California
California Coastal National Monument (CCNM) Gateway Flyer (Text-Only)
GOT ROCKS?
Introducing the California Coastal National Monument Gateway Program for Coastal Communities
THE CALIFORNIA COASTAL NATIONAL MONUMENT
Located off the 1,100 miles of California coastline, the California Coastal National Monument comprises more than 20,000 small islands, rocks, exposed reefs, and pinnacles. The Monument includes public lands that are exposed above mean high tide, within the corridor extending 12 nautical miles from the shoreline between Mexico and Oregon. The scenic qualities and critical habitat of this public resource are protected as part of the National Landscape Conservation System (National Conservation Lands), administered by the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior.
California Coastal National Monument Gateways are sections of the California coast that serve as focal points and visitor contact locations for the National Monument.
Gateways can be areas, towns, cities, or communities that have infrastructure and interest in providing visitor information and services. The BLM is developing Gateway partnerships that follow the principles of geotourism, that is - tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place, including its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage, and the well-being of its residents.
Gateway partnerships are a means to support organized local stewardship for shoreline regions through the development of a consortium of the area’s resource managers and advocates.
Gateways respond to a local sense of place for this unique and extensive monument. They feature strongly in BLM outreach and community relationships.
The Resource Management Plan for the National Monument identifies 12 regions where community relationships should be focused, based on their proximity to where the Monument is most often viewed.
These regions are Trinidad, Crescent City, the Lost Coast, Mendocino / Fort Bragg, Elk, Point Arena, Sonoma Coast, Pigeon Point, Monterey Peninsula, Big Sur, Piedras Blancas / San Simeon, and Palos Verdes Peninsula.
All coastal communities interested in developing a Gateway relationship to the Monument are welcome, along with those noted in the Plan.
What are the benefits to becoming a Monument Gateway partner?
- It provides an opportunity for local communities and organizations to be directly involved in the day-to-day oversight and direction of their portion of a unique national monument.
- Being a Gateway partner does not limit or restrict any existing authorities of the partner.
- There are no direct costs. Each partner defines its level of participation.
- The status serves to increase the visibility of the community through representation in the Monument outreach efforts.
- The relationship recognizes the long-term commitment of each partner to the stewardship of the Gateway’s natural and cultural resources.
- Partners share resources and expertise, and reduce duplicating efforts for shared goals.
- The formal status enables assistance from and collaboration with other agencies and organizations.
- The relationships often develop into grant partnerships and funding opportunities.
A Gateway partnership can be formalized with an individual memorandum of understanding (MOU) developed between the BLM and the partner, recognizing the collaborative relationship. The MOU identifies mutual interests and expectations, and lays out the roles and responsibilities of each partner. It is a non-monetary agreement which creates a foundation for further exchanges of resources.
Your community may already have a plan for managing beaches, coastal pullouts, recreation areas, and adjacent natural areas. Those plans and existing laws are helpful when the Gateway group is identifying management interests and strategies. Each Gateway partnership will exist as long as the partner desires.
Conduct regular meetings of the gateway group.
Develop baseline information and identify common goals.
Identify, enhance, and/or develop initial infrastructure for interpretation, visitor contact, and related economic opportunities.
Develop visitor contact information and a plan for dissemination.
Develop, implement, and maintain projects to meet the objectives of the Gateway and related local initiatives.
Periodically evaluate the success of the Gateway and its various initiatives.
Adapt strategies and actions to meet evolving community needs.
That’s a facility or venue that serves as a primary visitor contact location for a specific Monument Gateway. It may be a visitor center or museum of one of the Gateway’s partners or a BLM hosted site.
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