcement has received three complaints of MPWC disrupting traditional surfing activity. The craft, as described, are not restricted by MBNMS prohibitions.

The P/B Shark Cat has been fitted with new twin 250 Yamaha HPDI outboard motors and is proceeding through the engine break-in period and sea trials.

Scott Kathey, Bob Yerena, and NOAA GCEL conducted an enforcement workshop at the San Simeon District office of California Department of State Parks and Recreation on June 12 to train and deputize California Wardens and Rangers as Sanctuary Enforcement Officers under the Sanctuary's Cooperative Enforcement Agreement with the State.

On April 17th, Chris Coburn, MBNMS Water Quality Protection Program (WQPP) Director, gave a presentation to the Monterey Bay Region Storm Water Task Force meeting held in Moss Landing. The Task Force, which formed over a decade ago, was created as a forum to assist local jurisdictions in meeting NPDES permit requirements for municipalities. The presentation focused on MBNMS materials and program support available to jurisdictions implementing their recently developed storm water management programs. For more info contact Chris at (831) 420-1670.

Deirdre Hall and Bill Douros met with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, the Coastal Commission, State Lands, the Moss Landing Harbor District, and fishermen organizations, to discuss the proposed submarine cable observatory-MARS. The meeting entailed discussion of the motivation for the project, the technical plan, potential installation, and information from the agencies on the environmental review process. MBNMS needs to have a contractor to handle NEPA review (EIS) for this project. For more information contact Deirdre at deirdre.hall@noaa.gov

Assembly Bill 1296 is currently being considered by the California State Assembly Committee on Water, Parks, & Wildlife. The bill would eliminate the sunset clause from the current prohibition on krill harvesting in state waters and would prohibit krill harvesting in federal waters to the extent consistent with federal law. The bill would advance goals and complement efforts that have been identified in the Sanctuary's Krill Harvesting JMPR Action Plan to protect a critical component of the region's ecosystem. For information contact Huff McGonigal at (831) 647-4254.

Huff McGonigal, Environmental Policy Specialist, spoke to the Fisheries Issues Working Group at the GFNMS regarding the strategies and activities that the MBNMS Krill Harvesting work group has identified. Members of the MBNMS work group have indicated that accomplishing proposed strategies, including coordinating with fishery management agencies, could be done more effectively as a joint effort between the three central coast Sanctuaries. For more information contact Huff McGonigal at (831) 647-4254.
The CA Fish and Game marine squad within the Sanctuary has permanently lost one position and is slated to lose a second in the near future. The combined result will result in a 40% reduction of squad strength. This will seriously cripple the cooperative enforcement agreement that the MBNMS maintains with the state. The MBNMS sent a letter to CDFG officials requesting that a pending warden vacancy be backfilled immediately and that the position be protected from elimination. CDFG officials have told MBNMS staff they welcome the letter and our input as a partner. Warden positions are being reduced by 14% statewide in response to state revenue shortfalls. For more information, contact Scott Kathey at (831) 647-4251.

On May 12th, Brad Damitz, Assistant Management Plan Coordinator, and Huff Mcgonigal met with Assemblymember John Laird's staff to discuss proposed state legislation regarding cruise ship discharges, and MBNMS efforts to develop a regulation that prohibits harmful discharges from cruise ships in the MBNMS. For more information, contact Brad at (831) 647-4252.

Scott Kathey attended a 2-day USCG Pacific Area meeting to improve coordination between the Coast Guard and natural resource management agencies on the management of protected species and habitats. Scott and Maria Brown (GFNMS) delivered a joint presentation on the NMS System, ongoing and future partnership projects between NMSs and the USCG in the Pacific region, and issues of concern relative to USCG operations within Sanctuaries. Potential negative impacts to birds and marine mammals from low-flying USCG aircraft was one topic raised by several agency representatives during the meeting. For more information, contact Scott at (831) 647-4251.

Brad Damitz attended a meeting and a site visit on May 12th, to discuss regulatory and permitting considerations for a potential desalination plant in Sand City proposed by the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District. For more information, contact Brad at (831) 647-4252.

