CONCUR facilitated the Central, North Central, and South Coast Regional Stakeholder Groups for the deliberations and implementation of the California Marine Life Protection Act.

Scott McCreary was lead facilitator for three of the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative coastal regions. These three regions collectively include State waters from the U.S.-Mexico border north through Mendocino County, and together protect 544 square miles of coastal waters through adoption of 97 Marine Protected Areas—making it the most comprehensive network of protected waters in the world. The stakeholder groups include members of recreational and commercial fishing interests, conservation interests, and coastal business owners.

As facilitator, CONCUR lead the groups in adopting ground rules, regional goals and objectives, devising and deliberation over alternate packages of marine protected areas, and facilitated full plenary group meetings, and work teams in the “gems” groups. These deliberations resulted in the creation of three proposals generated by each the regional stakeholder groups, adoption—and implementation of—the Integrated Preferred Alternatives in each of the three regions by the California Fish and Game Commission, and 14 region-based collaboratives now in operation.

Separate from its facilitation duties, CONCUR teamed with the USC Sea Grant Program to conduct a post hoc review of the South Coast process to evaluate its shortcomings, and consider what could have been done differently to reach a more stable agreement.

To read CONCUR’s full analysis of the South Coast deliberation process please click here.