This year marks the 50th year of training Volunteer Naturalists at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve. It was a long and often difficult journey to save the tidepools from human destruction, but we’ve made great strides and 50 years later we are now a Marine Protected Area.
The Need for Protection
In the late 1960s the San Mateo County coastal communities were relatively remote. The population was much lower and traffic was only a problem on sunny weekends. Shoppers from the coast might travel across Devil’s Slide to go to Pacifica. Serious shoppers needed to go “over the hill.”
The tidepools at Moss Beach were well known by teachers and scientists and other aficionados who would come down to enjoy the beach and reef. Most came to pick abalone (abalone were still easy to get), to fish or pole for eel. However, the public’s use of the area became totally unfettered. Marine life harvesting was rampant— people carried out buckets filled with sea stars to dry and use as decorations, collected shellfish for food, and took home living souvenirs to display in aquariums. Vandalism was equally pervasive with the rest rooms being regularly damaged and even firebombed on occasion. Motorcyclists used Strawberry Hill and the beach as a motocross course. Unsupervised school field trips visited the tidepools daily. In those days it was not unusual to have a couple dozen school buses parked in the area.
In the mid-1960s, local resident Cecelia Goldthorpe championed efforts to protect the natural beauty surrounding her home by enlisting the help of long-time San Mateo County Supervisor James V. Fitzgerald. In 1969 the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, led by Fitzgerald, passed a bill officially designating the Moss Beach tidepool area as a State Marine Life Refuge. In November Bob Breen became the first supervising naturalist.
Bob had great natural skills and his quiet unassuming nature made him quite approachable. He also had a great mind for facts and faces. He would approach repeat visitors to find out their interests. This soon became a plan in which people who truly appreciated the park could share their experiences with the public as trained naturalists.
1971: The Reserve’s Naturalist Training Program, Seashore Docents
Bob initiated a first-of-its-kind public education program to meet the need to preserve and protect the reserve for future generations. Bob saw the opportunity to turn the school field trips into less disruptive, meaningful lessons about ecology and stewardship. But he needed help. So he collaborated with Virginia (“Ginny”) Welch, a longtime volunteer with Coyote Point Park, Filoli, and the Girl Scouts, to form a band of volunteer “Seashore Docents” to supervise the field trips. While Bob undertook the task of teaching the new docents about marine biology, the reserve, and how to guide school groups, Ginny handled the organizational and administrative needs of the band. Under their guidance field trips were transformed from search and unintended destroy missions into exciting lessons in marine ecology and ocean stewardship.
Friends of Fitzgerald Marine Life Refuge
In 1985 the Seashore Docents formally organized and incorporated as the Friends of Fitzgerald Marine Life Refuge. Since 1972 there have been naturalist trainings sessions almost every year, held first at Sanchez Adobe in Pacifica, then at Coyote Point Museum, next at Oceanshore Depot in Half Moon Bay and currently in Moss Beach. In 50 years 100s of naturalists have been trained and participated in protecting the treasure that is the tidepools of Fitzgerald Marine Reserve.
The first Junior Rangers Program began in 1987 and continues to be a popular summer activity and learning experience for hundreds of students.
A number of special Night Tidepooling Adventures have been held over the years to popular acclaim.
In 1995 Bob began an advanced placement class in biology and intertidal interpretation at Half Moon Bay High School which continues today as programs in Marine Biology and Marine Ecology.
The Between the Tides newsletter began publication in 1988. Communication to the public of activities and information is essential to the preservation of the reserve.
Protection of the Tidepools Needed to Expand
As his research on FMR problems continued, Bob Breen realized that many of the problems could only be solved on a regional or global level. Fish and shellfish were being taken at an unsustainable level. Unless something was done, there would be a total collapse of the California fishery.
In 1999 California enacted the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA). That Act contemplated the establishment of a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) along the entire length of the California coast.
In order to be a credible participant in the process of implementing the MLPA Bob felt he needed more academic credentials. Thus, at 64 he went back to school and earned a Masters Degree in Marine Biology. His knowledge and communication skills were called upon to get commercial and sport fishermen at the table with scientists and environmentalists.
The MPAs along the San Mateo Coast became effective on May 1, 2010. The Fitzgerald Marine Reserve now lies within the Montara State Marine Reserve and the Pillar Point Sate Marine Conservation Area. The protection extends seaward three nautical miles from the mean high tide line. State Marine Reserves are given the highest level of protection by the MLPA, and no living, geological, or cultural marine resource may be taken from them.
Moving Forward
While our mission statement hasn’t changed in 50 years, our appreciation for what we have grows. Our ability to educate the public hasn’t stopped at the shoreline. We are working at ways to improve access to underserved communities. In addition, we are looking at ways to help people appreciate the parkland by making information on plant life, history and geology available to the public. Furthermore, we are reaching out to help other communities develop their own volunteer naturalist training program.
We will still be out at the tidepools to help people find or identify a marine critter, but we might point out how environmental conditions might affect our harbor seals, or point out effects of coastal erosion or evidence of sea rise and the warming of coastal waters. Our commitment to work on ways to address both new and ongoing problems by developing skills to address them is the core of our focus.