Twenty community leaders have been selected for Class 33 of the Focus Agriculture program. This “first-in-the-nation” program is designed for community leaders to learn about agriculture in Santa Cruz County and the Pajaro Valley.
Public comment on the proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary ended this week. But the biggest question remains about this proposed sanctuary that would provide protection for coastal waters from our Monterey Bay sanctuary down to the Channel Islands.
"Should Morro Bay be included, or as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) proposes, should waters offshore from this San Luis Obispo County area be removed from the sanctuary?" the Editorial Board writes. "NOAA’s reasoning is that plans for a large offshore wind energy project would be derailed if the Morro Bay coastline (including Morro Rock) is included. But, considering that this sanctuary is intended to protect sites sacred to the Chumash Tribe, exempting Morro Bay from the proposed sanctuary is unacceptable."
"Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary would be the fifth national marine sanctuary off California and sixth off the continental West Coast," write Erica Donnelly-Greenan, Dan Haifley and Tracey Weiss in a Guest Commentary. "This new designation would increase the protection of ecosystems from Mendocino County to southern Santa Barbara County. It would fulfill national marine sanctuary program protection goals, facilitate research, outreach, education and maritime heritage objectives by protecting sacred Chumash cultural sites."