Management Plan
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Executive Summary

Section 1
CINMS Management Plan

1. Introduction
2. Goals & Objectives

Section 2
The Sanctuary Setting

1. Regional Context
2. Sanctuary Resources
3. Sanctuary Uses
4. Existing Jurisdictions
   and Management

Section 3
Action Plan

Section 4
Administration

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The Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary presents very distinct conditions for resource protection owing to its location, significant resources, current and potential uses, and existing jurisdictions. These characteristics are described below in order to introduce the concerns and needs addressed in the management plan.

1. THE REGIONAL CONTEXT

(a) Sanctuary Location

The sanctuary is located in the southern California bight, a wide section of the eastern Pacific continental shelf dissected by submerged canyons, basins, and ridges. The boundaries of the sanctuary include the waters within six nautical miles (nm) of the northern Channel Islands and Santa Barbara Island.

The Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary is located comparatively far from the mainland. Distances range from 14 nm (30 km) from Ventura to Anacapa Island, to 40 nm (74 km) from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara Island. These distances and the size of the sanctuary emerge as an important consideration since they affect visitor access and on-site management operations.

(b) Regional Access

The Sanctuary Headquarters is located in Ventura at the Channel Islands National Park Visitor Centerìan interpretive and administrative facility. The National Park Service (NPS) provides the Sanctuary Programs Division with office space and interpretive and research facilities at the Visitor Center. The Sanctuary Manager coordinates management of the sanctuary including on-site and off-site programs from this location.

Regular public access to the sanctuary and the national park is offered adjacent to the Center through the Islands Packers Company, a NPS concessionaire. Ventura thus serves as the major staging point for visitors to the sanctuary within the region.

Access for recreational users is provided by the large marinas located between Santa Barbara and Newport. Commercial operations throughout the region offer special chartered tours to most parts of the sanctuary for diving, sailing, sport fishing, and nature viewing. Due to its location and access, the sanctuary serves a large region including the urban areas of Santa Barbara, Ventura, Oxnard, greater Los Angeles, and Orange County.