Executive Director

Coastal (West) Marin is located in the California Floristic Province, a biodiversity hotspot with Mediterranean-type climate that supports a robust variety of flora and fauna. Biodiversity, a combination of bio (life) and diversity, generally refers to the variety and variability of life on Earth. No feature of Earth is more complex, dynamic, and varied than the layer of living organisms that occupy its surfaces and its seas, and no feature is experiencing more dramatic change at the hands of humans. 

Since 1971, EAC has been actively advocating for the protection of biodiversity from Dillon to Muir beaches. Our work is focused on bringing people, science and policy together to solve some of these threats and champion innovative solutions where public, state, federal and private lands converge. For almost fifty years, we’ve worked on various projects to protect vital ecosystems, defend critical legislation, enforce accountability of leaders and legislators, and rally our community to become stewards of their backyard. While all of our environmental land and water advocacy programs touch on biodiversity protections, some of our more focused work has included pesticide and pollution programs, bird and nesting protections, and analytical reports, including, After the Vision Fire, and forthcoming, Marin's Monarch Movement. 

Biodiversity Programs

Research | Duxbury Reef, Intertidal Study: Faunal Changes 1970s - 2020

EAC is happy to announce we are partnering with College of Marin to update a report on faunal changes at Duxbury Reef, a Marin County Park site located at Agate Beach Park in Bolinas, CA. The report will continue the late Dr. Gordon Chan 1970s -1980s studies, which documented the intertidal invertebrate species diversity and abundance along the reef. Dr. Chan's baseline data on invertebrate populations on the reef were critical, as he was able to document ecological changes to the area during the 1971 San Francisco Bay Oil Spill released bunker crude oil that covered Duxbury Reef and much of the Bay Area. This research put Duxbury Reef on the scientific map, now a marine protected area. The principal objective of this intertidal survey is to repeat Dr. Chan’s collection of data at the exact locations and statistically analyze the data to reveal any significant ecological changes fifty years after Dr. Chan’s invaluable baseline results were developed.

To date, the research team has analyzed the original data, found the principle transect markers, and started collecting data observations. The research team is comprised of graduates of College of Marin’s Natural History Program, including Laura Lee Miller and Mike Simmons as data collecting technicians; expert statistician, Robert Smith; and Bolinas resident and Duxbury Reef Intertidal and MPA Watch volunteer, Kent Khitikian. The project leader and coordinator is Joe Mueller, Professor of Biology at College of Marin. We look forward to sharing the findings of this work with you soon. 

Partnership | Point Reyes National Seashore, Annual Butterfly Count

In July, we were contacted with a special request to help with the annual Point Reyes National Seashore Butterfly Count for the North American Butterfly Association. Due to COVID-19, the Seashore was unable to coordinate volunteers to conduct the annual count, but EAC was happy to partner with managers to ensure there would not be a data gap. Following EAC's COVID-19 Site Protection Plan, we were able to coordinate volunteers by asking them to travel directly to their assigned trail, conducting surveys individually or only with people from the same household, wearing face coverings, and practicing social distancing to ensure everyone's continued health and wellbeing. Thanks to our team effort, we recruited 13 volunteers who completed counts at 11 locations, who collectively hiked more than 39 miles, identifying 33 species and 117 individuals along the Point Reyes peninsula.

The North American Butterfly Association has run the Butterfly Count Program in the United States, Canada, and Mexico since 1993. Each of the approximately 450 counts consists of a compilation of all butterflies observed at sites within a 15-mile diameter count circle in a one-day period. The annually published reports provide a tremendous amount of information about the geographical distribution and relative population sizes of the species counted. Comparisons of the results across years can be used to monitor changes in butterfly populations and study the effects of weather and habitat change on North American butterflies.

Thank you Mia Monroe, Wendy Dreskin, Barbara Deutsch, David & Patty Wimpfheimer, Robert Hall, Lisa Hug, Ro Capelli, Juan Garcia, John Hibbard, Todd Plummer, Charlie Fisher, and Catherine Chang for all of your effort to make the count happen.

Research | EAC's Recreational Water Quality Testing Launches with $2k Matching Gift!

