The next OPC meeting is scheduled for September 13, 2012.

On February 17, 2012, the OPC adopted a new Strategic Plan to guide Council’s activities over the next five years.  The Strategic Plan proposes action in areas of critical need where the Council’s involvement can yield tangible progress and have the greatest impact.

• Science-based decision-making
• Climate change
• Sustainable fisheries and marine ecosystems
• Coastal and ocean impacts from land-based sources
• Existing and emerging ocean uses

The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) is looking for a new Executive Director. For more information, download the announcement package (requires a PDF reader) or visit BCDC’s website at http://www.bcdc.ca.gov

Nicole Russell and Dr. Gary Griggs of the University of California, Santa Cruz, recently published a new report titled “Adapting to Sea Level Rise: A Guide for California’s Coastal Communities.” The guidebook is intended to assist state agency staff, and managers and planners in California’s coastal cities and counties in developing sea level rise adaptation plans for coastal communities.

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The California Ocean Protection Council (OPC) is pleased to announce that new high-resolution coastal elevation data sets are available to support the production of maps for coastal management applications such as assessment of vulnerability from severe storms, sea-level rise and coastal erosion.

The OPC provided $2.75 million to support this highly collaborative project, which has resulted in detailed elevation data available for the California coastline, including San Francisco Bay thanks to the support of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coastal Services Center and the U.S. Geological Survey.  The project area covered 3,779 square miles.  The data was collected using LiDAR, a state-of-the-art remote sensing technology, in conjunction with high resolution aerial photography.   (more…)