Holly Price and Deirdre Hall met with representatives from the California Coastal Commission and Caltrans District 4 and District 5 to discuss recent emergency seawalls that went in place over the winter. These seawalls made of rip-rap were slated to be removed shortly, however there is state interest in leaving them in place. MBNMS staff recommended that Caltrans conduct a thorough alternatives analysis and begin to examine long-term solutions and anticipate erosion along Highway 1, rather than remedy the situation by continued use of coastal armoring. For further information contact deirdre.hall@noaa.gov.

Bill Douros and Holly Price met with Caltrans District 5 and the California Coastal Commission to provide comments on the Coast Highway Management Plan draft addressing highway maintance, landslide disposal and prevention along the Big Sur Coast. After nearly 3 years of planning, Caltrans will be releasing the drafts for public review in June. For more information, contact Holly at (831) 647-4247.

Holly Price and Katie Siegler coordinated on providing testimony at a Regional Water Quality Control Board hearing focused on allocation of settlement funds from a $5,000,000 discharge violation from Pacific Gas and Electric. Approximately 15 speakers voiced support for allocating the funds to agricultural runoff control projects which would implement the Sanctuary's Agriculture and Rural Lands Plan, and conducting associated water quality monitoring. For more information, contact Katie at (831) 647-4219.

The Monterey Bay Sanctuary Citizen Watershed Monitoring Network completed an outreach program for Pacific Grove restaurants. Since August 2001, the Network has visited 111 restaurants in Pacific Grove. They were given "Best Management Practice" materials on the topic of urban runoff including a video, poster and brochures. The employees were asked to complete a survey after viewing the video. Seventy-three surveys were returned. In general, the restaurant owners/managers were grateful for the educational materials, especially the video which can be used to train future employees. For more information, contact Bridget Hoover, at (831) 883-9303.

The Monterey Bay Sanctuary Citizen Watershed Monitoring Network, in coordination with the Coastal Watershed Council and Cities of Monterey and Pacific Grove have begun the Urban Watch program for the 2003 season. A training was conducted for 20 people on Thursday, June 5th. Urban Watch is a dry weather monitoring program in which 10 storm drain outfalls are monitored twice a month between June and November. For more information, contact Bridget Hoover at (831) 883-9303.

The NMFS Office of Protected Resources issued a Federal Register Notice on May 27 requesting public comment on the MBNMSs request for a one year authorization to take small numbers of California sea lions and harbor seals by Level B harassment incidental to permitting professional fireworks displays within the Sanctuary in California waters, and an application for the promulgation of regulations governing the incidental take of marine mammals for the same activity over a five-year period. The comment period closes June 26.

Scott Kathey was informed by the Ventura Field Office of the USFWS that the office is completing its Biological Opinion on the impacts of professional fireworks displays upon species protected under the ESA within the Sanctuary. The BO is part of a formal consultation between the Sanctuary and the Service to develop guidelines for future permitting of coastal fireworks displays within the MBNMS.

MBNMS was notified by the USCG on the night of, June 11 that the Navy intended to recover a live WWII torpedo containing 494 labs of TNT which had been found on the bottom of Pillar Point Harbor several days earlier and detonate it offshore Thursday morning, June 12. The Navy originally planned to detonate just across the MBNMS boundary within the “donut hole” off San Francisco, and wished to proceed ASAP as the torpedo was sitting in 10 feet of water just off the fuel dock, creating a public safety hazard. After additional quick analyses and recommendations from MBNMS and NMFS, the Navy agreed to move the detonation site 2 nm north of our boundary over sandy bottom in the "donut hole" off San Francisco to create a buffer for Sanctuary resources. They also agreed not to detonate if marine mammals were observed within a mile of the detonation site. For more information, contact Holly Price at (831) 647-4247.

Special Events

On Sunday, March 30th, Karen Grimmer and Michelle Templeton working with Kenton Parker of Elkhorn Slough Reserve, Jenny de la Hoz of Monterey Bay Aquarium, Melody Randel of Pajaro Valley Unified, and Gilberto Reyes of Save Our Shores, led a group of 25 Latino adults and students from Watsonville Adult School on a kayak tour of the Slough. The trip was highly successful in terms of giving a positive experience to first time kayakers, and delivering watershed protection messages in a way that was fun and meaningful. Monterey Bay Kayaks sponsored the day at no cost. The Monterey Herald and the Register-Pajaronian newspapers covered the event. For more information contact Karen at (831) 647-4253.

