Vandenberg State Marine Reserve (SMR) is a

marine protected area Marine protected areas (MPA) are protected areas of seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity for a conse ...

located offshore of

Vandenberg Air Force Base Vandenberg may refer to: * Vandenberg (surname), including a list of people with the name * USNS ''General Hoyt S. Vandenberg'' (T-AGM-10), transport ship in the United States Navy, sank as an artificial reef in Key West, Florida * Vandenberg Sp ...

, near the city of

Lompoc Lompoc ( ; Chumash: ''Lum Poc'') is a city in Santa Barbara County, California. Located on the Central Coast, Lompoc has a population of 43,834 as of July 2021. Lompoc has been inhabited for thousands of years by the Chumash people, who called ...

on California's central coast. The marine protected area covers . Vandenberg SMR protects all marine life within its boundaries. Fishing and take of all living marine resources is prohibited.

History

Vandenberg SMR was established in September 2007 by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. It was one of 29 marine protected areas adopted during the first phase of the

Marine Life Protection Act The Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) was passed in 1999 and is part of the California Fish and Game Code. The MLPA requires California to reevaluate all existing marine protected areas (MPAs) and potentially design new MPAs that together form a ...

Initiative. The Marine Life Protection Act Initiative (MLPAI) is a collaborative public process to create a statewide network of marine protected areas along the California coastline.

Geography and natural features

This marine protected area is bounded by the mean high tide line and straight lines connecting the following points in the order listed: 34° 44.65' N. lat. 120° 37.75' W. long.; 34° 44.65' N. lat. 120° 40.00' W. long.; 34° 33.25' N. lat. 120° 40.00' W. long.; and 34° 33.25' N. lat. 120° 37.25' W. long.

Habitat and wildlife

The Vandenberg area contains representative reef and sandy habitat as well as rocky cliffs that provide critical nesting habitat for guillemots, cormorants, and oystercatchers, and other seabirds. Forage studies in this area have documented a wide range of fish and invertebrate species associated with reef and sandy bottom habitats as well as the interactions between these prey species and seabirds and marine mammals using this area.

Recreation and nearby attractions

To the north of Vandenberg SMR is

Point Sal State Beach Point Sal State Beach is a beach on the Pacific coast of California, located near the city of Guadalupe, in the northwestern part of Santa Barbara County. There are approximately of property with of ocean frontage. The rocks around the headland ...

, an park with 1 ½ miles of oceanfront. To the south is

Gaviota State Park Gaviota State Park is a state park of California, United States. It is located in southern Santa Barbara County, California, about west of the city of Santa Barbara. One of three state parks along the Gaviota Coast, it extends from the Pacif ...

, a popular place for swimming, fishing and camping. California's marine protected areas encourage recreational and educational uses of the ocean. Activities such as kayaking, diving, snorkeling, and swimming are allowed unless otherwise restricted.

Scientific monitoring

As specified by the Marine Life Protection Act, select marine protected areas along California's central coast are being monitored by scientists to track their effectiveness and learn more about ocean health. Similar studies in marine protected areas located off of the Santa Barbara Channel Islands have already detected gradual improvements in fish size and number. Local scientific and educational institutions involved in the monitoring include Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station, University of California Santa Cruz, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Research methods include hook-and-line sampling, intertidal and scuba diver surveys, and the use of Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) submarines.

References

External links

California MPAsMarine Life Protection Act InitiativeCalOceansPoint Sal State BeachGaviota State Park
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vandenberg State Marine Reserve (Smr) Marine sanctuaries in California California Department of Fish and Wildlife areas Protected areas of Santa Barbara County, California Vandenberg Space Force Base Protected areas established in 2007 2007 establishments in California