WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Representative Lynn Woolsey (Petaluma) reintroduced her “Marine Sanctuary bill” this week in the 109th Congress. The “Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries Boundary Modification and Protection Act,” supported by Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (San Francisco), Rep. Mike Thompson (St. Helena), and the entire California Democratic Delegation, would permanently protect the fragile habitat of the Sonoma County coast from oil spills, gas leaks and other forms of pollution.

 

“As the U.S. House plans to vote on a Republican energy bill that promises more money for the oil and gas industry, we know that the Sonoma coastline needs the federal protection guaranteed under the Marine Sanctuary program,” said Rep. Woolsey. “The expansion of the boundaries of the Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank  National Marine Sanctuaries is necessary to ensure the health of the coastline for future generations, the protection of marine habitat, and the preservation of fish populations that are vital to our survival. This cannot be accomplished by moratorium alone.”

 

Continued Woolsey, “Most importantly, the success of this legislation relies on the continued support of the local community and organizations throughout Sonoma and Marin Counties.” Communities and organizations supporting Woolsey’s “Marine Sanctuary bill” are: the counties of Marin and Sonoma; the cities of Sebastopol, Fairfax, Petaluma, Sausalito, Rohnert Park and Novato; the California Coastal Commission, the Port of Oakland, the Sierra Club (national), the Redwood and Marin Chapters of the Sierra Club, the Marin Conservation League, Coastwalk, the Bodega Bay Fisherman's Marketing Association, Environmental Defense, the Friends of the Russian River (Riverkeeper), the Russian River Chamber of Commerce, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations and Trout Unlimited.

 

Woolsey’s legislation, the “Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries Boundary Modification and Protection Act” would expand the boundaries of two existing National Marine Sanctuaries to include the Sonoma Coast by adjusting the boundaries of the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary and Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary north and westward. The westward adjustment will take the sanctuaries out into deeper water making it more difficult to extract oil from the ocean floor. The northern adjustment for Cordell Bank will add an area called the Bodega Canyon, where nutrient rich waters support one of the planet's most abundant marine habitats. Moving the boundary of the Gulf of the Farallones northward would bring it up to the Gualala River, protecting the entire Sonoma Coast.

 

“Expanding the Marine Sanctuary program to include the entire Sonoma County coast will protect the Russian and Gualala River estuaries, the Bodega Marine Laboratory investment in marine research, and jobs that are dependent on a tourist economy. By protecting fish habitat, we will also protect the livelihoods of commercial fishermen and ensure plentiful stocks for recreational fishermen,” said Rep. Woolsey.

 

Ocean research and protection has been on the forefront of the international scientific agenda with the release of the Pew Oceans Commission and the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy outlining alarming degradation in our oceans.