Welcome
"Just as our western states have started to work together to fight global warming and protect our air, we now join forces to make sure we are doing everything in our power to maintain clean water and beaches along our coast." - Governor Schwarzenegger "Our oceans provide critical economic, environmental and social benefits to the Pacific Coast states. Today¹s historic agreement will mean clean water, healthy oceans and a better future for our children." - Governor Kulongoski "Our oceans are home to a great diversity of marine life and clean beaches and oceans are vital to West Coast fishing communities, recreation and tourism. We know that isolated local efforts cannot adequately address the breadth of degradation to our oceans. By cooperating, our three states will combine our resources and influence to make a real difference in the fight to clean and protect the oceans." - Governor Gregoire
WCGA Update - Sign me up!
Please send me updates about the West Coast Governors' Agreement on Ocean Health. Enter your Email address: Note: subscribers to the State of California’s oceanpublic listserv automatically receive all WCGA Updates.

West Coast Governors' Agreement on Ocean Health

NEWS!

4/23/08 Governors of California, Oregon and Washington Request Congressional Support for Maritime Pollution Prevention Act. Read the Press release 3/14/08 Governors send letter to US Secretary of Commerce requesting a declaration of a fishery resource disaster if salmon fisheries are closed. Read the Press release Release of the final plan is anticipated in early 2008.

On September 18, 2006 the Governors of California, Oregon and Washington announced the West Coast Governors’ Agreement on Ocean Health. The Agreement launched a new, proactive regional collaboration to protect and manage the ocean and coastal resources along the entire West Coast, as called for in the recommendations of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy and the Pew Oceans Commission.

The Agreement seeks to advance the goals of:
  Clean coastal waters and beaches;
  Healthy ocean and coastal habitats;
  Effective ecosystem-based management;
  Reduced impacts of offshore development;
  Increased ocean awareness and literacy among the region’s citizens; and
  Expanded ocean and coastal scientific information, research, and monitoring;
  Sustainable economic development of coastal communities.

The Agreement also underscores the importance of managing activities that affect our oceans on an ecosystem basis. That is, managing human activities and their impact on ocean resources in a way that accounts for the relationships among all ecosystem components, including people and other species and the environment in which we all live.

The Agreement directs staff of the three Governors to take certain immediate actions, and to develop a more extensive action plan within one year. The three states prepared a discussion paper to guide public input on actions for consideration during development of the action plan and sponsored a series of meetings to obtain public and stakeholder input on the Agreement. The public comment period on the draft Action Plan is now closed. Thank you for your input. Release of the final plan is anticipated in early 2008.

We invite you to sign up for the WCGA Update to receive email updates about meetings, plans, and actions under the Agreement (see box at left).