A marine sanctuary could revitalize a post-Diablo Canyon economy

After reading of the need to build our local economy because of the loss of Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant (“When nuclear plants close, communities get little help for ailing economies,” Aug. 31), I recognized how excited this county should be for the possible and accepted proposal for the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary. Take a look north to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and south to the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary and see the research jobs, the tourist dollars, the visitor-directed enhancement and continued businesses related to ocean uses. The Monterey Bay sanctuary had about 25 science facilities with a combined annual budget of more than $200 million in 2004.

We have this challenge to create countywide support for the diversified habitat that our local ocean deserves. There are many reasons for this sanctuary and there are many unique and significant coastal features and ecosystems off the Central Coast. The proposed sanctuary contains areas where north/south and east/west wind and ocean currents meet, making it ideal for studying climate change. The NOAA application and the full proposal can be found on www.chumashsanctuary.com, where you can also add your name (or company name) to support us.

This note is for our hotel hospitality industry. Recognize our efforts and send us a note of support. We are seeing an additional research industry in the sanctuary that will bring more employment as Diablo Canyon leaves the area.

This story was originally published September 21, 2016 at 7:44 PM with the headline "A marine sanctuary could revitalize a post-Diablo Canyon economy."