I am delighted to inform you that, moments ago, the California Coastal Commission approved UCSC's Coastal Long Range Development Plan. This is very exciting news for our faculty, staff, and students-and for our campus, which for decades has contributed to the field of marine sciences through the educational and research activities at Long Marine Laboratory.
Creating the potential for expansion of those activities is a very positive development for the Santa Cruz community and Central Coast region. The people who live and work in this part of the state have an obvious interest in research and education that adds to our understanding of the coastline and guides the preservation of this special environment.
I want to express my sincere thanks to the members of the Coastal Commission and their staff, whose collaborative discussions with our campus representatives over many years produced a plan that expands public access to that area and lays the foundation for restoring more than 70 percent of the 100-acre site to its native condition.
Many people on campus also deserve our thanks. Institute of Marine Sciences director Gary Griggs and Long Marine Lab staff have championed this plan since the CLRDP process began almost a decade ago. Vice Chancellor Tom Vani and his planning staff also deserve our appreciation for all that they have accomplished on this project.
And finally, I would like to thank the many off-campus people whose support of our plan was crucial to its passage. These people include U.S. Representative Sam Farr and Monterey Bay Aquarium executive director (and UCSC alumna) Julie Packard. And they include Santa Cruz County Treasurer (and former Assemblymember) Fred Keeley, who supported the plan at today's hearing in San Francisco.
In light of today's Coastal Commission approval, I invite you to read more about our Coastal LRDP through a press release that our Public Information Office is distributing this afternoon: press.ucsc.edu/text.asp?pid=1804.
