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Privatizing Conservation: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's MLPA Process
In an excellent article for High Country News, Felice Pace exposes the privatization of Public Trust resource planning that is taking place in Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's fast-track Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative.
"Some observers suspect that the MLPA approach is part of a more general effort to privatize Public Trust resource planning in a fashion similar to the increasing use of private contractors by the US military," said Pace.
Critics of the MLPA fiasco charge that Schwarzenegger's MLPA process is rife with conflicts of interest, mission creep, the violation of sovereign tribal harvesting rights and the corruption of the democratic process. The so-called Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) on the North Central Coast from Pigeon Point to Point Arena will go into effect on on May 1, 2010, in spite of protests by North Coast environmentalists, fishermen and Indian tribal members during the Commission meeting on August 5, 2009, when the no-take reserves were adopted.
Ironically, the leaders of the association that represents California fish and game wardens have called for a suspension of the MLPA process due to lack of enough wardens and funding to patrol new reserves at a time when the DFG doesn't have enough wardens to patrol the existing reserves on the Central Coast.
Jerry Karnow, Legislative Liason for the California Fish and Game Wardens Association, exposed the insanity behind Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's MLPA) process in a superb opinion piece published in the Sacramento Bee on January 31 (http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/story/2500939.html).
Karnow emphasizes that the MLPA process is proceeding forward at a time when California has the "lowest ratio of wardens to population of any state or province in North America."
The lack of wardens has made California into a virtual paradise for poachers of fish and wildlife, as revealed in James Swan's ground breaking documentary, Endangered Species: California Fish and Game Wardens (2009). The movie is an expose of the extreme shortage of game wardens in California and its impact on fish, wildlife and wild lands.
"It is impossible for the warden force to effectively enforce existing regulations, much less new regulations that the Fish and Game Commission approves over our objections," says Karnow. "Many of the regulations approved by the commission will not protect the natural resources of California. They will serve only one purpose; they will stretch the warden force ever thinner, which will eventually result in another warden's on-duty injury or death."
"While it seeks to design Marine Protected Areas, my warden colleagues have a different meaning for 'MPA' – we call them Marine Poaching Areas," adds Karnow. "Since the protection act closes productive fishing areas, poachers will know where to rape our resources, and they will know that there is unlikely to be any law enforcement presence or legal anglers present to turn in poachers."
The conflicts of interest infesting the MLPA process were exemplified when Catherine Reheis-Boyd, the president of the Western States Petroleum Association and one of Scharzenegger's "marine guardians," told the San Francisco Chronicle that she hopes the Obama administration “will eventually allow new drilling off the California coast." (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/03/31/MNU41CO3O4.DTL)
"We are disappointed," Reheis-Boyd said, in response to Obama’s announcement Wednesday that the U.S. will begin drilling for oil in the waters off the Atlantic Coast and the Gulf of Mexico. "When you look at the resources here, they're considerable."
Reheis-Boyd is chair of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force for the South Coast. She also sat on the MLPA Task Force for the North Central Coast and now sits on the task force for the North Coast. What the heck is an oil industry lobbyist doing on a task force that is in charge of creating no-take marine reserves?
John Stephens-Lewallen and other North Coast environmentalists and fishermen have charged that the Marine Life Protection Act, a law passed by the State Legislature and signed by Governor Gray Davis in 1999, has been hijacked by oil industry, real estate and marina development interests under the Schwarzenegger administration. The MLPA Initiative since 2004 has been funded by a private corporation, the Resource Legacy Fund Foundation.
The text of the legislation states very clearly, "Coastal development, water pollution, and other human activities threaten the health of marine habitat and the biological diversity found in California's ocean waters."
However, Schwarzenegger has completely taken coastal development, water pollution and other human activities other than fishing and seaweed harvesting "off the table" in his MLPA process. Schwarzenegger is an advocate of increased oil drilling off the California coast – and the appointment of Reheis-Boyd on all three “marine protection” task forces fits his plan to destroy and plunder the California coast.
The same Governor who is pushing the fast-track MLPA process has presided over the collapse of Central Valley salmon, Delta smelt, longfin smelt, green sturgeon, striped bass, green sturgeon and other fish populations. These reserves, made possible through a privatized process, will do nothing to help these imperiled fish populations.
