Hi folks!
Ramon here, and I’m still alive! Sophie has left me, and will soon be traveling to North Carolina to present her thesis. Best of luck Soph! Now that I am a lone wolf (at least, within my age range), I’ve been pretty busy with collecting and entering data, hence the lack of posts in the blog.
Lighting a candle to set the mood for some data-entering.
I promise to share more often my adventures here in Sea Ranch. One of these was a public hearing that I attended on Tuesday. The hearing spanned multiple days, going down the coast and visiting a different town each day. Tuesday’s was held in the town of Gualala and the focus was to allow local residents to voice their opinions/concerns/suggestions regarding a proposed expansion of both the Cordell Bank and Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuaries (CBNMS and GFNMS) to include waters off of the counties of Marin, Sonoma and Mendocino. By becoming part of the sanctuaries, these areas will become exempt from any oil and gas exploration and development.
Many of the attendees, including yours truly, supported this venture, which would increase protection of upwelling systems (namely, at Point Arena) that sustain the dynamic and important ecosystems of the Farallones. However, there were some concerns raised by participants, ranging from local fishers to jet ski aficionados. And, as expected, a representative from a big oil company was also in attendance; there is interest in exploring these areas for gas and oil.
CBNMS Superintendent Maria Banks explains the rationale behind the proposed expansion.
All in all, I found the event thought-provoking, and it was definitely interesting to watch politics in action at a local setting. Also, among this crowd of residents who were genuinely concerned about the state of their environment, I felt special to be the only one born in the 90s.
Well, that’s all for now. Coming up: nocturnal photos!, hiking(?) w/ Sophie, and LOTS of chick photos
As a teaser, here are our PECO chicks, larger and hungrier than ever!
