Public Meetings of the BRTF - an Elaborately Staged Kabuki Performance
The MLPA officials have violated numerous state, federal and international laws, including the California Public Records Act, the California Administrative Procedure Act, the Bagley-Keene Open Meetings Act, the American Indian Religious Freedom Act and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
However, the corruption and violations of law are finally being exposed. George Osborn, spokesman for the Partnership for Sustainable Oceans (PSO), on February 2 presented the California Fish and Game Commission with a groundbreaking 25 page report containing numerous emails and correspondence documenting illegal private, non-public meetings of Marine Life Protection Act Initiative officials.
“After reviewing the documents turned over to us, which previously the BRTF had improperly withheld from the public, we now have evidence, indicating that the public meetings of the BRTF have been an elaborately staged Kabuki performance, choreographed and rehearsed down to the last detail, even to the crafting of motions, in scheduled private meetings held before the so-called public meetings of the BRTF," said Osborn. "Clearly, this has not been the most open and transparent process, as it has so often been described.”
Osborn also presented the copies of document to California legislators February 17, during a special hearing of the Joint Legislative Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture at the State Capitol in Sacramento in Room 4202. Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro (D-Arcata), the chairman of the Joint Committee, had said the hearing will focus exclusively on the South Coast Study Region.
The PSO, a coalition of national and regional fishing organizations including the Coastside Fishing Club and United Anglers of Southern California, filed suit in San Diego Superior Court in late January, seeking to overturn South Coast and North Central Coast MLPA closures, alleging violations of the State Administrative Procedure Act.
To see Osborn's testimony, go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7_04BC1acA
To see the entire set of BRTF private meeting documents, go to the San Diego Freedivers website:
http://www.sandiegofreedivers.com/MLPABRTFofflinemeetingdocumentation.pdf
The Ocean Access Protection Fund (OAPF) was formed to collect funds for legal action against policies that do not recognize the conservation efforts of fishermen, or impact recreational access to the ocean on behalf of all California anglers and outdoor enthusiasts concerned with maintaining public access.
http://www.oceanaccessprotectionfund.org/
Last October, a lawsuit was filed to prove our State’s democratic processes apply!
Ruling Confirms MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force and Science Advisory Team Are State Agencies, Forces Public Access to Critical Information
http://www.oceanaccessprotectionfund.org/news.html
AHRA supports the PSO lawsuit!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Option ZERO is not to be confused with Proposal Zero
02/23/11
To: The Joint Legislative Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture
Re: Comment Period to remain open for one week, stated by Assemblymember Wes Chesbro near the end of the 2-day meeting. Thank you sir, working a day job and then MLPA(i) research, review, etc; here I am at the last minute again – I apologize.
Briefly, Option ZERO on the North Coast testimony needs clarification. Clarification is for all statements made as testimony:
Joint Legislative Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture, Committee hearing on the Marine Life Protection Act (Thursday Feb. 17, 2011) at the state Capitol. The Marine Life Protection Act is a program to protect California’s marine life and habitats, marine ecosystems and marine natural heritage. The program is divided into five study areas.
The hearing follows by a day, the Committee’s 38th Annual Fisheries Forum, (Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2011) at the State Capitol, also in Room 4202. The Feb. 16 forum included an update and public comment on the MLPA statewide. The Feb. 16 forum and the Feb. 17 hearing follow a Jan. 21 hearing the Committee held in Eureka on the MLPA’s North Coast Study Area.
Clarification:
Option ZERO is not to be confused with Proposal Zero.
Option ZERO under CEQA is what most North Coast residents, and especially those involved in the MLPA(i) process are calling for and have stated it exactly so. We are used to dealing with run-away projects of management plans and CEQA analysis of Public Trust Resource policy change, etc.
Option ZERO is out of the CEQA framework and is the 'No Action Alternative'.
