A bill that would double marine sanctuary areas north of San Francisco passed the House of Representatives on March 31.
HR 1187, a bill sponsored by Democratic Reps. Lynn Woolsey and Mike Thompson, would expand the boundaries of the Gulf of the Farallons and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries from the present location at Bodega Bay, northward to Point Arena.
The sanctuary status, which would ban offshore oil and gas drilling but would not add any new restrictions to fishing, was supported by commercial and sport fishing groups.
A version must now pass the Senate for the resolution to become law. Both California senators support the bill, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
The ocean sanctuary areas are protected by the Bureau of Land Management, a federal agency which was once responsible for offshore oil development. That responsibility was long ago ceded to its sister agency, the Minerals Management Service.
The BLM is advised on the issue by a council of private citizens, which includes Mendocino County Supervisor Kendall Smith.
Thompson hopes the area can be expanded to include all of the Mendocino Coast.
Thompson told the Chronicle he is already talking to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration about evaluating other offshore areas in Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte counties to add to the sanctuary system.
“Today”s action provides compelling recognition that the ecosystems of the spectacular Sonoma and Mendocino coastlines are truly a national treasure, worthy of permanent protection,” said Richard Charter of Defenders of Wildlife. “Our important win today in the House bodes well for success in the U.S. Senate and the signature of the president, since the Administration has clearly indicated that it supports this outcome.”
The Chronicle reported that the bill had initially been opposed by Republicans, back in the days when the GOP changed the name of the Natural Resources Committee to remove the word “Natural” and was led by Congressman Richard Pombo, who was ousted in the rout by Democrats in November 2006.
The measure also bans fish farming. Expansion of fish farming was once a prime goal of President George Bush, who pushed a special arm of the federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to promote the controversial idea.
But Charter says the measure that passed Monday now has the support of the Bush Administration. It passed on a voice vote without fanfare from pro-drilling Republicans, the Chronicle reported.
The House Natural Resources Committee”s weekly automatic email reports that house rules were suspended to allow the vote. The committee, headed by West Virginia Democrat Congressman Nick Rahall, will also consider seven other floor votes this week as part of bi-partisan agreement to suspend the rules. The other seven resolutions are:
– HR 2342: To direct the president to establish a National Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System, and for other purposes.
– HR 4933: To amend the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 to protect captive wildlife and to make technical corrections, and for other purposes.
– HR 3352: To reauthorize and amend the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act, and for other purposes.
– HR 3891: To amend the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act to increase the number of Directors on the board of directors of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
– HR 2675: To provide for the conveyance of approximately 140 acres of land in the Ouachita National Forest in Oklahoma to the Indian Nations Council, Inc., of the Boy Scouts of America, and for other purposes.
– HR 3651: To require the conveyance of certain public land within the boundaries of Camp Williams, Utah, to support the training and readiness of the Utah National Guard.
– HR 2515 To authorize appropriations for the Bureau of Reclamation to carry out the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program in the States of Arizona, California, and Nevada, and for other purposes.
