| | Greetings Friend, As the year draws to a close, I express gratitude to our community for steadfastly supporting our grassroots advocacy and the accomplishments we've achieved in coastal Marin throughout the year. This marks the final Advocate newsletter for the year before we embark on 2024, and I want to share some updates with you.
First, a heartfelt thank you to our community for joining us for our Winter Gathering. This cherished event took place at The Lodge at Marconi’s Buck Hall, offering a picturesque view of Tomales Bay—a location intimately connected to the impact of our water advocacy initiatives. The weather was ideal, and our team enjoyed connecting with supporters over seasonal drinks and appetizers, accompanied by the sounds of Desi & the Mish, one of our local bands. As interim executive director, I had the pleasure of meeting many of you, learning about your priorities, and exploring potential collaborations for the coming year. You can read a recap of this zero-waste event and view our slideshow here.
These gatherings, beyond our work, provide valuable opportunities to come together, fostering connections and allowing us to spend time in the places we love. The collective joy in celebrating the people, both past and present, and the policies safeguarding our coastal area is something we all cherish. As we remember those we have lost this year and their contributions to the coast, it serves as a poignant reminder of the work that still lies ahead.
Looking ahead, our team eagerly anticipates the 15th anniversary of the Point Reyes Birding & Nature Festival from April 19th to 21st, 2024, featuring over 40 field events, our Saturday Social with keynote Nils Warnock, Conservation Director of Audubon Canyon Ranch, and T-shirt designs by Wyatt Hersey and Keith Hansen. This annual educational fundraiser plays a vital role in generating funds for our advocacy and education initiatives. Stay tuned for more details in the new year. Meanwhile, visit our website and consider joining our membership circle or renewing your support to enjoy early bird registration and waived fees.
As we step into the new year, our team is enthusiastic about collaborating with you to protect and sustain the unique lands, waters, and biodiversity of West Marin, leaving a lasting environmental protection legacy. Read more about our team (board, staff, and interns) on our website, and reach out if you have any questions.
Have a wonderful and warm winter season. |
|
|
| | | | Call to Action: Your Charitable Support is Needed! Help us Raise $50k Before 2023 Ends!
Jessica Taylor, Development Director ‘Tis the season for making a difference for our grassroots advocacy and education efforts to protect Marin County’s coast with a tax-deductible charitable gift before December 31st. Roughly 70% of our annual funding comes from individuals just like you, community advocates who want to protect the places we love. We can’t do this without you! By now, you should have received our letter in the mail detailing our successes and needs moving forward. We have just over $50,000 left to raise before 2023 ends. Can you help us cross the finish line? Read our letter and call to action, and view how your donations are being put to work.
Stop by and see us to donate in person Tuesday-Friday, excluding holidays, at 65 3rd Street, Suite 12, Point Reyes Station, or by mail to EAC (PO Box 609, Point Reyes Station, CA 94956). You can also contribute through a gift of stock, your donor-advised fund or charitable IRA, and make sure to ask your employer about employee giving methods and matches that can double your donations and impact to support our mission. If you have your original mailer, you can check your member status on your return slip to see whether we asked you to join, renew, or make a special year-end donation in celebration of our successes. Email Jessica Taylor or call her directly at (415) 663-9312 for more information or to set up a one-time, annual, or monthly gift. Thank you for including us in your year-end giving plans! |
|
|
|  | From Disposable to Sustainable: Embracing the Power of Refuse, Reuse, and Rot!
Grace Milstein, Communications Associate November 10, 2023, marked the beginning of the enforcement of the Marin County Reusable Foodware Ordinance, which was adopted for unincorporated Marin on May 10, 2022. This ordinance was originally inspired in part by our youth-led No Straw, Please campaign in 2018. Single-use plastics can persist in our environment for hundreds of years. They litter our beaches, clog our waterways, and contribute to the global pollution crisis. The new ordinance will tackle this head-on by eliminating plastics at their source in Marin County. As consumers, we can actively contribute to reuse practices by bringing our own containers, cups, and utensils for take-out food and composting foodware products made of natural fibers at home. This behavior change will have a significant impact on our collective carbon footprint. Nearly every city and town in Marin has implemented a regulation aligned with or influenced by the Marin County Reusable Foodware Ordinance. This ordinance aims to educate food businesses and consumers about the distinctions between landfill waste, recyclables, and compostables. Its purpose is to assist both businesses and consumers in adhering to the ordinance and the California State Law SB 1383 (Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Act), thereby aiding in the diversion of compostable, organic food scraps from landfills in Marin County. Embracing the Reusable Foodware Ordinance encourages businesses and consumers to reduce single-use plastics, advance climate-smart reuse practices, and promote natural fiber compostable take-out foodware products. This shift will reshape our habits and allow us to adapt to a more sustainable future. Keep Reading… |
|
|
 | Adaptive Management for Local MPA Petitions