Proposal Zero, on the other hand is from within the MLPA(i), and the faulty Master Plan Framework, the individual 'Study Regions' and was never allowed discussion in any group of the MLPA(i) such as the External Array Process, the RSG, the SAT, the BRTF. We were told “it is already on the table” “there's no need to discuss” “the MLPA requires that the existing MPAs be modified” or something to that effect.
Albion Harbor Regional Alliance
To: The Joint Legislative Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture
Re: Comment Period to remain open for one week, stated by Assemblymember Wes Chesbro near the end of the 2-day meeting. Thank you sir, working a day job and then MLPA(i) research, review, etc; here I am at the last minute again – I apologize.
Briefly, Option ZERO on the North Coast testimony needs clarification. Clarification is for all statements made as testimony:
Joint Legislative Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture, Committee hearing on the Marine Life Protection Act (Thursday Feb. 17, 2011) at the state Capitol. The Marine Life Protection Act is a program to protect California’s marine life and habitats, marine ecosystems and marine natural heritage. The program is divided into five study areas.
The hearing follows by a day, the Committee’s 38th Annual Fisheries Forum, (Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2011) at the State Capitol, also in Room 4202. The Feb. 16 forum included an update and public comment on the MLPA statewide. The Feb. 16 forum and the Feb. 17 hearing follow a Jan. 21 hearing the Committee held in Eureka on the MLPA’s North Coast Study Area.
Clarification:
Option ZERO is not to be confused with Proposal Zero.
Option ZERO under CEQA is what most North Coast residents, and especially those involved in the MLPA(i) process are calling for and have stated it exactly so. We are used to dealing with run-away projects of management plans and CEQA analysis of Public Trust Resource policy change, etc.
Option ZERO is out of the CEQA framework and is the 'No Action Alternative'.
Proposal Zero, on the other hand is from within the MLPA(i), and the faulty Master Plan Framework, the individual 'Study Regions' and was never allowed discussion in any group of the MLPA(i) such as the External Array Process, the RSG, the SAT, the BRTF. We were told “it is already on the table” “there's no need to discuss” “the MLPA requires that the existing MPAs be modified” or something to that effect.
Albion Harbor Regional Alliance
Sunday, February 13, 2011
North Coast Option ZERO
Here is a breakdown of the Public Comments, the last 2 hours (approx) of the Feb 2nd 2011 F&G Commission Special Meeting of the MLPA(i) with the BRTF and RSG, held in Sacramento.
The 'one' minute time limit constraint was imposed upon public comment 2 speakers before I was to speak and I was in line. Many speakers during both the 2 min and 1 min presentation time constraint allowance for public comment went over the time clock, but were not so continuously interrupted.
North Coast Option ZERO and MLPA(i) CEQA Non-Compliance:
What is it they don't want to hear?
While the list appears to be numerically reversed, it reflects the fact that the 2 minute time slot occurred first. At day's end, the Commission discussion start out as a 'motion' by Commissioner Sutton but was limited to “Direction to the Commission” as is stated in the Agenda for the day.
Each Mp3 is 32 kb and can be downloaded over a 56k phone modem in about 20-30 mins.
http://www.albionharbor.org/audiotakes/fgc/001_pubcom2_mins_02022011.mp3
30 mins 7 MB
http://www.albionharbor.org/audiotakes/fgc/002_pubcom2_mins_02022011.mp3
17 mins 4 MB
http://www.albionharbor.org/audiotakes/fgc/001_pubcom1_mins_02022011.mp3
25 mins 6 MB
http://www.albionharbor.org/audiotakes/fgc/002_pubcom1_mins_02022011.mp3
25 mins 6 MB
http://www.albionharbor.org/audiotakes/fgc/003_commissiondiscussion_02022011.mp3
23 mins 5.5 MB
Tomas DiFiore
Seaweed Rebellion
The 'one' minute time limit constraint was imposed upon public comment 2 speakers before I was to speak and I was in line. Many speakers during both the 2 min and 1 min presentation time constraint allowance for public comment went over the time clock, but were not so continuously interrupted.
