Oregon has none. Neither does Alaska. Or New York. There are only 12 National Marine Sanctuaries in the country--one in Hawaii, one in Florida, another in Texas, one in Massachusetts, one in Washington state and the others scattered afar. Except along the coast of California. Here, four sanctuaries are clustered, including the largest of them all.
Little-known cousins of the national parks and national forests, marine sanctuaries arose during the last quarter-century to mark shorelines and waters dear to America. Of the entire system, almost half of the surface area lies off California's midsection, a prolific seascape cut by canyons and foothills, swept by great oceanic rivers, home to vast underwater forests, patrolled by great white sharks, visited by whales.
On paper, the 1972 act establishing the sanctuaries is the federal government's promise of protection and stewardship of these coastal oceans. In practice, they have delivered less.
But a tide of change is tugging at the ankles of the sanctuary system. The Clinton administration has pledged to advance the cause of oceanic conservation. Sanctuaries, remodeled and energized, are supposed to be the cornerstone.
One by one, the sanctuaries are lining up to remake themselves. Some have already begun searching for consensus among the overlapping maze of agencies, communities, industries and individuals that have claims on the coastal ocean. Other sanctuaries are preparing to begin the process. The question driving them: What should sanctuaries be? Or, put differently: What can they be in an age when public suspicion of federal authority runs high and conservation is regarded as a roadblock to prosperity?
On Monday, The Times began a profile of California's coastal treasures with a visit to the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, off Ventura and Santa Barbara. Today, the journey moves north.
In full glory, nature sometimes inspires comparison with the divine. The redwood forests of the North Coast and sequoias of the Sierra evoke the majesty of cathedrals--where the play of sunlight against stillness amid towering spaces stifles the human ego and lifts its spirit.
Another forest does the same, evermore plentiful in California although never as easy to reach.
