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4. EXISTING JURISDICTIONS
AND MANAGEMENT
The Channel Islands National
Marine Sanctuary overlaps several existing jurisdictions. Coordination
and cooperation among the responsible agencies has been an important
aspect of sanctuary management since designation. These agencies
and their involvement in managing the sanctuary to date is described
below. A more detailed description of roles and responsibilities
is provided under ÑAdministrationæ.
The NPS administers the Channel
Islands National Park which includes San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa
Cruz, Anacapa and Santa Barbara Islands and a one nautical mile
administrative boundary surrounding the islands. Management of the
park focuses on the protection of terrestrial island resources and
surrounding marine resources. Since most of these resources are
in some way dependent on the marine environment, and since marine
sanctuary resources also use the islandsÖ shores as critical habitat,
efforts are being made to coordinate the national park and national
marine sanctuary programs. Coordination has involved sharing staff
and facilities and undertaking joint projects. The NPS has provided
the Sanctuary Programs Division space in the Channel Islands National
Park Visitor Center for administration and public interpretation
of the sanctuary. Both agencies have worked jointly in developing
sanctuary-related facilities in the Center. As stipulated in an
interagency agreement, park staff have interpreted the sanctuary
to the public and assisted in surveillance and enforcement activities.
Cooperative arrangements have also been formulated for conducting
research on intertidal and subtidal resources as well as visitor
use.
The addendum to the existing
General Management Plan for Channel Islands National Park, to include
Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa Islands, is currently being developed
by the Denver Service Center of the NPS, and will be submitted in
final form to Congress in Spring of 1983. The areas that are tentatively
being considered for development of visitor use and interpretive
facilities are Scorpion Anchorage and Smugglers Cover at the east
end of Santa Cruz Island. In the future, interpretive facilities
may be located at BeecherÖs Bay (ranch headquarters for Santa Rosa
Island) and JohnsonÖs Lee on the south side of Santa Rosa. Interpretive
facilities proposed in the future for these islands are likely to
offer opportunities for interpretation of the national marine sanctuary
(Pillsbury, pers. comm.).
The CF&G is responsible for
the management of living marine resources in California, including
the state watersÖ portion of the sanctuary (Fish and Game Code,
Title 14 of the California Administrative Code). State management
is aimed at the conservation, maintenance, and utilization of living
marine resources. The primary management vehicle is the dissemination
and enforcement of California commercial and sport fishing regulations
which are updated periodically by the Fish and Game Commission.
The CF&G has established ecological reserves in the ocean waters
and submerged lands surrounding San Miguel, Santa Barbara, and Anacapa
Islands from the mean high tide line seaward to one nautical mile.
Within ecological reserves, the CF&G has the authority to prohibit
any activity which may harm the resources, including fishing, collecting,
swimming, boating, and public entry. Regulations specific to the
ecological reserves within the sanctuary include, for example, prohibitions
on the taking of invertebrates, boating closure areas, and restrictions
on the use of nets within specified depths (CF&G, 1982a).
Since sanctuary designation,
the CF&G has augmented surveillance and enforcement in the sanctuary
through cooperative agreements with the Sanctuary Programs Division
and has coordinated its other activities through a State Sanctuary
Coordinator/Manager. Because of their responsibility over sanctuary
resources and their operational capabilities, the National Park
Service and the CF&G have been key participants in the day-to-day
management of the sanctuary. Several other agencies including the
National Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the
California Coastal Commission have cooperated with the Sanctuary
Programs Division on specific issues.
The California State Water Resources
Control Board has designated Areas of Special Biological Significance
(ASBS) in the waters around the northern Channel Islands and Santa
Barbara Island to a distance of 1 nm (1.8km) offshore or to the
300 ft (90m) isobath, whichever is greater (Figure 15). ASBS sites
are designated to preserve and maintain high water quality in special
biological communities by prohibiting discharges of elevated temperature
wastes and point source sewage of industrial wastes.
Since designation, management
of the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary has been aimed
at the protection of significant marine resources. The resource
protection program has focused on augmenting and improving the coordination
of surveillance and enforcement activities, in collaboration with
the CF&G and the NPS.
The interpretive program, undertaken
in cooperation with the NPS, has led to the design and distribution
of a sanctuary brochure, the design and installation of exhibits
in the Visitor Center, and the provision of interpretive services
on the islands. Past and on-going research, undertaken with the
NPS and the National Marine Fisheries Service, has included the
design of monitoring systems for pinnipeds, seabirds, the kelp forest
ecosystem, boat use in the sanctuary, the development of an information
management system, and other pinniped studies.
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