North Coast Option ZERO and MLPA(i) CEQA Non-Compliance:
What is it they don't want to hear?
While the list appears to be numerically reversed, it reflects the fact that the 2 minute time slot occurred first. At day's end, the Commission discussion start out as a 'motion' by Commissioner Sutton but was limited to “Direction to the Commission” as is stated in the Agenda for the day.
Each Mp3 is 32 kb and can be downloaded over a 56k phone modem in about 20-30 mins.
http://www.albionharbor.org/audiotakes/fgc/001_pubcom2_mins_02022011.mp3
30 mins 7 MB
http://www.albionharbor.org/audiotakes/fgc/002_pubcom2_mins_02022011.mp3
17 mins 4 MB
http://www.albionharbor.org/audiotakes/fgc/001_pubcom1_mins_02022011.mp3
25 mins 6 MB
http://www.albionharbor.org/audiotakes/fgc/002_pubcom1_mins_02022011.mp3
25 mins 6 MB
http://www.albionharbor.org/audiotakes/fgc/003_commissiondiscussion_02022011.mp3
23 mins 5.5 MB
Tomas DiFiore
Seaweed Rebellion
Enhanced Compliance to Non-Compliance: North Coast Option ZERO Split Decision
http://www.albionharbor.org/fisheriesaudio.html
Public Comment to Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro's January 21st 2011 California State Assembly Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture meeting in Eureka, showed people in attendance were split almost evenly (including Tribal chairpersons) between the Unified Array and Option ZERO. Tribal elders and younger Tribal members, RSG, and the public throughout the day, mentioned halting the process and Option ZERO more times than the 'One Unified Array' was mentioned.
Option ZERO is not a No Action Alternative. The following is a small incomplete list of items that are legally separate from the MLPA(i) and could follow through a formal continuance to resolution:
1) Tribal Aboriginal Rights, Access, Government to Government relations and consultation, New Tribal Use Category by the Commission and/or Legislature
2) Special Closures, which are separate from MPAs under DFG code sections
3) State Parks boundary adjustments, enforcement feasibility
4) North Coast Fisheries Co-Adaptive Management Strategies
5) Consideration of the benefits under 15064.(e) of current economic improvement grant programs on the North Coast that benefit marine resources
AHRA requests through an Option ZERO CEQA analysis that a determination and assessment of LEK and TEK as submitted into the NCSR process is separate and distinct from that which would be categorized under CEQA in: 15064. (5) Argument, speculation, unsubstantiated opinion or narrative, or evidence that is clearly inaccurate or erroneous, or evidence that is not credible, shall not constitute substantial evidence. Substantial evidence shall include facts, reasonable assumptions predicated upon facts, and expert opinion supported by facts.
Melissa Miller-Henson stated at the 02022011 F&G Commission hearing that there were 1900 participants on the North Coast in the MLPA. Between Point Arena and Shelter Cove, 1200 signatures in support of Option ZERO were submitted to Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro and the F&G Commission.
Many Wild Ocean Food Gatherers from Point Arena to Shelter Cove and north support Option ZERO.
It is important to honor the effort of the RSG and the 'One Unified Proposal'. Listening carefully, one can discern that even RSG members differentiate betweeb the original 'Unified Array' proposal and the Revised North Coast Proposal (RNCP) is not the same one the RSG agreed to among themselves in August 2010 and the Ten Mile Cluster MPA near Fort Bragg is much larger.
Learn about OPTION ZERO on the North Coast, visit:
http://www.albionharbor.org/optionzero.html
http://www.albionharbor.org
MLPAI Closures Target Shelter Cove Hook-and-Line Fishery
The remote Humboldt County community of Shelter Cove is home port to a fleet of about fifteen full and part-time commercial hook-and-line fishers, operating from small boats in state waters. "Shelter Cove’s small independent hook-and-line fishers are a disadvantaged group with few resources, living from paycheck to paycheck, so dedicating time away from putting food on the table to attend countless meetings with unsympathetic MLPAI staff is not an option," Sack explained to Senator Evans.