In our last issue, we kicked off a new partnership with Marin County Environmental Health Service's Ocean and Bay Water Quality Protection Program, Surfrider Marin, and Point Reyes National Seashore to collect water quality samples in Point Reyes National Seashore at Drakes Beach and Drakes Estero, where testing has not occurred for many years. The goal of this program will help to fill a critical gap in data along Point Reyes National Seashore beaches, and help inform the National Park Service and Marin County on the health of our ecosystems, and ensure safer recreational beaches in our public lands. 

In March, this program was set to launch with grant funding, and would have provided Marin high school students with hands-on science and real world job experience through the testing of the samples, but the pandemic halted these partnerships. However, we did not want to halt this high-priority testing any longer, so we decided to launch a fundraising effort in June to make this critical work possible.

We are happy to announce that since our call to action, we have received a $2k matching gift from donors to help initiate this program supporting local watershed and biodiversity management efforts. In addition, we have received another $285 through individual support, which leaves roughly $4.5k left to raise. To put this in perspective, each location costs roughly $175 to test and analyze per week, or $500 for all three locations per week. 

Our first sampling will occur later this month, so it’s not too late to donate and have your gift matched dollar for dollar. Join this community effort and donate today! Make a special tax-deductible gift today to support this effort by August 31st to help us reach our goal.

Education  |  West Marin Wild, EAC's Youth Education Program Pivots in Response to COVID-19

As you know, experiential science learning field trips with elementary students are the beating heart of our youth education program. Unfortunately, all of our field trips for the spring 2020 season were cancelled and the fall season remains unknown. The good news is we are adapting! Just as striped shore crabs, ravens, and ground squirrels adapt to their changing environments each year, we are surviving the COVID-19 pandemic by embracing changes around us.

We know our free field trips for under-served schools in Marin county will resume again someday. When that day comes we want our Youth Education program to be as effective, inclusive, and accessible as possible for the schools we work with. We’ve seized the present moment to redirect resources traditionally used for organizing our field trips, and instead put those resources toward developing online learning tools for students and their teachers. Our series of bilingual educational videos, filmed on location at Agate Beach and Roy’s Redwoods, are accompanied by a detailed teacher guide and student field journal written in both in English and Spanish. 

At the start of each school year, teachers at our partner schools will be mailed a packet that includes their teacher guide and student field journals. Teachers will take students through their field journals by showing our bilingual video modules in class before their scheduled outing with EAC. After watching the videos and completing activities in their journals, students and teachers will be well prepared for their field trip adventure. Students will bring their field journals on their trip to Agate Beach or Roy’s Redwoods, where they will learn what it means to be a community scientist by making observations in iNaturalist. Thank you to EAC's Education Coordinator, Will Hubert, and Naturalist, Juan Carlos Solis, for making this work possible. Thank you to EAC Coastal Advocate Interns, Grace Milstein and Silvana Montagu for assistance filming at Duxbury Reef.

Public Education | California Department of Fish and Wildlife Reminds Intertidal Visitors of Collection Rules

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has noted an increase in the number of visitors to our rocky seashore this summer, and reminds people they must know the rules governing harvest and should do what they can to protect these amazing places. "Regulations that either prohibit or limit the collection of species like turban snails, hermit crabs and mussels are meant to protect our tidepools, which are full of fascinating life that's important to the marine ecosystem," said Dr. Craig Shuman, CDFW Marine Region Manager.

Individuals should not remove any animals from tidepools that they don't plan on keeping and should also be aware that even walking over some sensitive areas can unintentionally harm tidepool plants and animals. "It is important to watch where you walk, not only to avoid unintentionally harming the myriad of sea life that call California's tidepools home, but to avoid an accidental fall," Shuman said.

Tidepool animals have special regulations that limit the species and numbers that can be taken (California Code of Regulations Title 14, section 29.05). Most species found in tidepools can only be collected by hand. The use of pry bars, knives or other devices to remove them from the rocks is not allowed.

