A bird's-eye view: LightHawk flight offers unique perspective on Marine Life Protection Act region
Thadeus Greenson
Times-Standard
05/16/2010
Those wondering why the Marine Life Protection Act process has been a controversial one here on the north coast need only take to the air for an answer.
On an aerial tour of the coast Saturday that focused on some of the proposed protection areas, the answer came clearly into focus.
From a small Cessna plane about 1,000 feet in the air, one could see an abundance of marine life -- sea lions, whales, shorebirds and more -- in the waters below. But just as prevalent were the smattering of fishing boats making their way up and down the coast on the first day of the 2010 rockfish season.
”It's about finding that balance,” said Pete Nichols, executive director of Humboldt Baykeeper, which, along with the Ocean Conservancy, helped coordinate Saturday's flights with the help of LightHawk, a nonprofit organization that operates under the slogan of “championing environmental protection through the unique perspective of flight.”
While the process has been contentious at times, Nichols said he's still hopeful the various stakeholder groups on the North Coast can find a management plan that works for everyone.
Enacted in 1999, the MLPA calls for a coordinated network of ocean zones that are off limits or restricted to fishing and gathering. It has been a major source of controversy among fishing and tribal communities along the California coast.
Eight different plans have been submitted on the North Coast and are currently being reviewed by the regional stakeholders group before they are reviewed by a science advisory team that will determine if the plans meet the stated goals of the MLPA.
After receiving the input of the science advisory team, the plans will come back to the local stakeholders group, which will then try to further refine the plans before submitting them to the MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force, which will make the final call.
Nichols said the ultimate goal is to have the stakeholder groups unify behind a plan, leaving the Blue Ribbon Task Force little room to choose something that would be objectionable to any of the stakeholders.
”We're trying to present them with as few options as possible and preferably one (plan) that is palatable to the whole community,” he said.
Nichols said Saturday's flights are just the beginning, as LightHawk -- which has conducted flights for MLPA processes all over the state -- plans on conducting them frequently for different user groups and policymakers throughout the process.
”We're trying to get different user groups throughout the process up in the air to see what we're talking about when we start drawing lines for some of these reserves,” Nichols said.
Saturday's flights included members of the media, a member of the science advisory team and a member of the regional stakeholders group, who were toured around by volunteer LightHawk pilots Lew Nash and Mike Sutton.
From the air, those on the tour got to see the rugged coast line with its massive rocks jutting up from the ocean floor, its isolated beaches punctuated by tree-dotted hillsides jutting up behind them and its river mouths pouring fresh water into the expansive ocean.
