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Washington DC Office:
2263 Rayburn Building
Washington, DC 20515
Ph.: 202-225-5161
Fax: 202-225-5163
District Offices:
Marin Office:
1050 Northgate Drive
Suite 354
San Rafael, CA. 94903
Ph.: 415-507-9554
Fax: 415-507-9601
Sonoma Office:
1101 College Avenue
Suite 200
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Ph.: 707-542-7182
Fax: 707-542-2745
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| State Legislature Asks Congress to Pass Woolsey’s Marine Sanctuary Bill | | September 2, 2009 | |
| The California State Legislature officially called on Congress Wednesday to pass Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey’s legislation to expand two National Marine Sanctuaries that would provide protection to the coasts of Sonoma County and southern Mendocino County.
The Woolsey bill in the House, and Senator Barbara Boxer’s companion bill in the Senate, would expand the Gulf of the Carillons and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries by more than 2,100 square nautical miles and provide new protections from Bodega Head in Sonoma County to Point Arena in Mendocino County. It would bring into the National Marine Sanctuary system one of the most biologically productive marine areas on the planet, which provides nourishment for the largest gathering of blue whales (earth’s largest creatures), 35 other marine mammal species, three salmon species, huge colonies of seabirds, and many other marine species.
“I am pleased that the State Legislature realizes the importance of these coastal waters to the people of California and the nation, and that the highest level of protection can be achieved through National Marine Sanctuary,” said Woolsey. As marine sanctuaries these areas would get new protections against offshore oil drilling, pollution or any activities that harm their marine resources.
The Senate joint resolution, authored by State Senator Pat Wiggins, was given final approval in the Senate by a vote of 23-14, making it the official policy of the Legislature. The State Legislature now joins the California Coastal Commission, the State Lands Commission and the counties of Sonoma, Mendocino, and Marin in supporting the Marine Sanctuary bill. San Francisco, the Port of Oakland, several North Coast cities, and various business, fishing and environmental groups also support the bill.
The Legislature’s resolution notes that the Marine Sanctuary expansion area is within one of four coastal upwelling zones on earth – rich waters that together provide 20 percent of the world’s fish, and that the Woolsey bill would protect the UC Davis Bodega Marine Lab’s investment in half-a-century of research.
The resolution recognizes that the recent lifting of executive and congressional oil moratoriums makes this coast especially vulnerable, and it calls on Congress to quickly pass the bill and the president to sign it. |
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