As a California nonprofit public benefit corporation, the immediate mission of the Cordell Marine Sanctuary Foundation (CMSF) is to support scientific research, education, and public awareness of the unique and vital Sanctuary area, including its past, present, and future. Our goal is to help conserve, protect, and enhance the Sanctuary’s marine environment and wildlife.
Our mission means little, however, if we disregard the social and historical context of our work. The research we support necessarily illuminates changes in the ocean, which can be largely driven by human-induced changes in climate, in myriad feedback loops. Climate change, which includes changes in sea levels, currents, temperatures, ecosystems, and fisheries, is projected to disproportionately and drastically affect lower-income communities of color, locally and around the world.
Irresponsible degradation and exploitation of the marine environment at least implicitly assume that there may be “sacrifice zones”, and that the people living in such zones or relying on those disappearing resources are dispensable. To the extent such changes in marine ecosystem health are avoidable, yet are not avoided, those who merely stand by are abetting another form of institutionalized racism and human exploitation.
Put another way, the work of CMSF necessarily encompasses the concept that marine ecosystem health is a human civil right, and a matter of social justice. Our work is about the health of our planet and all its people. Programs that research, identify, and educate about available measures to mitigate the impacts of deleterious changes in the marine environment are, for practical purposes, one way to challenge systemic, institutionalized inequity and racism.
We cannot ignore that racism is contrary to and erodes our mission. CMSF therefore stands in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, and with all those seeking to redress social injustice. Individually and organizationally, we commit to doing our part to recognize and dismantle the ill-effects of our own white privilege, and to build a more diverse and inclusive science, education, and conservation program. We endeavor to consider how our activities and actions might better serve to contribute to the diverse and equitable society that we want to live in, and which will better serve our mission.
The CMSF Board of Directors
What we do
We are an organization dedicated to supporting the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary. We believe that through research, education, and public awareness of this unique and vital area, the Sanctuary and its marine life can be protected for future generations to enjoy.
Our Mission
- Support scientific research conducted in the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary (CBNMS) and surrounding areas
- Support educational and outreach goals of CBNMS
- Increase public awareness of the CBNMS and its programs that include conserving, protecting, and enhancing the Sanctuary’s marine biological resources
- Support partnerships and a strong network between CBNMS and environmental organizations, citizens and agencies; and
- Other purposes as provided by the Board of Directors consistent with the California Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation law.
History of the Cordell Marine Sanctuary Foundation
The Cordell Marine Sanctuary Foundation was incorporated in 2008 by a group of dedicated individuals who saw a need to increase support and awareness of the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary (CBNMS). These three people, Joe Smith, Tom Lambert, and Doreen Gurrola realized that the research and education goals of the CBNMS staff could not be attained with the federal government funding levels at the time, so they started the Foundation to increase the public awareness of the ecological importance of the Cordell Bank, and support the efforts of the Sanctuary staff to protect this vital area off the Northern California coast. In 2010, the size of the CMSF Board was increased and since then CMSF has continued to support many CBNMS educational and research programs. CMSF presented a series of lectures in Sonoma and Marin counties to educate people about the richness of this unique marine environment. The Cordell Marine Sanctuary Foundation continues its important role in supporting the research, education, and protection of this unseen wonder, just offshore.