There are also regulations that cover fish found in tidepools, which can only be taken by hook and line or hand. No nets or other devices can be used. In addition, the California Department of Public Health's annual mussel quarantine is in effect until at least Nov. 1, because eating mussels at this time of year may be hazardous to your health. Mussels can be collected for bait but may not be taken for human consumption during this period.

"People may not realize that anyone age 16 or older must have a valid sport fishing license to collect tidepool animals, and that there are limits to how many can be taken," said Assistant Chief Mike Stefanak of the CDFW Marine Law Enforcement Division. "In Southern California, an Ocean Enhancement Validation is also required for tidepool collection."

Most Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) do not allow collection of tidepool animals. MPA maps and regulations are available on CDFW's MPA webpage, and on the mobile-friendly Ocean Sport Fishing interactive web map. Local authorities may also close off other areas to tidepool collecting.

Tidepooling and legal collecting can be a safe outdoor activity that maintains physical distancing from others as we work to minimize transmission of COVID-19. Those interested in participating must make sure to stay six feet from anyone not in their same household, wear a face mask, follow all fishing regulations, watch for incoming waves and where they step, and stay safe. Any wildlife crimes witnessed can be easily reported to CDFW's "CalTIP" hotline, by calling 1-888-334-2258, or by texting "CALTIP", followed by a space and the message, to 847-411 (tip411).

Learn More & Take Action

Below are additional resources to keep you informed on current environmental issues, hot topics and legislative measures you can act on.

Federal & California | Respond to the Census - Shape Our Future

The census provides critical data that lawmakers, business owners, teachers, and many others use to provide daily services, products, and support for you and your community. The results of the census also determine the number of seats each state will have in the U.S. House of Representatives, and they are used to draw congressional and state legislative districts. It's also in the Constitution: Article 1, Section 2, mandates that the country conduct a count of its population once every 10 years. The 2020 Census will mark the 24th time that the country has counted its population since 1790. This takes a minute of your time, please take the survey today.
 

California | Support Assembly Bill 3030, Resource Conservation: Land and Ocean Conservation Goals

AB 3030 sets a goal to address significant drops in biodiversity by protecting at least 30% of the state’s land and freshwater by 2030, and advancing the protection of 30% of the nation’s oceans. It also calls for improving access to nature for all people, especially communities of color and economically disadvantaged communities. AB 3030 has been set for hearing on August 12th. 
Tell your California State Senator you support AB 3030! Find your senator here.

California | Good News for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) 

AB 3279 was amended due to initial opposition by 104 organizations, including EAC. This bill threatened CEQA, but we are able to support the bill as amended. The amended bill is a win for our environment, environmental justice and community health. Defending CEQA and all of our critical state environmental laws is a critical fight that you can count on EAC to remain collaboratively engaged in. 

Federal | The Migratory Bird Treaty Act is Still Under Attack!

Please write to your federal representative and tell them you support protections for migratory birds including support for H.R.5552, the Migratory Bird Protection Act of 2020. Look up your U.S. representative here. 

Federal | Restoring Work, Restoring in our Nation

EAC continues to support biodiversity recovery and jobs for a sustainable future including our continued support for H.R. 2. This bill includes positive wildlife and public lands conservation provisions. This article highlights the close connection with nature and our own health, which has been highlighted by the pandemic.

Federal | Great American Outdoors Act Signed!

The Great American Outdoors Act includes portions of two previous bills, the Restore Our Parks Act and the Land and Water Conservation Fund Permanent Funding Act. “The Great American Outdoors Act is a win-win for our public lands and the economy. This bill will fund projects to rebuild crumbling national park and public lands infrastructure across the country, preserve historic sites and access to recreation, and protect public lands for everyone,” said Congressional Representative Jared Huffman in a July 22, 2020 Press Release. Our friends at the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) note, "This legislation represents a historic victory for parks and will authorize billions of dollars to fund critical maintenance projects and conserve vulnerable lands....the deferred maintenance and land and water conservation projects that receive funding through the Great American Outdoors Act will be chosen by the Department of the Interior from a list of eligible national park projects. There are many examples of high-priority repairs and conservation needs at beloved national parks throughout the country that might benefit directly from these funds." Read more from NPCA.