 An area of exceptional natural beauty and resources off the coast of southern California, encompassing nearly 1,500 square miles of water surrounding the islands of Anacapa, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, San Miguel and Santa Barbara.
Major programmatic initiatives:
- Marine Protected Areas
From 2003 through 2007, the state of California and the National Marine Sanctuary Program established thirteen marine reserves and conservation areas around the four northern Channel Islands and Santa Barbara Island. Long-term monitoring, enforcement, education and outreach related to those MPAs is helping to inform activities elsewhere. Beginning in 2012, thirty-six new marine protected areas will be implemented in southern California, from Point Conception to the Mexico border.
The Foundation will focus primarily on support for the Channel Islands marine protected areas and sanctuary while providing guidance and fiscal sponsorship services, as needed, for the newly designated MPAs.
- Education and Outreach with an emphasis on the Outreach Center for Teaching Ocean Science
The Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, in collaboration with the Marine Science Institute at the University of California, Santa Barbara, are establishing a science and technology center designed to immerse participants (K-12) in the process of marine science and its application to ocean conservation. The center will utilize UCSB’s undergraduate science and education students as mentors and instructors and is slated to open in 2013.
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