Leslie Adler-Ivanbrook, Program Director Following up on our involvement in the first decadal management review for California’s network of 124 marine protected areas (MPAs), we prepared and submitted two petitions in November to the California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) to request changes in MPA regulations at two locations in Marin County: Drakes Estero and Duxbury Reef. Initially, we submitted comments in March of 2023 and subsequent comments, requesting the Commission review changes to the current regulations based on changed circumstances and to ensure MPA resilience and adaptive management. We followed up with formal petitions in November, including submitting extensive agency, partner, and local support, as well as other relevant information. Drakes Estero We requested that Drakes Estero change from a State Marine Conservation Area (SMCA), in which limited take (clamming is permitted), to a State Marine Reserve, where no take is permitted, to be consistent with the designation of the connected Estero de Limantour and with Drakes Estero’s designation as a Marine Wilderness. Duxbury Reef We also requested three changes at Duxbury Reef: 1) Change the designation from SMCA to State Marine Reserve to more effectively protect imperiled reef species which are vulnerable to disturbance and take; 2) Extend the MPA south to encompass the entire reef; and 3) Extend the MPA north to include the contiguous habitat to Double Point/Stormy Stack special closure. Read more about the decadal management review and our next steps. |
|
|
|  | A Glimpse at the 5th National Climate Assessment
Karura Njoroge, Legal and Policy Intern In November, the Federal Government released the Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5), a comprehensive analysis of how regions within the United States are experiencing the impacts of climate change. The NCA5 assessed the current and future efforts of the United States to respond to climate change-induced disasters. The NCA5 did not recommend specific climate change management or adaptation measures. The NCA5’s Interactive Atlas allows users to explore climate maps from the NCA5 to determine the projected future climate conditions for regions across the United States to inform future community- and state-driven climate mitigation and resilience efforts. Read more... |
| |
|
 | Water Quality in the Point Reyes National Seashore
Ashley Eagle-Gibbs, Interim Executive Director, and Christopher Mouawad, Legal and Policy Intern
Image by Lena Zentall We have been advocating to protect coastal resources and engaging in public processes related to ranch management in the Point Reyes National Seashore for several years. Most recently, on November 16th, our Interim Executive Director, Ashley Eagle-Gibbs, gave testimony on the National Park Service (NPS)’s Water Quality Strategy Report (Report) submitted to the California Coastal Commission (Commission). At the meeting, several others spoke to raise their concerns about water quality in the park.
The Report was submitted to the Commission under the federal consistency determination process, whereby the NPS agreed to submit an annual water quality report to the Commission. Read more about the history and next steps. |
| |
|
| |  | Vote How Marin County Dollars are Spent by 12/29 The County of Marin is making $2.5 million available, and YOU will decide how to spend it. This new way of making decisions about publicly funded projects is called Participatory Budgeting (PB). It gives community members real power over real money! Who can vote? Any person aged 14 or above who lives, works, owns a business, or attends school in Marin County is eligible. Immigration status is not required to participate. During the voting phase, community members can choose their top seven choices for how to spend $2.5 million to improve their communities. The 24 projects on the ballot were developed from ideas and applications submitted by the community. Learn More
PB.marincounty.org
Information on how the PB process work |
|
|
 | Save Newts in Chileno Valley The Chileno Valley Newt Brigade got off to a great start! 12,073 baby newts have been saved so far from being run over as they left Laguna Lake and headed for the hills. The babies are an inch and a half long and very hard to see. The Newt Brigade will save newts on Chileno Valley Road near the Laguna for three months, stopping when their migration is over in March. The Brigade has about 80 dedicated volunteers, but they are looking for a few more to cover all the bases adequately! Please consider joining the brigadiers. Sign up today Image by Dani Dubian |
|
|
 | Solstice Sea Star Search The Solstice Sea Star Search is Back! December 10 - 27th, 2023 Explore California tidepools to find and document sea stars living along the California coast! We’re especially keeping an eye out for sunflower stars (Pycnopodia helianthoides) and giant pink sea stars (Pisaster brevispinus), but we want to document as many star species as possible. Download and document any stars you see using iNaturalist. (If you’re lucky enough to spot a sunflower star, send the iNat observation link to solsticeseastarsearch@gmail.com & report it at bit.ly/sunflowerspotted.) Why sunflower stars? Sunflower stars are incredibly important keystone predators in our kelp forests and were especially hard-hit by sea star wasting syndrome. While we know there are sunflower star populations still out there, they’re pretty hard to find. There were a couple of sunflower stars spotted during last year’s Solstice Sea Star Search, so this year, we’re hoping to get all eyes out there to find more. Why now? More people searching for sea stars means more chances of finding and documenting them — we’re hopeful that by coming together to search for these keystone species, we can better understand and restore sea star populations in the long run. (Psst, a fun bonus: December low tides are pretty phenomenal for exploring far-out parts of the rocky intertidal.) Learn More: Tidepool Etiquette |
|
|
| | | We endeavor to keep our website up to date with the latest information on our campaigns and included some quick links in case the topic you're most interested in isn't featured in this month's e-news! Some links to campaigns are below or click on the images to view those pages directly. |
|
|
| | | |  | Did you know you can set up a recurring gift online? Whether you choose to set up an annual recurring gift or spread out your giving monthly or quarterly,
a recurring gift is a great way to help provide consistent donations, so we can focus on protecting what you love in West Marin. |
|
|
| | | Shop Our Advocate Store Online - Giving with Purpose Give a gift to the advocate in your life and support our mission.
Shop hats, totes, tees, sweatshirts, and more in a variety of styles. Shop Now |
|
|
| | MISSION To protect and sustain the unique lands, waters, and
biodiversity of West Marin. |
|
|
VISION Our work strives to provide long-term protection and conservation of the unique ecosystems of West Marin and serves as a foundation of environmental protection for future generations. |
|
|
| | Contact Us Environmental Action Committee of West Marin (EAC)
PO Box 609 | 65 Third Street, Suite 12
Point Reyes Station, CA 94956
(415) 663.9312 | info@eacmarin.org |
|
|
|
|
|
