On December 15, the California Fish and Game Commission took the historic step of adopting a new network of marine and estuarine reserves in southern California  - some adjacent to our largest urban centers. These new sheltered zones will protect key habitats for over 100 other species of breeding and wintering marine and coastal seabirds, shorebirds and ducks. (Photo of Black Skimmers by Ron LeValley)

The new reserves were established under the forward-looking California Marine Life Protection Act, which directs the state to establish a network of marine protected areas in our coastal zone. The southern California network is the result of dozens of public meetings and thousands of comments, plus some heated negotiations.

It's a good thing for birds that San Fernando Valley Audubon president Dave Weeshoff was a member of the group of 50 publicly-nominated, state-appointed “stakeholders” designing the network. Dave ensured that the needs of marine birds were not forgotten in the midst of heavy attention on fish and harvestable invertebrates. Audubon California staff worked with him to push for the inclusion of key foraging and estuarine areas for birds, and our collective efforts paid off.

The common denominators of the dozens of breeding and visiting southern California marine bird species are access to food and places to stage and rest. The new southern California network of marine and estuarine reserves help provide exactly that.  Reserves at Pt Conception, Campus Point, Point Dume, and La Jolla will help replenish fish stocks that support pelagic foraging species from all over the Pacific. Meanwhile,  new protections at Bolsa Chica, Upper Newport Bay, Batiquitos Lagoon, and Goleta Slough will bolster Least Tern, other shorebirds and waterfowl by limiting disturbance and protecting the forage base of small fishes, invertebrates and seagrasses.

As for the subtidal reserves, they will help safeguard a depleted but still magnificent diversity and abundance of species. Kelp forests support dozens of species of rockfish, beloved by sportfishermen and seabirds alike. Undersea canyons carpeted with branching and fan corals (some older than redwoods), sponges, anemones, tunicates, and crinoids provide shelter for a variety of sea life, including rockfish, crabs, lingcod and garibaldi.

Dave Weeshoff and the other Stakeholders spent well over 100 hours in work sessions and meetings, all open to the public. The result is a product with gaps and weaknesses, but is a compromise that balances the immediate needs of fishermen with long-term conservation.

Remarks Dave:  “I was personally impressed with the intense focus and support provided by all the conservation organizations involved in the Regional Stakeholder Group.  We forged a great, united team of committed and energetic folks, working toward the best possible, scientifically-justifiable, outcome.  For me, it was an enlightening, wild, two-year ride.”

Los Angeles and San Diego Audubon worked with Audubon California to develop a campaign to support the network when it was vulnerable to further weakening as it moved through the adoption process.   "We are proud to have been a part of this historic victory and look forward to ensuring that protections for marine ecosystems and sea birds remain a regional priority, " says San Diego Audubon Conservation Coordinator Shannon Doherty.