Posted by CA Resources on February 10, 2005 at 17:25:13:
It appears that perhaps there is some confusion about next week's public workshops to apply the selection criteria for the central coast study region. There is NO requirement for members of the public to contact either the MLPA Initiative or Department of Fish and Game staff to participate in these workshops.
These workshops are not designed to be the typical public "hearing" at which a group of people sits at the front of the room and "takes" public comment from a microphone set up in the audience. Instead, these workshops will directly involve stakeholders in applying the criteria for selecting the central coast study region to proposed study regions (not to design an actual network of MPAs, but in what geographic region should we begin the process of evaluation).
These will be working sessions where our facilitator, Don Maruska, will walk us through the matrix of potential study regions and criteria that are posted on the "meetings" page of the MLPA website (www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/mlpa/meetings.html#public) to see if together we can identify a region or regions that seem to make sense for a starting point along the central coast.
I hope this helps clarify the purpose and format of next week's workshops. Do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
With regards,
Melissa
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Melissa Miller-Henson
Operations & Communications Manager
California Marine Life Protection Act Initiative
c/o California Resources Agency
1416 Ninth Street, Suite 1311
Sacramento, CA 95814
916.654.2506 Office
916.653.8102 Fax
dfg.ca.gov/mrd/mlpa