Sanctuary Advisory Council Update
New At-Large Representative: At the April 26th
Sanctuary Advisory Council (SAC) meeting in Montara, David
Iverson was sworn in as the Council's newest member. Iverson
lives in Half Moon Bay, and has been active in San Mateo
County's environmental movement over the past ten years. He
served on the Half Moon Bay city council from 1989 to 1993,
and has been an active supporter of local initiatives
emphasizing coastal protection. He is a member of the Save
Our Shores Board of Directors, where he has played a key
role in that organization's expansion into San Mateo County,
and he was instrumental in getting the Sanctuary's
"Alternative 5" boundary, (extending up into San Mateo
County) approved. Iverson is a longtime member of the
Sanctuary's Conservation Working Group (CWG).
Elections: At the April 26th meeting, Karin Strasser
Kauffman was re-elected to a second two-year term as Chair
and David Iverson was elected as the new Council Secretary.
The SAC thanks Steve Abbott for his conscientious work as
Secretary during the last term.
1996 Calendar: Scheduled meetings for the remainder of
the year include:
October 25 - Big Sur; November 22 - Marin/San Francisco.
Contact Jane DeLay, SAC Coordinator, at (408) 647-4246 for
time and exact location.
Proposed Edward F. Ricketts Underwater Park:
The Council sent a letter to the Mayors of Pacific Grove
and Monterey stating that the marine park is consistent with
the mission of the Sanctuary and pointing out that the SAC
recognizes the importance of continued research activities
in the area that are not detrimental to the environment.
Kelp harvesting:
Members of commercial kelp harvesting companies provided the
council with a general overview of commercial kelp
harvesting, and local
Monterey harvesters introduced a new cooperative effortto
develop harvesting solutions in that area that are
supportive of both the marine resource and economic needs.
Working group summaries:
Conservation Working Group (CWG): The CWG is taking the lead
in planning the first in a series of workshops that will
bring together volunteer monitoring groups, agencies and
scientists to develop a more effective regional approach to
monitoring water quality in the MBNMS and its watersheds.
The group also plans to extend its outreach to the northern
and southern parts of the Sanctuary over the next year.
(Contact Rachel Saunders at (408) 375-4509 to get involved.)
Sanctuary Education Panel (SEP): A subcommittee is
formulating plans for teacher education during the next
school year, including a series of workshops and in-service
trainings. Also, plans are underway for next year's
Sanctuary Currents Symposium.
Research Activity Panel (RAP): Recent work includes
completing the final reviews of the Site Characterization,
forming a subcommittee to study the effects of artificial
light sources on deep sea life, providing input for a new
deep sea Monterey Bay Initiative funding program, and
planning the next Symposium. The RAP has decided that a
portion of the MBNMS research budget should be set aside for
students focusing on Sanctuary resource management issues in
their last year of graduate programs. The group's newest
at-large member is Caroline Pomeroy (of UCSC and CSUMB),
representing the Social Sciences.
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Profile of the Sanctuary
Education Panel (SEP)
In the Winter 1996 issue, the SAC was
profiled. This is the first in a series of articles
that will profile the SAC's working groups.
The Sanctuary Education Panel is one of the
Sanctuary Advisory Council's (SAC) working groups.
These groups (the SEP and its Research and
Conservation counterparts) meet monthly to discuss
Sanctuary issues within their purview.
"The SEP's role is primarily to be a group of
expert advisors on Sanctuary education matters,"
says Dorris Welch, who chairs the SEP. "We run the
gamut: advise on proposals, make suggestions, set
education priorities, brainstorm strategies." Welch
sees the strength of the SEP as offering all the
members' individual areas of expertise and
synthesizing that to provide a regional perspective
to the Sanctuary staff.
Welch is also Education Representative to the
SAC. "That group has a lot of diversity and a wide
range of perspectives," says Welch. "It is really
valuable that at each meeting someone is there to
provide the education perspective. I can provide a
reminder of the interpretive opportunities on every
issue that comes up."
The SEP plays an important role in developing the Sanctuary's
education programs. It provides guidance to Sanctuary staff on
which education priorities to set and pursue; and from that, the
Sanctuary has created a wide range of programs for schools and
for the public. For example, Long Marine Lab's Education Program
recently produced Sanctuary Science curriculum units for grades
K to 12 as part of its "Windows to Discovery" program. The Sanctuary
provided funding for the curriculum, and SEP members participated
in the evolution of the curriculum units. They helped with the
initial concept, set it as a priority, reviewed drafts, developed
themes, and have helped implement teacher workshops to disseminate
the material. It is common for the Panel to facilitate a program
like this from its inception through to completion.
SEP members &emdash; many of whom are school
teachers &emdash; help to integrate Sanctuary
materials into local school curricula. They have
also worked to create a stronger presence for the
Sanctuary and marine science in the area's schools
by encouraging the use of MARE (Marine Activities,
Resources and Education), an interdisciplinary
ocean studies program coordinated by the Lawrence
Hall of Science.
The Panel's efforts don't stop with schools.
Through the SEP, the Sanctuary also works with
other organizations and agencies who share similar
marine education goals, such as the Center for
Marine Conservation (CMC), the Monterey Bay
Aquarium and the Pacific Grove Natural History
Museum. By networking with, and providing support
to, these organizations, the SEP strengthens the
effectiveness of its own education programs as well
as those of the other groups. Before the Sanctuary
existed, there was no format for people with an
interest in the marine environment or marine
science education to get together on a regular,
formalized basis.
Interpretive displays, publications and public
events are all part of the Sanctuary's education
efforts throughout the area. The SEP is active in
these public education programs, also. For example,
it continues to host events such as the recent
Sanctuary Symposium, where educators had the
opportunity, with the research and conservation
communities, to come and learn more about the
Sanctuary.
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