CalOceans News

Mendocino Students Weigh in on MLPA

When it comes to natural resource management, we often talk about our responsibility to future generations. But rarely do those generations take an active role in decision-making.

Enter the 20 students of Mendocino High’s School of Natural Resources (SONAR),  who are engaging in the Marine Life Protection Act implementation process to ensure the resulting ocean protection plan truly serves their interests.
 
These kids are part of a grant-funded “school within a school,” and they’re developing their own North Coast marine protected area plan to submit to the Fish and Game Commission in February, where it will be considered alongside a county-led proposal prepared by fishermen, scientists, and environmental groups.
 
The students are following science guidelines, gathering input from ocean users and attending town hall and regional stakeholder meetings.

They bring a refreshingly apolitical perspective to this issue. And, if their past science work is any indication, we can expect their MPA proposal to be both credible and reasonable: The Department of Fish and Game uses salmon data the class collected for the Little North Fork of Big River, and they are considering a formal submission to a scientific journal on a new colony of fairy shrimp they discovered in a vernal pool.

The class has set up a group email through which you can contact them. Read more about their plans in today’s Mendocino Beacon. 

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