Seeking Feedback to Help Manage California’s Marine Protected Area (MPA) Network

At its February 2024 meeting, the California Fish and Game Commission (CFGC) referred 20 petitions with over 80 unique requests to amend marine protected area regulations to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) for review, evaluation, and recommendation.

 Feedback Opportunity:

The CFGC has requested public feedback on the draft proposed binning of petitions! 

Bin 1: Petitions ready to be evaluated in the near-term. Placement in Bin 1 does not guarantee the petition will be approved.

Bin 2: Petitions that require additional policy guidance, information, and/or resources before evaluation.

How to submit feedback:

Submit written comments directly to the CFGC by July 5th to inform the discussions scheduled for the July 17 Marine Resources Committee meeting.

Attend in Person: You can provide oral comments during the FGC’s Marine Resources Committee meeting. They will host a two-day hybrid (online and Santa Rosa, CA) meeting on July 17-18 with an entire day completely dedicated to MPA petitions. For details on how to join, check out their website. 

More Information: tinyurl.com/MPAPetitionFeedbackOpportunity

What is next?

We anticipate that the Marine Resources Committee will make a recommendation to the CFGC on the draft proposed binning at the August meeting. Once the CFGC gives approval of petition binning, CDFW will move forward with the evaluation of Bin 1 petitions for subsequent discussion and consideration by the Marine Resources Committee and the CFGC.