During April 16th –19th, five MBNMS staff and the SAC primary dive representative, Frank Degnan, participated in four days of fish surveys aboard the dive charter "Cypress Seas" organized by the Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF). The unofficial species count was 47 and the group conducted approximately 130 surveys within a variety of sites in Monterey Bay. REEF will be compiling and sending a summary report in the next two weeks. For more info, contact Karen Grimmer at (831) 647-4253.

On April 27th, as part of the MERITO effort, MBNMS, Save Our Shores, Watsonville Wetlands Watch, Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, Ecology Action, Camp SEA Lab, Monterey Bay, Resource Conservation District, ALBA and the City of Watsonville Public Works teamed up to provide a special "Earth Day" component of the City of Watsonville's fifth annual Día del Niño/Day of the Child celebration. Kid's activities involving protection of the environment, litter clean-ups, nature walks, music, dancing, free hot-dogs, sunshine and speeches from Assemblymember Símon Salinas and our Superintendent Bill Douros rounded out the day. MERITO provided bilingual Threatened and Thriving t-shirts for litter clean up volunteers. The event brought out over 2,600 children and parents. For more information on MERITO contact Karen Grimmer at (831) 647-4253.

On April 27th, also as part of the MERITO effort, MBNMS staff and MERITO intern participated in Monterey Bay Aquarium's 2nd annual Día del Niño/Day of the Child celebration. Watershed model demonstrations and the "Touch and Feel" box activities were hosted by the MBNMS. A variety of hand-on kid's activities, music, dance and free admission to children encouraged local participation by Latino families to visit the MBA and learn more about ocean protection. Also a big hit were the Threatened and Thriving posters and left over calendars, everything was snatched up in the first hour! For more information on MERITO, contact Karen Grimmer at (831) 647-4253.

The San Simeon Office of MBNMS hosted a lecture/presentation by Wayne Perryman in Cambria on April 23. Perryman's talk was titled, " The Eastern Pacific Gray Whale: Can the environment support continued growth of this population?" About 65 people attended, including people who traveled from San Francisco and Los Angeles to attend the lecture. For more information, contact Michele Roest at (805) 927-2145.

On Sunday, May 17 Karen Grimmer, Michelle Templeton and Claudia Pineda attended the Castroville Artichoke Festival. This multicultural event drew in about 15,000 local community members as well as visitors from across the country. The MERITO team educated visitors about the Sanctuary and provided fun activities for children. For more information, contact Michelle at (831) 423-5942.

On Saturday, May 24th, Julie Barrow and Lisa Emanuelson staffed a booth and our inflatable humpback whale at the 1st annual Steelhead Festival in Pescadero. The folks who attended were welcome to investigate the life sized Humpback Whale (built with the help of MAOS students) and pick up materials concerning the three local sanctuaries. Highlighted was the newest of the Threatened and Thriving posters: Salmon and Sardines. For more information, contact Lisa at (831) 372-7918.

On June 1, MERITO and Ag Plan staff teamed up to participate in Agricultural Land-Based training Association’s Family Farm Day Festival at the Rural Development Center in Salinas. Local organizations came out to educate farmers and their families on how to help protect the environment with activities and information on composting, organic farming, and resource protection. The MBNMS provided the watershed model demonstration and information on the Sanctuary’s Agriculture Plan. The event brought out 60 Latino farmers and their families to enjoy farm demonstrations, hands-on activities, food and music. For more information on MERITO or this event contact Michelle Templeton at (831) 566-7569.

On Wednesday, June 4, as part of the MERITO effort, a graduation ceremony was held for students in Pajaro Middle School's Watershed Institute. Kenton Parker of Elkhorn Slough Reserve, Pajaro Middle School teacher Melody Randel and MERITO staff provided games, activities and food. The ceremony recognized students for their commitment to watershed and ocean protection and presented certificates, Threatened and Thriving bilingual t-shirts, free family passes to the Elkhorn Slough Reserve and a poster of "The Unseen Slough". This concludes MERITO's one-year pilot program which will result in a kit for after school program teachers and leaders. Contact Michelle Templeton (831) 566-7569

On Sunday June 8, 2003 the Monterey Bay Sanctuary Foundation presented a special Oceans Day Award to Monterey Bay Kayaks (MBK), a local kayak business that has promoted ocean stewardship and supported, through in-kind donations and funds, some of the Sanctuary's most visible and important educational programs (e.g., Team OCEAN Kayak Outreach Program and MERITO). The MBNMS co-sponsored the award and a presentation ceremony and reception was held at MBK. For more info, contact Becky Ohsiek of the Foundation at (831) 647-4209.

