Announcements

King Tides Illustrate Vulnerability of California Shorelines

On February 6-8, some of the year’s highest tides will hit California shorelines, providing a glimpse of what the state can expect as sea levels rise in the coming years. These “king tides” – as the highest winter tides are called – will be captured by citizen imagery through the California King Tides Initiative. The California Ocean Protection Council estimates more than one foot of sea level rise by 2050 and four to five feet by 2100 along the California coast.

You can assist us in documenting the affects of these king tides by photographing the impacts of high water in your communities, highlighting the way homes, harbors, and other infrastructure, as well as beaches, wetlands, and public access to the coast may be affected by sea level rise in the future.

Get information about when to view king tides from NOAA Tide Charts and where to view king tides, planning your shoot, submitting photos on the King Tides Initiative website. View photos from the 2010-2011 king tides on our Flickr webpage. Watch a Thank You Ocean podcast on CCKA’s work with its initiative partners, the California Coastal Commission and NOAA Coastal Services. And, follow the Initiative on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date!

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California Coastkeeper Alliance Announces New Executive Director

The Board of Directors of California Coastkeeper Alliance is proud to announce that on January 23, 2012, Michael Murphy will take the lead as CCKA’s new executive director.  Michael takes the reins during a critical time in California’s environmental history.  As the state endeavors to implement key resource protection initiatives such as the State Water Board’s policy on coastal power plants, a statewide trash policy, and a network of underwater parks, California is simultaneously struggling to deal with its precarious financial situation.  With CCKA’s expertise in law and policy for clean water and healthy coastal ecosystems, CCKA and California’s 12 local Waterkeeper organizations are poised to protect and strengthen environmental laws at this critical juncture.

Michael has 17 years of experience in protected area advocacy, environmental policy and strategic communications.  As a native Californian who grew up on the beach in Southern California, he has a strong commitment to protecting coastal and inland waterways.  Michael Murphy’s career has focused on communicating science to policy makers and the public, and empowering affected stakeholder groups to be involved in the management process.  Before joining the Alliance, Michael was the communications and outreach director at Stanford University’s Woods Institute for the Environment.  His work at the Institute focused on infusing Stanford science into environmental policy making.  Prior to joining Stanford in 2008, Michael worked for 14 years for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Washington D.C.

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