Good morning.  Welcome to Santa Barbara. First, I want to thank Chairwoman Bordallo for convening this hearing in my congressional district.  I appreciate her interest in this important subject. I hope this will be the first of several hearings the Subcommittee has on the National Marine Sanctuaries Act.

I also want to extend my gratitude to Chancellor Yang and UCSB, as well as Chris Mobley and his staff at the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary for their contributions to this hearing. Finally, I want to express my thanks to our witnesses.  Your expertise at this hearing is greatly appreciated.  

Like the Chairwoman, I have long advocated for stronger protections for our oceans.Our congressional districts are inexorably linked to the sea.  They are home to our fisheries and support numerous marine species. They affect commerce and generate tourism dollars.  And they connect us to our maritime heritage.

Increasingly, however, we have come to understand that our oceans have limits. More and more our fisheries and the coastal communities that depend on them are stressed. Harmful algal blooms and pollution are threatening the marine ecology and human health in many coastal areas. And unchecked coastal development is pressuring marine habitats beyond their limits.

To meet these challenges Congress has tried to develop innovative programs for the protection, use and management of our marine environment. This includes the National Marine Sanctuaries Program. Our sanctuaries protect countless species of wildlife and their habitat. They also promote scientific research and exploration and they foster our important maritime heritage through community outreach, public-private partnerships and educational programs.  And, as economic engines for many coastal communities, the sanctuaries support the tourism and recreation industries.

For these reasons and to better address the challenges our oceans face, I formed the National Marine Sanctuary Caucus with Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who represents the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The Caucus is a bipartisan coalition of Congress members dedicated to increasing awareness of our sanctuaries.  So far, just about every member that represents a sanctuary is a part of the Caucus. 

In addition to co-chairing the Caucus, I’m very proud to represent the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary and the southern portion of the Monterey Bay sanctuary. Having been involved with our Central Coast sanctuaries for almost a decade, I know that it’s not easy to balance economic growth and development with ocean and coastal stewardship.

But I believe the sanctuary program has demonstrated some success at balancing the two. The recent addition of over 350 square miles of marine reserves and conservation areas surrounding the Channel Islands is one example of this.I’m fortunate to have watched this progress first hand.  And I think we can all be proud of this important conservation accomplishment.

We can also be proud of the cooperative efforts between the sanctuary program and private institutions like the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The Aquarium is partnering with the sanctuary program to enhance understanding of our sanctuaries natural systems and educate the public. It’s just the kind of public-private partnership Congress envisioned for this program and those we want to encourage.

Finally, with the support of Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Congressman Sam Farr, I was proud to bring the Bay-Watershed Education Training or “B-WET” program to the Central Coast. B-WET provides funds to organizations to give students, teachers and communities environmentally-based education opportunities. These grants have brought the oceans into hundreds of classrooms on the Central Coast.

Madam Chairwoman, there are many more examples of how the sanctuary program has shown its worth – and I know we will hear about them today; however, I think we’ve only begun to realize the program’s potential benefits.

I believe our sanctuaries are one of the best opportunities we have to insure comprehensive, ecosystem-based conservation management of our ocean and coastal ecosystems. So it’s my hope this hearing is the beginning of an important discussion on reauthorizing this vital Act.

Like you, I want to work with all interested parties and to create a more effective national program that builds on the program’s past successes, releases the program’s future potential and contributes to a stronger federal ocean policy.

Thank you again for having this hearing in my congressional district and for assembling an excellent slate of witnesses to advise the Subcommittee. I look forward to hearing their testimony.  Thank you.

Pictured above: (center) Congresswoman Capps meets with Central Coast firefighters to discuss emergency preparedness.