Mike Beck

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Conservation Leasing ownership of submerged
Lands
Mike Beck Senior Scientist, Marine
Initiative June 2005
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the Marine Initiative
areas of focus

• Setting priorities for marine conservation
• Building coral reef conservation to last
• Pioneering temperate conservation strategies

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Temperate Marine Conservation
The Challenge
From Assessments to Action to conserve 10 of
temperate marine ecosystems globally by 2015
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How can we work in marine environments? We buy
land.
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Peconic Estuary
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Who owns or leases submerged lands?

• Oil companies
• Marinas
• Upland owners
• Aquaculture
• Researchers
• Conservation Groups?

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Findings Submerged Lands are Cheap
Shellfish Fees
State Initial Fee Annual Fee (/acre)
DE 70 0.9 CT 200 2 LA 250 2 VA 2
5 1.50 NC 100 5 NJ 290 2 CA 400
10 RI 200 150
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Conservation Leasing Ownership
Current activities
Site-based projects NY, WA, TX, CA, VA,
FL Policy Projects With WA DNR Research
Toolkit Booklet Cons. Biology ms WADNR
Training package Law/policy project
http//nature.org/initiatives/marine
Update In Conservation Biology 04 181214-1223
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Sustainability Submerged Lands
Peconic Bay Ecosystem Restoration

• Raising clams scallops on our submerged lands
• Partnering with baymen to establish spawner
  sanctuaries
• Working with scientists towards ecosystem
  restoration

2 clams
4 clams
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Sustainability Submerged Lands
Great South Bay New Approaches in Co-Management

• Co-management eventual
• transfer to the Public
• Develop a multi-use plan for
• use, preservation restoration
• Focus- hard clams eelgrass
• Leverage efforts for
• ecosystem-wide benefit

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Port Susan, WA
Sustainability Submerged Lands
Joint Project with the Stillaguamish Tribe to
restore marshes and salmon habitat
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Sustainability Submerged Lands
Lease CA Giant Kelp Forests

• Address the importance of kelp canopy as nursery
  for rockfish
• Uses available tools leasing harvesting-- for
  research
• Partners in academia, agencies, industry. e.g.,
  UCSC, TNC, ISP Alginates.
• Examine BMPs for kelp harvest

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Pioneering temperate conservation strategies
Aim Develop a comprehensive and coordinated
approach for conservation of temperate near-shore
marine ecosystems
Lease/Own Submerged Lands
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New Tools for Marine Conservation

• Can lease/own submerged land in all states
• Develop export sustainable management
  approaches
• Protect investments for sustainable benefits
• Consistent with standard state management
  practices
• Work cooperatively
• with fishermen others

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Conservation Leasing Ownership
Law Policy Analysis

• New tools for marine conservation
• Develop export sustainable management practices
• Protect investments for sustainable benefits
• Shifts stewardship requirements to NGO
• Work cooperatively e.g., with fishermen
• States use leasing to meet PTD
• Current Policy requires productive use
• Clarify PTD responsibilities in state agencies
• Significant ownership opportunities(?)
• Few comprehensive or coordinated records
  contributes to fractured governance

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Leasing Ownership
Next Steps

• More field state policy projects
• Outreach to land trust community
• Pilot projects to compile maps on state L O
  NOAA CSC SG, CSO, TNC state partners
• Aim To inform state policy by clearly showing
  extensive private rights overlap, address
  fairness balance in uses.

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This is the end of ppt. A couple of extra slides
follow we may or may not want to use them.
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Sustainability Submerged Lands
Submerged Lands Marine Reserves

• Leasing- part of existing policy reserves-
  require special policy
• States already use leasing to meet PTD
  requirements
• Easier, cheaper, faster to implement leasing
  ownership
• Shifts stewardship requirements to NGO

MCP_0602_4 looks at 'protected lands,' at various
degrees, for terrestrial and marine parks. It is
just to show how much land versus water is in
some kind of protection status.
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Sustainability Submerged Lands
Testing New Approaches WA Conservation Leasing
Develop and test new state policy Protect
investment in restoration of native oysters