Tag Archives: Western States Petroleum Association
Report on U.S. Marine Sanctuary Oil Drilling Sent to White House, Not Released to Public
U.S. Commerce Department Secretary Wilbur Ross sent a report to the White House on Wednesday containing recommendations on whether to change the boundaries of 11 marine sanctuaries to allow more oil and gas drilling, but the report was not made public. Commerce reviewed sanctuaries containing 425 million acres of coral reefs, marine mammal habitats and pristine beaches, as part of an administration strategy to open new areas to oil and gas drilling. click here to read the story 07:18
California State admits traditional management more effective than marine reserves – Dan Bacher
State officials and representatives of some corporate “environmental” NGOs have constantly touted the so-called “marine protected areas” created under the privately-funded Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative as a “science-based” method for bolstering fish and shellfish populations in California. continued@icmagazine
Yurok Tribe Dispute with State over Coastal Access Entangled in Alleged Embezzlement – “fake marine protected areas” (wow)
Dan Bacher, an environmental writer, calls the South Coast region “fake marine protected areas” that shield the ocean from fishing but fail to protect it from “oil spills and drilling, pollution, military testing, corporate aquaculture, wind and wave energy projects.”
The MLPA blue-ribbon task force that developed the marine plans was originally chaired by Susan Golding, ex-two-term San Diego mayor and former CEO of the Golding Group. She has sat on the boards of 1st Pacific Bank, Avinir Pharmaceuticals and Titan Industries. Others on the panel include Bill Anderson, president and CEO at the nation’s largest owner and operator of waterfront marinas, and Catherine Reheis-Boyd, president of the Western States Petroleum Association, who has repeatedly called for weaker environmental regulations and new oil drilling off the California coast.
The MLPA also takes its share of flack from the sport fishermen and the political right. California Fish and Game Commissioner Daniel Richards, when he was commission president, said, “These radical, left-wing environmentalists want to put up massive reserves to keep people from fishing. It’s all being funded, this takeover of California’s marine resources, by the Packard Foundation, backed by a billionaire with nefarious intentions. They are anti-fishing, anti-hunting, anti-people.”
Early in 2012, the Yurok Tribe discovered it had another reason to be suspicious of MLPA motives. Arrest warrants were issued for three men, including the co-chair of the MLPA Task Force Science Advisory Team, who were suspected of conspiring to embezzle $870,000 from the tribe. Read More
