Greetings Friend,

With summer upon us, we are feeling the effects of climate change profoundly across the state, with severe drought and raging wildfires. Our work on the climate crisis is present across our conservation advocacy programs, and I am happy to share our latest updates with you in this edition of the Online Advocate.

I would like to thank everyone who attended our open house last month. After a more than a year of working remotely, it was such a joy to see many of you again at our new office.

Thank you to those of you who signed our targeted action letter to the Board of Supervisors regarding the environmental hazards section of the Marin’s Local Coastal Plan (LCP). I was also inspired your actions to alert the Board of Supervisors with your concerns on the LCP process. Our feature article this month is on the LCP, be sure to read more about the hearing below.

This summer at EAC is busy! Between policy, advocacy, and public outreach we have our hands full. This month's e-news is a little slice of the work our team is accomplishing. I am grateful to our staff, board, and summer cohort of interns that are making all of our work possible. We are starting to look forward to our anticipated stewardship and appreciation events including: Coastal Clean Up/Litter Bugs Me; Piper on the Ridge; planning for our 50th Anniversary; and opening our first public display in our office. Stay tuned for more information soon and how you can sign up and get involved. 

Thank you to everyone who has provided a generous tax-deductible contribution this year and renewed their memberships. Your support makes our work possible to protect the lands, waters, and biodiversity you love in coastal Marin through advocacy, education, and engagement. We can't do this without your help.

In gratitude,

P.S. Please consider making a tax-deductible gift to EAC, as we are currently $10k behind in our annual fundraising to date. More than 70% of our funding comes from direct contributions from people like you, making it possible for us to protect the habitats and species you love in West Marin. Thank you for building this environmental legacy with us. 

MISSION

To protect and sustain the unique lands, waters, and biodiversity of West Marin. 
We achieve this goal through advocacy, education and engagement opportunities.

VISION

Our work strives to provide long-term protection and conservation of the unique ecosystems and rural communities of West Marin, and serves as a foundation of environmental protection for future generations.

Our Coastal Climate Webinars are Online! With the LCP finalized and the County working on the hazards section, be sure to check out our talk on Rising Waters in Coastal Marin.  

Marin Sups Finalize LCP, Keeping 1980s Flood and Fire Policies 

Since 2008, a team of EAC staff and board members have engaged in the public process to update Marin County’s Local Coastal Program (LCP). For 13 years, our communities in coastal Marin have participated and provided feedback to the County around this tremendous effort.

Since 2015, we have continued our support for the LCP update, signaling the importance of the County updating the final chapter, environmental hazards, to provide planning and guidance for development in our coastal communities, with policies around hazards such as wildfire, rising sea levels, flooding, and emergent groundwater. 

On July 13, 2021, the Marin County Board of Supervisors (Board) considered a proposal by the Community Development Agency (CDA) to finalize the LCP update and include the 1980s environmental hazards policies. Leading up to the hearing, we raised our concerns with this proposal to the CDA, Supervisor Dennis Rodoni, and to the County’s Coastal Communities Working Group. We advocated for the County to complete the entire LCP update with an updated hazards chapter – as originally intended – to ensure the successful implementation of the new LCP.

Development projects in coastal Marin need clear guidance and framework that includes the future vision for our coast in light of the challenges the climate crisis raises in community planning. 

Unfortunately, at the July 13th hearing, the Board voted to finalize their partial LCP update and retain 40-year old policies to inform land-use and development for environmental hazards. The finalized LCP will go into effect in August, 30-days from the Board’s decision.

Continue Reading to learn more about EAC's advocacy leading up to the hearing, comments from our membership community, the staff report, and hearing video.

Seashore Delays General Management Plan Amendment Decision

The Point Reyes National Seashore (Seashore) requested a 60-day delay to file the Record of Decision (ROD) on their General Management Plan Amendment (GMPA) Final Environmental Impact Statement (Final EIS).

The Stipulated Settlement Agreement with Plaintiffs Resource Renewal Institute, Center for Biological Diversity, and Western Watersheds Project requires that the National Park Service (NPS) issue the ROD on July 14, 2021 (four years from the Agreement by the Court).

The Motion for Extension of Deadline outlines that the Plaintiffs and the County of Marin do not oppose the request for additional time. Legal counsel representing two ranching groups within the Seashore (the Rosotti Ranchers and the Lunny Ranchers) note that rancher signatories cannot agree to the federal government’s open-ended “best guess” and surprising last minute extension of 60 days.

The Seashore cited several reasons in requesting the delay, indicating complications associated with scheduling a hearing on the plan with the California Coastal Commission, the transition to a new federal administration, and the need for review and approval by officials in the Department of Interior prior to being finalized. Once the new administration is able to provide approval and review of the complex documents, then the ROD will be filed.

