Sentinel: Proposed Expansion of Santa Cruz Marine Protected Areas

April 24 - The California Fish and Game Commission will review a proposal for expanded marine protected areas in Santa Cruz County Tuesday morning. (The proposal was submitted by) Environment California, an environmental advocacy and lobbying group behind efforts to ban single-use plastic bags and encourage homeowners to invest in rooftop solar panels. The proposal includes an expansion of the small Natural Bridges state marine reserve and the creation of a new state marine conservation area at Pleasure Point. The goal of the potential protections, said Laura Deehan, state director of Environment California, is to protect kelp forests, which were recently devastated by a marine heatwave between 2014 and 2016. Sentinel article HERE.