Tell NOAA: Keep California’s coastal protections strong
California's ocean and coastline are healthy, vibrant, and full of life in part because of the California Coastal Management Program—a federal-state partnership program that gives our state a voice in decisions about actions that affect our shores. If you have been to the coast of California or visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium, you have witnessed this incredible beauty that is worth protecting!
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is now conducting a performance review of this program, just two years after the last one found California in full compliance. This review comes at a moment when the coast faces real pressure: efforts to expand offshore oil drilling, restart aging pipeline infrastructure, and explore new offshore development for space launches and deep-sea mining are all underway. The Aquarium is extremely concerned about the statewide ramifications of the potential defunding and decertification of the state’s coastal management program, and the dangerous precedent this sets for coastal states beyond California.
If this review revokes California’s authority under its Coastal Management Program, it weakens the state’s ability to protect the coast at exactly the moment that authority matters most.
Public comments are our direct line to the federal government. NOAA needs to hear from everyone who loves the California coast, no matter where you live. Please join us in submitting a comment in support of the California Coastal Management Program by Saturday, August 22.
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