MUSIC Co-director and faculty travel to California to discuss science and policy with scientists and community members
MUSIC co-director, Herman Karl, and Environmental Policy Group faculty David Laws and Judy Layzer traveled to California the week of June 13.
Judy and Herman gave technical and generalized presentations to scientists and the general public at the USGS facility in Menlo Park as a special event of the USGS Western Region Public Lecture Series on Tuesday June 14. The title of their talk was “Deep Freeze—The Impact of Science on U.S. Climate Change Policy.” more:::
David facilitated a three-hour workshop on trust building for eighteen local citizens and governmental personnel working on issues of flood control and ecosystem restoration in the San Francisquito Creek watershed (see the announcement on this site). The San Francisquito Creek is the boundary between two counties and there are five municipalities in the small watershed. The multi-jurisdictions greatly complicate decision making about land use and environmental policy in the watershed. The workshop was designed to help the diverse parties work more effectively as a stakeholder group. more:::
The rest of the week was spent on a site visit to the Tomales Bay watershed in Marin County and interviews with members of the Tomales Bay Watershed Council (http://www.tomalesbaywatershed.org/). The Council will be the basis of a study of the effectiveness of collaborative approaches to natural resources management.
The Tomales Bay Watershed Council is the convener for an all stakeholder partnership that makes decisions through a collaborative, consensus process informed by sound science. Federal, state and county partners have an equal role with private partners at the table and natural resource management and environmental policy decisions are made through consensus of all parties. It is comprised of two-thirds citizen groups and one-third government/regulatory representatives. The citizen groups include all the local village groups, environmental organizations, Chamber of Commerce, three different agricultural groups, and local utility districts. The Federal agencies include Pt. Reyes National Seashore (DOI) and Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary (Commerce). State agencies include the Marin Resource Conservation District, through which USDA offers support, State Department of Health, California State Parks, State Department of Fish and Game and University of California Extension Service.
A project where all partners intersect is the restoration of the Giacomini Marsh, a 550-acre site purchased by the Pt. Reyes National Seashore, which has been a dairy for 60 years with reclaimed, irrigated pastures. The project, one of the largest wetlands restorations in the country, will provide enhanced habitat for a number of listed species including Coho salmon and steelhead. The Council provides a crucial forum for the presentation of plans, study objectives, etc., in the preparation of an EIS for the project.