Times-Standard Supports Chesbro's Call for MLPA Delay

Times-Standard Supports Chesbro's Call for MLPA Delay

by Dan Bacher

In its "Roasts and Toasts" editorial today, the Eureka Times-Standard joined Indian Tribes, fishermen and environmentalists in supporting Assemblyman Wesley Chesbro's call for a six-month delay in Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's fast-track Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative on the North Coast.

The publication gave a Roast "To Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration, which has chosen to make marine reserves -- areas restricted or off limits to fishing and gathering -- a matter of legacy."

"If the Marine Life Protection Act is based on science it should not be subject to political timelines," according to the Times-Standard. "The MLPA was passed in 1999, and there will be no loss if it's not finished by the end of the gubernatorial term. It's irresponsible for the governor to make taking away peoples' right to fish and gather a notch on his belt -- a belt frayed by the precipitous decline in the state's condition during his tenure." (http://www.times-standard.com/editorials/ci_15865645)

I completely support Wesley Chesbro's call for a six-month extension of the North Coast Marine Life Protection Act process. I also agree with the statement of Dave Bitts, president of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, that ”sixty years would be better."

Atta P. Stevenson, an MLPA North Coast Regional Stakeholder Group member, also strongly supports the six-month delay.

"As a Tribal North Coast Regional Stakeholder Group member, I am very happy to receive such a recommendation from Assemblyman Chesbro," said Stevenson of the Inter-Tribal Water Commission of California. "But ultimately it is up to the state whether the Governor will reconsider his time frame for the MLPAI. At least the legality of traditional Tribal non-commercial fishing and gathering rights are now being discussed in open forums, where they were once silent regarding Tribes at all."

"Tribes have been adamant in their discussions that we are not 'recreational,' therefore our perspectives are not validated nor acknowledged," Stevenson stated. "We cannot wait and see but must take the lead in whatever venue is open to us."

The MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force that is fast tracking the process is dominated by oil industry, marina development, real estate and other corporate interests. Catherine Reheis-Boyd, the president of the Western States Petroleum Association, chaired the task force that developed the proposed "marine protected areas" on the South Coast and now sits on the North Coast task force. Reheis-Boyd has repeatedly called for new oil drilling off the California coast in spite of the economic and environmental devastation caused by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Gusher.

Nothing demonstrates the illegitimacy of the MLPA Initiative more than Schwarzenegger's appointment of an oil industry superstar like Reheis-Boyd to remove Tribal members, recreational anglers, commercial fishermen and seaweed harvesters, the strongest opponents of offshore drilling, from the water.

These no-take zones will do nothing to protect the ocean from oil drilling, water pollution, aquaculture, wave energy projects or any other human uses of the ocean other than fishing and gathering. Many believe that the MLPA Initiative is designed to clear a path for new oil drilling and ocean industrialization along the California coast.

There needs to be a special investigation of the conflicts of interests and corruption under this privatized process, funded by the Resources Legacy Fund Foundation.


Action Alert: Call Wesley Chesbro in Support of MLPA Delay/Sign Petitions!

If you haven't done so already, I strongly urge you to call Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro's office TODAY to show support for his request for a six-month delay in the implementation of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative on the North Coast. Chesbro recently asked Resources Secretary Lester Snow for the delay to ensure that environmental protection is balanced with traditional access rights. All you need to do is give your name and city and say that you support the six-month delay.

Supporters of the Governor's fast-track MLPA process are trying to pressure Chesbro to back down on his request, so we need to show Chesbro that there is overwhelming support for his request.

The letters and phone calls from fishermen and their allies really helped make the difference in pressuring the Legislature to not confirm Don Benninghoven, a Schwarzenegger appointee, as a Fish and Game Commissioner. We can have the same impact here if EVERYBODY who reads this alert calls Chesbro's office today!

Here are his contact numbers:

Capitol Office:
State Capitol
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0001
Tel: (916) 319-2001
Fax: (916) 319-2101

District Offices

Humboldt:
(Also represents Del Norte and Trinity Counties.)
710 E Street, Suite 150
Eureka, CA 95501
Tel: (707) 445-7014
Fax: (707) 445-6607

Mendocino & Lake:
311 N. State Street
Ukiah, CA 95482
Tel: (707) 463-5770
Fax: (707) 463-5773

Sonoma:
50 "D" Street, Suite 450
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Tel: (707) 576-2526
Fax: (707) 576-2297

If you are in his district, you can email him by going to http://legplcms01.lc.ca.gov/PublicLCMS/ContactPopup.aspx?district=AD01&
Please take a few minutes to let him know how you feel about delaying the implementation of the MLPA.

Second, please sign a petition to support Chesbro's call for a six-month delay. "This was a good law, but we are being railroaded into a time span that is too short and public process rules have been broken in the push to cajole the public and resource dependent working class coastal communities into going along with this complex process," said Mike Carpenter, activist and sea urchin diver. "We are asking for more time and for the legislators to look into the process." Please sign and show your support for the six-month extension.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/saveoceanacsess/

Third, I strongly urge everybody to sign this petition to the State of California to acknowledge and include Tribal traditional uses within state regulations for marine protected areas of the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative. Go to the Inter-Tribal Water Commission of California website: http://www.itwatercommission.org. There is a link at the bottom of the posting that goes to: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/protect-traditional-lifeways-in-the-marine-life-protection-act/

For more information, go to: http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/08/11/18655875.php or http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/08/18/18656309.php