Schwarzezegger is campaigning for the construction of a peripheral canal and new dams that are likely to result in the extinction of many of these species. The proponents of the MLPA, by shamelessly gushing over how "great" and "transparent" Schwarzenegger's corrupt MLPA process is, are providing "green cover" for Schwarzenegger's plans to build a peripheral canal and new dams.
They are also helping to greenwash Schwarzenegger's relentless attacks on the biological opinions protecting Delta smelt, Central Valley steelhead, Sacramento River winter and spring run Chinook salmon, green sturgeon and southern resident killer whales, as well as his other attempts to eviscerate California laws protecting fish and the environment.
Here is the link to "Privatizing conservation" by Felice Pace: http://www.hcn.org/hcn/blogs/grange/privatizing-conservation
"Some observers suspect that the MLPA approach is part of a more general effort to privatize Public Trust resource planning in a fashion similar to the increasing use of private contractors by the US military," said Pace.
Critics of the MLPA fiasco charge that Schwarzenegger's MLPA process is rife with conflicts of interest, mission creep, the violation of sovereign tribal harvesting rights and the corruption of the democratic process. The so-called Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) on the North Central Coast from Pigeon Point to Point Arena will go into effect on on May 1, 2010, in spite of protests by North Coast environmentalists, fishermen and Indian tribal members during the Commission meeting on August 5, 2009, when the no-take reserves were adopted.
Ironically, the leaders of the association that represents California fish and game wardens have called for a suspension of the MLPA process due to lack of enough wardens and funding to patrol new reserves at a time when the DFG doesn't have enough wardens to patrol the existing reserves on the Central Coast.
Jerry Karnow, Legislative Liason for the California Fish and Game Wardens Association, exposed the insanity behind Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's MLPA) process in a superb opinion piece published in the Sacramento Bee on January 31 (http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/story/2500939.html).
Karnow emphasizes that the MLPA process is proceeding forward at a time when California has the "lowest ratio of wardens to population of any state or province in North America."
The lack of wardens has made California into a virtual paradise for poachers of fish and wildlife, as revealed in James Swan's ground breaking documentary, Endangered Species: California Fish and Game Wardens (2009). The movie is an expose of the extreme shortage of game wardens in California and its impact on fish, wildlife and wild lands.
"It is impossible for the warden force to effectively enforce existing regulations, much less new regulations that the Fish and Game Commission approves over our objections," says Karnow. "Many of the regulations approved by the commission will not protect the natural resources of California. They will serve only one purpose; they will stretch the warden force ever thinner, which will eventually result in another warden's on-duty injury or death."
"While it seeks to design Marine Protected Areas, my warden colleagues have a different meaning for 'MPA' – we call them Marine Poaching Areas," adds Karnow. "Since the protection act closes productive fishing areas, poachers will know where to rape our resources, and they will know that there is unlikely to be any law enforcement presence or legal anglers present to turn in poachers."
The conflicts of interest infesting the MLPA process were exemplified when Catherine Reheis-Boyd, the president of the Western States Petroleum Association and one of Scharzenegger's "marine guardians," told the San Francisco Chronicle that she hopes the Obama administration “will eventually allow new drilling off the California coast." (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/03/31/MNU41CO3O4.DTL)
"We are disappointed," Reheis-Boyd said, in response to Obama’s announcement Wednesday that the U.S. will begin drilling for oil in the waters off the Atlantic Coast and the Gulf of Mexico. "When you look at the resources here, they're considerable."
Reheis-Boyd is chair of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force for the South Coast. She also sat on the MLPA Task Force for the North Central Coast and now sits on the task force for the North Coast. What the heck is an oil industry lobbyist doing on a task force that is in charge of creating no-take marine reserves?
John Stephens-Lewallen and other North Coast environmentalists and fishermen have charged that the Marine Life Protection Act, a law passed by the State Legislature and signed by Governor Gray Davis in 1999, has been hijacked by oil industry, real estate and marina development interests under the Schwarzenegger administration. The MLPA Initiative since 2004 has been funded by a private corporation, the Resource Legacy Fund Foundation.
The text of the legislation states very clearly, "Coastal development, water pollution, and other human activities threaten the health of marine habitat and the biological diversity found in California's ocean waters."
