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U.S. EPA SIGNS MORRO BAY CONSERVATION PLAN AGREEMENT

Release Date: 5/23/1996
Contact Information: Dave Schmidt, U.S. EPA, (415) 744-1578

      (San Francisco)--  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) today signed an agreement with state and local officials to help local residents develop a Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan for the Morro Bay Watershed in San Luis Obispo County.  The Morro Bay Task Force, a coalition of over 200 local residents representing diverse interests, will receive funds from U.S. EPA over the next three years to develop the plan.
     
     "This is a perfect example of U.S. EPA's National Estuary Program supporting a long-term conservation effort that is truly community-based," said Alisa Greene, Southern California Watersheds Section Chief for U.S. EPA's western region.  "This approach will benefit residents who depend on the local farming, fishing, and tourism economy, as well as visitors who come to enjoy this unspoiled stretch of California coast."
     
     The Morro Bay Estuary provides habitat for hundreds of species of birds and marine life, and supports an oyster fishery and a harbor used for fishing and recreational boating.  The Bay is currently threatened by upland soil erosion, which has filled the shallow Bay with enough sediment to reduce its water volume by one-fourth over the past century.  The conservation plan will address this problem as well as other water-related issues such as flood control, water supply, and pollution from urban sources.

     Through the National Estuary Program, U.S. EPA focuses the resources of state, local, and federal agencies on planning coordinated conservation measures to protect these fragile, highly productive coastal ecosystems.  In California, conservation efforts under this program have already been underway for the past several years for the San Francisco Bay- Delta Estuary and Santa Monica Bay watersheds.

     Under the National Estuary designation, the state will provide funds to match federal funds for the project. The Morro Bay Watershed, located northwest of the city of San Luis Obispo, includes all the lands whose waterways drain into Morro Bay, including the watersheds of Chorro and Los Osos Creeks.
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