Marine Protected Area Statewide Leadership Team Work Plan

The Leadership Team develops three-year work plans to set shared priorities and guide their partnership efforts related to the MPA Management Program, which includes: Outreach & Education; Research & Monitoring; Enforcement & Compliance; and Policy & Permitting. The inaugural Work Plan (2015–2018) was endorsed by the Fish and Game Commission and the Ocean Protection Council in 2015. The Leadership Team has updated the work plan for Fiscal Years 18/19 – 20/21, and this update represents shared consensus priorities among the Leadership Team. These priorities have been developed based on foundational guidance documents such as the MLPA Master Plan 2016 and active dialogue among Leadership Team members, including formal and informal input from stakeholders.

The Leadership Team has identified the following focal areas as key to successful management of MPAs: Outreach and Education, Research and Monitoring, Enforcement and Compliance and Policy and Permitting. Active, sustained engagement in each of these focal areas is integral to achieve the goals of the Leadership Team. In practice, this means directing the work of the Leadership Team by identifying shared strategic priorities, key actions and outcomes. A key tool for this is the creation of a work plan that was identified as a key task in “The California Collaborative Approach: Marine Protected Areas Partnership Plan”1. The work plan covers a three year period beginning in 2015 and is a key tool in directing MPA management and holding members accountable for identified outcomes. This inaugural Work Plan (2015–2018) was adopted by the Fish and Game Commission and the Ocean Protection Council in 2015.