RESOLUTION NO. _____________

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, COUNTY OF SAN MATEO, STATE OF CALIFORNIA

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RESOLUTION SUPPORTING 2008 INTEGRATED PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE PROPOSAL FOR CALIFORNIA’S NORTH CENTRAL COAST PROJECT COMPLYING WITH THE MARINE LIFE PROTECTION ACT OF 1999.

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RESOLVED, by the Board of Supervisors of the County of San Mateo, State of California, that

WHEREAS, San Mateo County is committed to preserving and enhancing important natural resources through environmental stewardship; and

WHEREAS, California’s coast and ocean are important to San Mateo’s coastal economy, provide important educational opportunities, enhance quality of life for County residents, and are vital to the survival of marine species; and

WHEREAS, Coastal and marine ecosystems face a number of threats; and

WHEREAS, the California legislature adopted the Marine Life Protection Act to protect California’s marine natural heritage; and

WHEREAS, the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative was an open and inclusive public process that drew upon local knowledge as well as scientific and policy expertise to design marine protected areas to help conserve California’s ocean resources for their intrinsic value and for the benefit of current and future generations; and

WHEREAS, the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative public process included the creation of a North Central Coast Study Region Stakeholder Group and Science Advisory Team which through extensive hours of research and deliberation created the “Integrated Preferred Alternative Marine Protected Area Plan”; and

WHEREAS, the “Integrated Preferred Alternative Marine Protected Area Plan” includes a total of 22 marine protected Areas with 11 state reserves, 9 state marine conservation ad areas and 2 state marine parks in addition to 2 State Marine Recreational Management Areas and 6 Special Closures Sites.

NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY DETERMINED AND ORDERED that the Board of Supervisors of San Mateo County does hereby support the “Integrated Preferred Alternative Marine Protected Area Plan” developed by the Marine Live Protection Act Blue Ribbon Task Force as a balanced approach to improving protection of the California Coast.

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