On June 11, MBNMS staff hosted a booth at Shifting Baselines: The Future of the Blue Frontier. The event, coordinated by Save Our Shores and The Ocean Conservancy, drew a large audience, including many sanctuary staff. Threatened and Thriving posters were provided throughout the evening’s program and silent auction. For more information, contact Michelle Templeton at (831) 566-7569.

Significant News Coverage

“ Desalination effort needs leadership,” The Herald’s View, Monterey County Herald, 3/25/03.

“ Tourism will be affected,” Letter to the Editor, Monterey County Herald, 3/29/03.

“ Learning the language of nature,” by Courtney Semple, Monterey County Herald, 3/31/03.

" Boardwalk added as potential sanctuary visitor center site" by Ramona Turner, Santa Cruz Sentinel, 4/2/03.

" Groups document Monterey Bay pollutants" Santa Cruz Sentinel, 4/3/03.

" Sanctuary group to discuss visitor center", Santa Cruz Sentinel, 4/3/03.

“ Monterey Bay’s welcome mat; Four sites eyed for Sanctuary visitor center,” by Paul Rogers, San Jose Mercury News, 4/2/03.

" Contamination warnings contested; Capitola disputes semi-permanent beach posting," Emily Singer, Santa Cruz Sentinel, 4/12/03.

" Channel Island reserves hold lessons for Monterey Bay," Heather Boerner, Santa Cruz Sentinel, 4/17/03.

" Ocean pollution low after recent storm," Santa Cruz Sentinel, 4/19/03.

" Plumbing the depths of sea lion smarts; Nation's top expert in sea lion studies calls it a day," Nicole Stricker, Santa Cruz Sentinel, 4/21/03.

“ Cruise ships experience revival; Monterey Bay: Mercury arrives for visit today,” by Dan Laidman, Monterey County Herald, 4/20/03.

“ Visitor center worth the effort,” The Herald’s View, Monterey County Herald, 4/22/03.

“ Tourism rep needed for advisory council,” News In Brief, The Californian, 4/26/03.

“ In the wake of pollution; Proposed legislation would limit cruise ship emissions,” by Dan Laidman, Monterey County Herald, 4/27/03.

Rachel Saunders, Community & Public Relations Coordinator interviewed with KRON-TV (NBC- San Francisco) on Sunday, April 27th regarding a special TV report they are doing on cruise ship issues.

" Looking out for all mothers," by Dave Brooks, The Register-Pajaronian, 5/13/03.

“ Study says world’s fish population dwindling,” by Nicole Stricker, The Monterey County Herald, 05/15/03.

“ A watershed event; ‘Snapshots’ taken of coastal waterways,” by Dan Laidman, The Monterey County Herald, 05/18/03.

Photo and caption in May 19 Register-Pajaronian: Michelle Templeton of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary talks with Mikey Hayes about the importance of protecting the watershed during the Castroville Artichoke Festival on Sunday, May 18th.

“ State compromises on tide pool policy; Pacific Grove: Agency lifts sea life moratorium,” by Nicole Stricker, Monterey County Herald, 5/24/03.

“ Cruise Ship Encounters Protesters in S.F”, Monterey County Herald, 06/03/03.

“ Study Says Oceans in Peril, More Legal Protection Needed”, by Dennis Moran, Monterey County Herald, 06/05/03.

“ Water Politics”, by Eric Johnson, The Coast Weekly, 06/05/03.

“ Deep Trouble”, by Andrew Scutro, The Coast Weekly, 06/05/03.

“ A ‘slough’ of facts” by Dave Brooks, The Register-Pajaronian, 6/10/03.

“ Monterey Bay Kayaks recognized with Ocean Day award Sunday” Monterey County Herald, 6/7/03.

“ Seattle makes waves; Alaska cruise critics worry about waste” by Helen Jung, Monterey County Herald, 6/7/03.

“ The Coastal Water project: Our future” by Marc Beique, Monterey County Herald, 6/15/03.

“ U.S. officials outline plans for protecting resources in Monterey Bay sanctuary” San Jose Mercury News, 6/13/03.