Susan Sack delivered a petition signed by one thousand Shelter Cove residents, visitors and other local directly affected stakeholders to Assemblyman Wes Chesbro on January 21, calling for no expansion of the existing MPAs on the North Coast and proposing the State protect California's existing MPAs from mineral extraction, aquaculture, pollution, energy farms and other damaging manmade effects. "All the board members of our local government, the Shelter Cove Resort Improvement District signed my petition, rejecting the Unified Array, and supporting Option Zero," she said.
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/02/06/18671425.php
MLPAI Closures Target Shelter Cove Hook-and-Line Fishery
by John Lewallen
February 1, 2011
Contact: Susan Sack or Don Sack, home (707)986-1639
Susan Sack's letter to Senator Evans concludes, "Please stop this corporate takeover of resources, suspend the MLPAI implementation and work to promote our caring local sustainable fishing communities instead of global consortiums who will put money before the health of our oceans or the Californian people."
"Shelter Cove is a sacrifice zone in the so-called Unified Array of new Marine Protected Areas proposed for California’s North Coast by the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative process. Shelter Cove area closures threaten to kill the sustainable hook-and-line recreation and commercial fishery here, for no good reason. The near shore ecosystem on the North Coast is healthy and does not need protecting. That’s why the Shelter Cove community is united for Option Zero: no new Marine Protected Areas for California’s North Coast. Once these areas are established they can be enlarged or moved even over local objections."
Susan Sack, Administrative Secretary of the Shelter Cove Resort Improvement District and wife of third-generation commercial hook-and-line fisherman Don Sack, is frustrated and angry. In a January 24 letter to Senator Noreen Evans, she wrote:
"Fishing regulations around Shelter Cove are already the most restrictive on the Pacific Coast, in fact the planet. With the creation of new Marine Protected Areas within state waters many popular fishing areas are being closed off to fishing. My husband is already being forced to fish areas farther and farther from home with the existing regulations and small open areas are seeing a more concentrated fishing effort and they are not adequate to keep our sustainable hook-and-line fishery healthy. Our family’s fishing business is facing bankruptcy and we are facing a future with no other job opportunities in our small coastal community or the surrounding area."
Re-posted by Tomas DiFiore
Albion Harbor Regional Alliance
albionharbor.org
Look for the audio posting of most if not ALL PUBLIC COMMENTS TO DATE on the North Coast at the AHRA website.
"If ever there was a time and place for Option ZERO, it is the North Coast"... Gabriel Quinn Maroney to the F&G Commission 02022011.
Public Comment to Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro's January 21st 2011 California State Assembly Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture meeting in Eureka, showed people in attendance were split almost evenly (including Tribal chairpersons) between the Unified Array and Option ZERO. Tribal elders and younger Tribal members, RSG, and the public throughout the day, mentioned halting the process and Option ZERO more times than the 'One Unified Array' was mentioned.
Option ZERO is not a No Action Alternative. The following is a small incomplete list of items that are legally separate from the MLPA(i) and could follow through a formal continuance to resolution:
1) Tribal Aboriginal Rights, Access, Government to Government relations and consultation, New Tribal Use Category by the Commission and/or Legislature
2) Special Closures, which are separate from MPAs under DFG code sections
3) State Parks boundary adjustments, enforcement feasibility
4) North Coast Fisheries Co-Adaptive Management Strategies
5) Consideration of the benefits under 15064.(e) of current economic improvement grant programs on the North Coast that benefit marine resources
AHRA requests through an Option ZERO CEQA analysis that a determination and assessment of LEK and TEK as submitted into the NCSR process is separate and distinct from that which would be categorized under CEQA in: 15064. (5) Argument, speculation, unsubstantiated opinion or narrative, or evidence that is clearly inaccurate or erroneous, or evidence that is not credible, shall not constitute substantial evidence. Substantial evidence shall include facts, reasonable assumptions predicated upon facts, and expert opinion supported by facts.