However, Schwarzenegger has completely taken coastal development, water pollution and other human activities other than fishing and seaweed harvesting "off the table" in his MLPA process. Schwarzenegger is an advocate of increased oil drilling off the California coast – and the appointment of Reheis-Boyd on all three “marine protection” task forces fits his plan to destroy and plunder the California coast.
The same Governor who is pushing the fast-track MLPA process has presided over the collapse of Central Valley salmon, Delta smelt, longfin smelt, green sturgeon, striped bass, green sturgeon and other fish populations. These reserves, made possible through a privatized process, will do nothing to help these imperiled fish populations.
Schwarzezegger is campaigning for the construction of a peripheral canal and new dams that are likely to result in the extinction of many of these species. The proponents of the MLPA, by shamelessly gushing over how "great" and "transparent" Schwarzenegger's corrupt MLPA process is, are providing "green cover" for Schwarzenegger's plans to build a peripheral canal and new dams.
They are also helping to greenwash Schwarzenegger's relentless attacks on the biological opinions protecting Delta smelt, Central Valley steelhead, Sacramento River winter and spring run Chinook salmon, green sturgeon and southern resident killer whales, as well as his other attempts to eviscerate California laws protecting fish and the environment.
Here is the link to "Privatizing conservation" by Felice Pace: http://www.hcn.org/hcn/blogs/grange/privatizing-conservation
Privatizing conservation: http://www.hcn.org/hcn/blogs/grange/privatizing-conservation
Felice Pace | Apr 05, 2010 01:40 PM
The State of California is in the middle of a process that will result in the state’s Fish and Game Commission designating an array of near shore marine reserves along the length of California’s coast. The reserves are intended to preserve and restore marine resources including commercially valuable fisheries.
The California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) was charged with developing the reserves when the California legislature passed the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) in 1999. Several abortive efforts by CDFG and a 2004 amendment to the Act led to the current effort.
The MLPA requires California to reevaluate existing marine protected areas (MPAs) and to design new MPAs that, together with existing reserves, will function as a statewide ocean reserve network. The latest attempt to implement the legislation is using a regional approach beginning in the south and proceeding north. At this point the planning process has reached California’s North Coast where major controversy has erupted. Indigenous Americans, as well as a former congressman, some scientists, fishermen and grassroots environmentalists have blasted the process as well as the scientific basis for the location and size of proposed reserves.
One aspect of the controversy may be an indication of things to come. After having failed to implement the legislation itself, CDFG has privatized the planning process. Under an MOU between CDFG and the Resource Legacy Fund Foundation (RLFF), the private foundation for the most part controls regional MLPA processes including selection and funding individuals and organizations to complete or coordinate all aspects of MLPA development…including public participation. Among its many aspects, the RLLF serves as a funnel for Packard Foundation money (think Hewlett-Packard). The Foundation’s leaders are deeply involved in California water and ocean policy and politics.
Some observers suspect that the MLPA approach is part of a more general effort to privatize Public Trust resource planning in a fashion similar to the increasing use of private contractors by the US military. Those who question the MLPA process also tend to believe that it is part of a secret agenda to open portions of California’s coastal waters to oil, gas and other energy development.
These beliefs gained credence when Governor Schwarzenegger appointed Catherine Reheis-Boyd, president of the Western States Petroleum Association, to head the Blue Ribbon Panel that will select which among competing MLP arrays will be forwarded to the California Fish & Game Commission for review and approval. Ms Reheis-Boyd recently called for expanded ocean drilling along the California coast.
California’s environmental establishment appears to be on board with the privatization of conservation planning. In fact, that establishment has embedded more funding that could be used for privatized resource planning in an initiative it is sponsoring which on its face is intended to fund operation of state parks by increasing vehicle registration fees. If the initiative passes, however, the Ocean Protection Council – an independent state commission created by the 2004 California Ocean Protection Act - will get funding along with state parks and other California state “conservancies”. The California Fisheries Coalition and some grassroots environmentalists see this initiative by the Environmental Establishment as at least in part motivated by movement in the California legislature to cut funding for the controversial MLPA process.
