REDWOOD NEEDLES

Presented by the Sierra Club Redwood Chapter Newsletter, The REDWOOD NEEDLES

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Sonoma Group Report

By Keith Kaulum, Sonoma Group Chair

The Sonoma Group has had a busy June with not one but two General meetings for our membership. The first concerned Marine Coastal Reserves and the second focused on the Sierra Club's Great Coastal Places Campaign. Mark Massara, director of the Club's Coastal Protection Program, gave us a lively presentation on development threats to our California coastal areas, the political pressures on the Coastal Commission, and how we need to support the Commission and help it identify and protect special coastal places. Our Group meeting was timed to generate a big local turnout for the Coastal Commission meeting to be held in Santa Rosa early in July. Information was distributed to all those interested in attending that included small red signs proclaiming " We Love Our Coastal Commission" to be waved at appropriate times during the Commission's proceedings

Our meeting on Marine Reserves was of particular interest to me since I spent much of my working life in Marine Science. The presentation covered plans and issues for implementation of Marine Life Protection Act that was pushed through the State Legislature by the Club and others last year and is now being implemented by the Dept. of Fish and Game via local hearings up and down the coast. The local hearing for proposed Reserves in Northern California Coast was covered in the Press Democrat and, predictably, local commercial and sports fisherman dominated the meeting, overwhelming our members who attended.

In addition our leadership held a half day retreat to address the idea of narrowing the specific issues we will focus on during the next year or two so as to more effectively use our limited funds and volunteer activists. We plan to hold a follow-up session this month to complete the process. I'll report the results and decisions next time.

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