Melissa Miller-Henson stated at the 02022011 F&G Commission hearing that there were 1900 participants on the North Coast in the MLPA. Between Point Arena and Shelter Cove, 1200 signatures in support of Option ZERO were submitted to Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro and the F&G Commission.
Many Wild Ocean Food Gatherers from Point Arena to Shelter Cove and north support Option ZERO.
It is important to honor the effort of the RSG and the 'One Unified Proposal'. Listening carefully, one can discern that even RSG members differentiate betweeb the original 'Unified Array' proposal and the Revised North Coast Proposal (RNCP) is not the same one the RSG agreed to among themselves in August 2010 and the Ten Mile Cluster MPA near Fort Bragg is much larger.
Learn about OPTION ZERO on the North Coast, visit:
http://www.albionharbor.org/optionzero.html
http://www.albionharbor.org
MLPAI Closures Target Shelter Cove Hook-and-Line Fishery
The remote Humboldt County community of Shelter Cove is home port to a fleet of about fifteen full and part-time commercial hook-and-line fishers, operating from small boats in state waters. "Shelter Cove’s small independent hook-and-line fishers are a disadvantaged group with few resources, living from paycheck to paycheck, so dedicating time away from putting food on the table to attend countless meetings with unsympathetic MLPAI staff is not an option," Sack explained to Senator Evans.
Susan Sack delivered a petition signed by one thousand Shelter Cove residents, visitors and other local directly affected stakeholders to Assemblyman Wes Chesbro on January 21, calling for no expansion of the existing MPAs on the North Coast and proposing the State protect California's existing MPAs from mineral extraction, aquaculture, pollution, energy farms and other damaging manmade effects. "All the board members of our local government, the Shelter Cove Resort Improvement District signed my petition, rejecting the Unified Array, and supporting Option Zero," she said.
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/02/06/18671425.php
MLPAI Closures Target Shelter Cove Hook-and-Line Fishery
by John Lewallen
February 1, 2011
Contact: Susan Sack or Don Sack, home (707)986-1639
Susan Sack's letter to Senator Evans concludes, "Please stop this corporate takeover of resources, suspend the MLPAI implementation and work to promote our caring local sustainable fishing communities instead of global consortiums who will put money before the health of our oceans or the Californian people."
"Shelter Cove is a sacrifice zone in the so-called Unified Array of new Marine Protected Areas proposed for California’s North Coast by the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative process. Shelter Cove area closures threaten to kill the sustainable hook-and-line recreation and commercial fishery here, for no good reason. The near shore ecosystem on the North Coast is healthy and does not need protecting. That’s why the Shelter Cove community is united for Option Zero: no new Marine Protected Areas for California’s North Coast. Once these areas are established they can be enlarged or moved even over local objections."
Susan Sack, Administrative Secretary of the Shelter Cove Resort Improvement District and wife of third-generation commercial hook-and-line fisherman Don Sack, is frustrated and angry. In a January 24 letter to Senator Noreen Evans, she wrote:
"Fishing regulations around Shelter Cove are already the most restrictive on the Pacific Coast, in fact the planet. With the creation of new Marine Protected Areas within state waters many popular fishing areas are being closed off to fishing. My husband is already being forced to fish areas farther and farther from home with the existing regulations and small open areas are seeing a more concentrated fishing effort and they are not adequate to keep our sustainable hook-and-line fishery healthy. Our family’s fishing business is facing bankruptcy and we are facing a future with no other job opportunities in our small coastal community or the surrounding area."
Re-posted by Tomas DiFiore
Albion Harbor Regional Alliance
albionharbor.org
Look for the audio posting of most if not ALL PUBLIC COMMENTS TO DATE on the North Coast at the AHRA website.
"If ever there was a time and place for Option ZERO, it is the North Coast"... Gabriel Quinn Maroney to the F&G Commission 02022011.
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