On the bright side, it does appear that the concerns of federal tribes and Indigenous ocean hunter- gatherers, which went largely unaddressed on the South Coast, will be addressed on the North Coast. This is largely the result of intensive advocacy by North Coast tribes. Indigenous Americans comprise 5% to 15% of the population in California’s North Coast counties; in Humboldt and Del Norte Counties alone there are 11 federally recognized tribal governments. Most environmentalists and fishermen are supportive of making provision in the MLPA process for traditional Indigenous use of ocean resources.
Those who are concerned about ocean protection, Indigenous rights and off-shore oil drilling will want to stay tuned as California’s MLPA process lurches toward a conclusion. CDFG has an MLPA list server for that purpose.
Another good on-line source is The Fish Sniffer, http://www.fishsniffer.com, where Dan Bacher tracks MLPA and many other water, fish and habitat issues.
Felice Pace | Apr 05, 2010 01:40 PM
The State of California is in the middle of a process that will result in the state’s Fish and Game Commission designating an array of near shore marine reserves along the length of California’s coast. The reserves are intended to preserve and restore marine resources including commercially valuable fisheries.
The California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) was charged with developing the reserves when the California legislature passed the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) in 1999. Several abortive efforts by CDFG and a 2004 amendment to the Act led to the current effort.
The MLPA requires California to reevaluate existing marine protected areas (MPAs) and to design new MPAs that, together with existing reserves, will function as a statewide ocean reserve network. The latest attempt to implement the legislation is using a regional approach beginning in the south and proceeding north. At this point the planning process has reached California’s North Coast where major controversy has erupted. Indigenous Americans, as well as a former congressman, some scientists, fishermen and grassroots environmentalists have blasted the process as well as the scientific basis for the location and size of proposed reserves.
One aspect of the controversy may be an indication of things to come. After having failed to implement the legislation itself, CDFG has privatized the planning process. Under an MOU between CDFG and the Resource Legacy Fund Foundation (RLFF), the private foundation for the most part controls regional MLPA processes including selection and funding individuals and organizations to complete or coordinate all aspects of MLPA development…including public participation. Among its many aspects, the RLLF serves as a funnel for Packard Foundation money (think Hewlett-Packard). The Foundation’s leaders are deeply involved in California water and ocean policy and politics.
Some observers suspect that the MLPA approach is part of a more general effort to privatize Public Trust resource planning in a fashion similar to the increasing use of private contractors by the US military. Those who question the MLPA process also tend to believe that it is part of a secret agenda to open portions of California’s coastal waters to oil, gas and other energy development.
These beliefs gained credence when Governor Schwarzenegger appointed Catherine Reheis-Boyd, president of the Western States Petroleum Association, to head the Blue Ribbon Panel that will select which among competing MLP arrays will be forwarded to the California Fish & Game Commission for review and approval. Ms Reheis-Boyd recently called for expanded ocean drilling along the California coast.
California’s environmental establishment appears to be on board with the privatization of conservation planning. In fact, that establishment has embedded more funding that could be used for privatized resource planning in an initiative it is sponsoring which on its face is intended to fund operation of state parks by increasing vehicle registration fees. If the initiative passes, however, the Ocean Protection Council – an independent state commission created by the 2004 California Ocean Protection Act - will get funding along with state parks and other California state “conservancies”. The California Fisheries Coalition and some grassroots environmentalists see this initiative by the Environmental Establishment as at least in part motivated by movement in the California legislature to cut funding for the controversial MLPA process.
On the bright side, it does appear that the concerns of federal tribes and Indigenous ocean hunter- gatherers, which went largely unaddressed on the South Coast, will be addressed on the North Coast. This is largely the result of intensive advocacy by North Coast tribes. Indigenous Americans comprise 5% to 15% of the population in California’s North Coast counties; in Humboldt and Del Norte Counties alone there are 11 federally recognized tribal governments. Most environmentalists and fishermen are supportive of making provision in the MLPA process for traditional Indigenous use of ocean resources.
Those who are concerned about ocean protection, Indigenous rights and off-shore oil drilling will want to stay tuned as California’s MLPA process lurches toward a conclusion. CDFG has an MLPA list server for that purpose.
Another good on-line source is The Fish Sniffer, http://www.fishsniffer.com, where Dan Bacher tracks MLPA and many other water, fish and habitat issues.
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