Melissa Miller-Henson of the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative told a Fort Bragg crowd Tuesday night that the process used in other regions has been changed for the local (Point Arena to Oregon border) region.
In all the other regions, the process started with the formation of an official “local stakeholders group.” That group”s recommendations were critiqued by an official science panel. Alternatives were hashed out, then proposed to a Blue Ribbon Task Force. The task force then proposed a “preferred alternative” to the California Fish and Game Commission, which turned that alternative into law.
In this region, the only change is that MLPAI backers have decided to start with local “external proposals,” which organizers said are all due in January. That is a new step, Miller-Henson explained.
She said starting with the externals was done to accommodate the smaller population of this area. In other areas, external proposals were done simultaneously with the stakeholders” work. She said MLPAI staff had decided there weren”t enough interested bodies locally to be involved in the two processes simultaneously.
The MLPAI staff will not comment on these external proposals but will be available to ask questions, backers explained.
In February, the regular regional stakeholders group will get rolling, using the external proposals as a starting point. The regional stakeholders group, working within the parameters of a master plan and with the veto power of the science panel, must make final recommendations to the Blue Ribbon Task Force by October 2010.
The task force will then edit those and pass them on to the California Fish and Game Commission, which plans to create the permanent offshore parks locally by December 2010 — when Gov. Schwarzenegger leaves office.
Miller-Henson described how an external proposal should work. The criteria she described sounded much like college homework: Include a cover sheet, followed by a one- to two-page narrative explaining how those doing the proposal had worked with “other interests,” what activities are to be disallowed in proposed marine parks and how existing marine protected areas (such as Point Cabrillo Marine Reserve) fit in. She said proposals can be created by any group.
Also any proposals must be consistent with the original Marine Life Protection Act of 1999 and expanded criteria from the MLPAI and the Department of Fish and Game”s Master Plan Guidelines for MPA”s, available online, she said.
Jim Martin, West Coast regional director of the Recreational Fishing Alliance, pointed out that moving back the start time for the local stakeholders group seriously shortens the entire process here, compared to other regions.
He doubts explanations offered at Tuesday night”s meeting.
“The real reason there is a tight timeline is because the governor wants his legacy” and there really is no money for the MLPA at all,” said Martin.
