What's at Stake in the Marine Life Protection Act?
Maureen Cavanaugh, Natalie Walsh
KPBS San Diego
06/29/2009
The Marine Life Protection Act Initiative will hold two open houses in San Diego on Monday, June 29, 2009, at 5:30 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn in Carlsbad, and on Tuesday, June 30, 2009, at 5:30 p.m. at the Marina Village Conference Center in San Diego.
Maureen Cavanaugh: The coastline, the ocean, the beaches are so much a part of San Diego's identity that it's frightening to think that much of our coast is threatened. Experts say that 90 percent of California's coastal wetlands have been lost, while a large number of marine life species, plants, fish and animals have see their populations decline in the last 20-years.
California already has a series of what are called marine protected areas up and down the state, but critics say they are too few and outdated. So, a public-private partnership called the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative is now in the process of re-evaluating the protected coastal areas and coming up with a statewide network of protection for California's coastal habitat.
This year, that analysis is focusing on Southern California...and the group is just about to hold a series of open houses to show the public their draft proposals for these new marine protected areas, and get people's comments on the plans...
