The following is a press release issued by the City of Fort Bragg:
With grant funding from the California Coastal Commission, and support from the California Sea Grant, the City of Fort Bragg and Noyo Harbor District will soon begin the Noyo Harbor Blue Economy Visioning, Resiliency and Implementation Plan (The Plan). This effort will provide much needed analysis for informed decision making as we develop a shared vision for our coastal community. Findings from The Plan will result in several updates to both the City of Fort Bragg and Mendocino County’s Local Coastal Programs.
The Plan is part of a larger regional effort of the Noyo Ocean Collective, an expanding network of for profit and nonprofit businesses, academic institutions, and government, working to position our coastal region for blue economy investment. The “Blue Economy” represents a diversification of ocean based businesses – in order to support our existing fishing industry and local heritage, while developing new and innovative industries to address some of our most challenging environmental, physical, social, and economic issues.
Before getting started on this three year endeavor, we set out to develop a communication and engagement plan to provide the public and stakeholders with a clear guide and understanding of the roles, actions, and outcomes of the project. The communication and engagement plan can be accessed both as a standalone document and through the www.NoyoOceanCollective.org website, which will continue to expand and evolve over the duration of the project.
In reading the Blue Economy Communication and Enrichment Plan on the Noyo Ocean Collective web site how does point #3 and point #4 coexist? It seems that a move to a more sustainable and equitable outcome must include a policy that addresses the hundreds of thousands of tourists who visit Fort Bragg and Mendocino each year. Is the gigantic carbon footprint, (cars, truck, boats and campfires) and the damaged to the coastal waters, tidepools, and forest by these visitors even being considered? I think not but we’ll see how serious this effort will be over the next few years.
Every year the county waste money on planning but never actually utilizes the plans or gives up on the plans or doesn’t ever follow through with the plans and we just end up spending more and more tax dollars for them to hang out and talk about how they might think about possibly entertaining the idea of doing something in the future
“…in order to support our existing fishing industry…” which is nearly dead. Blue economy? Great Redwood Trail for the coast. The boards and bureaucrats expand as the progressives take more for themselves.