When more information becomes available we will keep our membership community updated. 

Continue Reading for links to the court filing documents.

Notes from the Field: Monarch Conservation and Access to Webinars 

Earlier this year, EAC released our report on the western monarch butterfly, Marin’s Monarch Movement, and wanted to share some of the progress being made throughout the County.

Our report helped to inspire a working group who meets monthly to share and coordinate efforts to protect and support the population of western monarch butterflies. This forum is an important gathering place to share information and coordinate on projects. The meetings are currently attended by Mia Monroe, EAC, Marin Audubon, UC Master Gardeners, Marin Resource Conservation District (RCD), Gold Ridge RCD (Sonoma County), Monarch Joint Venture, Environmental Forum of Marin, and individuals interested in helping to protect monarchs in their neighborhoods. If you are interested in joining the working group, please contact Morgan Patton  for more information. 

Partner Mia Monroe reported to the group that July is an important month for monarchs as the butterflies should have dispersed; and there is a flurry of information gathering from community science efforts to find out where they are, how many there are, and did they travel to the places we think they should be (like the Sierra Nevada Mountains). Individuals can help now by using community science applications to track monarchs in platforms like iNaturalist, Journey North, and North American Butterfly counts. Milkweed monitors are currently being trained by One Tam and will be out to count milkweed on public lands. The group discussed identification of milkweed stands throughout Marin on agricultural lands. 

Continue Reading to learn about efforts to support pollinators and monarchs on working agricultural lands and access to EAC's monarch webinars and UC Master Gardners' PSA video. 

Duxbury Docent Program Kicks Off!

In early 2020, EAC and local Bolinas resident and Marin Marine Protected Area (MPA) Watch volunteer, Kent Khitkian, met with Marin County Parks and Open Space and presented a report on increased visitation concerns at Duxbury Reef that applied data collected by our MPA Watch volunteers.

Our report focused on the ecological significance of Duxbury Reef’s intertidal area and concerns that visitation and poaching activities could be irreparably harming the reef species and habitats. We proposed a partnership between EAC and Marin County Parks and Open Space to create an on-site volunteer docent program to provide the visiting public with information and resources about the rocky intertidal habitat at Duxbury Reef. 

We are thrilled to announce, after more than a year delay due to COVID-19, we have officially kicked off our Duxbury Reef Docent program! 

The program is intended to activate community advocates who live near the village of Bolinas in Marin County to undergo training to become a community docent. Trained docents will provide education to the public visiting Agate Beach and Duxbury Reef in light of increased visitation and poaching activities. 

Continue Reading to learn more about the docent program and read our Duxbury Docent Program report.

This program needs still needs to raise $15k this year. Consider making a special gift to support this work by donating below.

Marin's Drought Emergency

As the state’s drought worsens, the Governor has declared a state of emergency in 50 of 58 counties (including Marin County) and has asked Californians to take simple actions to conserve water.

The Governor signed an Executive Order on July 8th calling on all Californians to voluntarily reduce their water use by 15 percent through simple actions such as reducing landscape irrigation, running dishwashers and washing machines only when full, finding and fixing leaks, installing water-efficient showerheads and taking shorter showers. Marin declared its own drought emergency in May. Marin’s cumulative rainfall figures are at record lows, with rainfall levels in the last 18 months the lowest recorded in more than 140 years. 

The West Marin Climate Action held a successful and well-attended zoom event in June, Practical Water Conservation, discussing some local solutions including water catchment, greywater systems, tracking your water usage, and point of use water heaters. The recording is now available so you can learn more if you missed the event.

EAC’s Conservation Director spoke at the event about Marin’s water sources and EAC’s recently released, first of its kind groundwater report, Beneath the Surface: Groundwater, A Proactive Analysis Exploring California and Marin County Water Resilience in a Changing Climate, which is available for download. 

Learn More about groundwater and read EAC's report. 

Love the Beach? Join Marin's MPA Watch!

Our Marin Marine Protected Area (MPA) Watch training season launched in June! We’ve held three training sessions for new volunteers so far this summer at Limantour Beach and Corte Madera Marsh.

Marin MPA Watch volunteers love walking along the shore as they track human activity in Marin's MPAs. The collected data is used by resource managers to understand trends and help protect the MPA’s sensitive habitats and biodiversity.

We have additional openings for upcoming training sessions at Corte Madera Marsh, Duxbury Reef, and Limantour Beach on July 17th, 25th, and 31st, and August 14th. Sign up today and join us on the beach!

Learn More and Sign Up for a Training

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