Costal Issues
Sea and Sage Audubon Society has worked to protect birds and their habitats along the Southern California Coast since our inception as a chapter in 1958. We helped build the first California Least Terns preserve in Huntington Beach and continue that important work today. We have worked tirelessly with others to protect places like the Bolsa Chica, the Santa Ana River Mouth, Newport Back Bay, the Randall Nature Preserve, and other critical natural habitats along our coast. The Conservation Committee participates regularly with California Coastal Protection Agencies including the California Coastal Commission, State Lands Commission, and Coastal Conservancy.
Protecting California’s Coast
Grown out of the 1972 citizen-led Proposition 20, the 1976 California Coastal Act celebrates 50 years of protecting the California Coast in 2026. The act helped establish the California Coastal Commission and other Coastal Protection Agencies and laws, protecting the state’s 1,200-mile- long coastline and natural resources while balancing development and conservation. For nearly 50 years the California Coastal Commission has balanced protection of our coast’s natural resources, natural beauty, and public access with enormous development pressures from every sector of society. We applaud the commission for all the work they do and their strong commitment to the public process.
“The coast is never saved. It’s always being saved.”
Peter Douglas (former Director of the California Coastal Commission and co-author of the 1976 California Coastal Act)
2026 NOAA Review of California Coastal Protection Program
(Adopted from the Surfrider Foundation) Prompted in part by the California Coastal Commission’s (CCC) protection of our coast through rejections of projects like expanded SpaceX launches and renewed offshore drilling, the Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, has determined that California’s Coastal Programs are, quote, “practicing extreme environmentalism”. Thus, he has asked the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to launch an unprecedented performance review of the California Coastal Management Programs, including CCC and Coastal Conservancy, to determine if the agencies are improperly obstructing national defense. This is a clear attempt to weaken the protections of our coast provided by the 1976 California Coastal Act, a law that has responsibly balanced coastal protection with national defense, oil exploration, and general development while protecting its precious natural resources and serving as a critical economic driver of California’s economy. On May 20, 2026, NOAA published a Federal Register notice formally kicking off the public input phase of its Section 312 performance evaluation.
What’s at Risk
If NOAA determines that California is out of compliance with Federal policies, the consequences could be devastating. Unfortunately, a poor review would be the predicate for challenging California’s federal consistency authority, which would negate California’s ability to object to Federal projects like offshore drilling in federal waters or building poorly planned desalination plants along the coast. It would cut the Commission’s ability to identify and mitigate coastal impacts before projects begin.
Additionally, the Secretary of Commerce could suspend federal financial assistance to the Coastal Commission, the State Coastal Conservancy, and other agencies.
Balanced Protection of the California Coast
The federal government has reviewed California’s Coastal Protection Program many times to ensure compliance with the national Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) (predecessor of the 1976 California Coastal Act), usually on average every 5-6 years, and California has always received high ratings from many different federal administrations. In fact, the last NOAA review was conducted in 2024, and the draft results were produced in 2025 and were positive. Still, the final version suspiciously got stuffed away and is not available for public review.
Since 1980, California has considered at least 135 aerospace and space launch-related projects and has objected to only two of them. The state has reviewed many offshore oil and gas projects and has consistently approved good projects while protecting coastal habitats. California’s Coastal Protection Program is operating exactly as the FZMA mandates and the Coastal Commission conducts itself to the highest standards, representing the citizens of California and national interests.
Responding to the Review
The Conservation Committee will provide written comments to NOAA on behalf of the chapter, supporting our Coastal Programs. We will work with other like-minded organizations and provide in-person testimony on August 10, 2026, in Santa Monica, and virtually August 11 & 12, 2026.
Everyone is welcome to attend and speak at the hearings, but space is limited. If you want to write a personal letter to NOAA supporting our coast, please provide your strong, but courteous comments and support for our coast to:
Email czma.california-evaluation@noaa.gov with “Comments on Performance Evaluation of the California Coastal Management Program” in the subject line. Deadline: August 22, 2026, 11:59 p.m. PT
Emphasize your personal connection to the coast, its beauty, and opportunities like sailing,
fishing, surfing, sunsets, birds, etc., and especially its economic importance and its impact on
California culture. And be sure to stress that you support the type of balanced development and natural resource protection that we have come to expect from agencies such as the California Coastal Commission.