Enhancing the Legacy of California's Marine Protected Areas through Bottom-Up Collaboration Clients: California MPA Collaborative Network & Resources Legacy Fund Gwyndolyn Sofka, Kimberly Guo, Julia Hassen, Celina Horbat, Kathryn Maloney, Dani Triebwasser Masters of Science Program School for Environment and Sustainability University of Michigan April 2021 Project Summary California enacted the Marine Life Protection Act in 1999 to create a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) along the California coast. Through an eight-year process that engaged stakeholders, scientists, and policymakers, 124 MPAs were designated. During implementation, a network of county level collaboratives was formed to ensure that MPA management continued the bottom-up engagement of a diverse set of stakeholders. These collaboratives, and the Collaborative Network that supports them, have been an integral part of MPA management ever since 2012. The Collaborative Network is an ongoing experiment in collaborative governance and has been recognized as a key element in management of the MPAs. Our project analyzes the fourteen collaboratives, the Collaborative Network, and the relationships between the collaboratives, the Collaborative Network, and the State in an attempt to delineate the benefits and challenges of this arrangement, and identify best practices of collaborative governance. Interviews with members of the collaboratives and with stakeholders inform case studies of each collaborative. A cross-case analysis allowed us to identify key lessons that can be disseminated to other organizations attempting similar efforts. Project Advisor: Dr. Steven L. Yaffee i Table of Contents Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................ 1 Introduction and Methods................................................................................................................ 3 Overview of the Collaboratives ..................................................................................................... 17 Benefits of Collaboration .............................................................................................................. 35 Benefits to the State ....................................................................................................................... 49 Facilitating Factors ........................................................................................................................ 52 Challenges ..................................................................................................................................... 64 Tribal Participation in the Collaboratives ...................................................................................... 80 Conclusion and Recommendations ............................................................................................... 99 Appendix A: Del Norte County MPA Collaborative .................................................................. 114 Appendix B: Humboldt County MPA Collaborative .................................................................. 134 Appendix C: Mendocino County MPA Collaborative ................................................................ 155 Appendix D: Sonoma County MPA Collaborative ..................................................................... 171 Appendix E: Golden Gate MPA Collaborative ........................................................................... 183 Appendix F: San Mateo County MPA Collaborative .................................................................. 193 Appendix G: Santa Cruz County MPA Collaborative ................................................................. 206 Appendix H: Monterey County MPA Collaborative ................................................................... 217 Appendix I: San Luis Obispo County MPA Collaborative ......................................................... 227 Appendix J: Santa Barbara Channel MPA Collaborative ........................................................... 238 Appendix K: Los Angeles County MPA Collaborative .............................................................. 253 Appendix L: Catalina Island MPA Collaborative ....................................................................... 267 Appendix M: Orange County MPA Council (OCMPAC) .......................................................... 279 Appendix N: San Diego County MPA Collaborative ................................................................. 292 ii Appendix O: Collaborative Network Interview Guide ................................................................ 308 Appendix P: Collaborative Co-Chairs' Interview Guide ............................................................. 310 Appendix Q: Collaborative Member Interview Guide ................................................................ 312 Appendix R: State Agency Staff Interview Guide ...................................................................... 315 1 Executive Summary The California coastline is home to 124 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). These MPAs were designated during an eight-year process that started in 2005 and was completed in 2012. After the MPAs were officially created by the California Fish and Game Commission, fourteen collaboratives were created to encourage continued involvement of local stakeholders in the marine management process. Each coastal county has a collaborative that engages stakeholders in a novel “bottom-up, localized, and participatory approach” to MPA management and a Collaborative Network (CN) was created to assist and learn from the collaboratives. This report covers the beneficial outcomes (Benefits) of these collaboratives, the factors that enabled these outcomes (Facilitating Factors), the factors that hindered these outcomes (Challenges), and steps the collaboratives and other MPA actors should take (Recommendations). This report also provides an in-depth look at Tribes and their unique experiences with the collaboratives, since Tribal communities are not only the original stewards of the land but also are distinct and self-governing. The report can be used to help the collaboratives and other actors improve the effectiveness of the collaboratives and the CN, while also informing organizations that wish to start a similar network of collaboratives elsewhere. Methods The data for this report was collected primarily through a series of interviews with employees of the CN, the collaboratives’ co-chairs, and members of the collaboratives. A total of 67 extensive qualitative interviews were conducted, five of which were conducted with Tribal representatives. The Covid-19 pandemic limited the researchers’ ability to conduct in-person interviews, and as a result the views of those who choose not to participate in the collaborative are not represented. Benefits Many of the benefits of collaboration occur because the collaboratives are a place where members can come together, a place that did not exist prior to creation of the collaboratives. This meeting place ensures members can network and interact with each other, can share information with each other and with other actors such as the State, and can form relationships. The collaboratives also amplify the many diverse perspectives from diverse sectors present in MPA management, enhance the visibility of the organizations that participate, expand the capacity of the members, and enhance the focus on local issues. Other benefits include opportunities to engage important communities like Tribes and stakeholders like fishing groups, connections to various levels of government, and the ability to make a difference in the member’s community. These benefits all accrue to the members of the collaboratives and the collaboratives themselves. Other benefits are achieved by State agencies. For example, the collaboratives act as an early warning system to inform the agencies of problems on the coast and increase the capacity of the State. Facilitating Factors There are various factors that have enabled the benefits laid out above. The main factor that helps facilitate the collaboratives’ work is having overlap between a member or co-chairs' full-time job and the work the collaborative is doing. Pre-existing relationships and the formation of new relationships have also facilitated work by creating trust and understanding, while increasing perceived effectiveness and buy-in to the collaboratives. Support from the CN along with the resources provided by the CN and other collaboratives has also helped. Finally, co-chairs and members who are highly motivated, enthusiastic, and have useful skills (like project management, 2 collaborating and facilitation, and fundraising abilities) have been of great benefit to the collaboratives. The benefits to the State have been facilitated by the activities of the CN, which provides an open and direct channel of communication. The collaboratives themselves are able to facilitate work for the state by leveraging funds the State does not have access to and being able to take on projects the state cannot. Challenges The challenges the collaboratives face are often a mirror of the facilitating factors. For example, while alignment between a member’s full-time job can enable their participation, the absence of this alignment can lead to reduced participation due to an inability to spend time on collaborative work. In addition, even if there is some overlap, members may not be able to participate more than