On August 19th, a “Gaviota Coastal Forum” will be held in mid-Santa Barbara County, to present public-private ownership options for the Gaviota Coast.  The Forum is being held at the conclusion of the Public Comment period for the National Park Service Feasibility Study's Protection Strategies Worksheet, which ends September 1st.  The Forum is open to the public.

        Numerous land use experts have been invited to the Forum, to be held from  9AM- 5PM at the Rancho Santa Barbara Marriott in Buelton.  The Forum panels will focus upon three aspects of land use issues, facing the Gaviota Coast: Conservation-driven options, Land-owner driven options, and prospective government assistance in these two option areas. 

        In addition, organizations representing local landowners and advocacy groups have agreed to participate, by responding to the options presented by these panels.  The Forum will be moderated by Dan Dagget, author of Beyond the Rangeland Conflict, an exploration of how ranchers and environmentalists can find middle ground by working together. 

        The forum has also been scheduled to include comments by Assistant Secretary Lynn Scarlett of the Interior Department, which is the federal department that oversees the Park Service. 
       
        There will be no less than ninety minutes of question-and-answer periods for members of the public who attend.  Lunch will also be made available, on a room capacity basis, as part of this all day event.  A reduced cost lunch will be available for those who sign up on-line for the Forum, at  gaviotaforum@sbchamber.org.

        All comments during the Forum will be transcribed for inclusion in the Feasibility Study, as part of an agreement between the local Forum partners and the National Park Service.  The organizing partner of the event is the Business Resource Center of the Santa Barbara Chamber of Commerce, which contracted with the NPS to produce the event.  Participating partners include the Santa Barbara Farm Bureau and the Community Environmental Council. 

        “We feel very strongly that there should be strong local representation, as part of this federal Feasibility Study.  It could determine a key part of the future for our area,” said Don Stebbins, Director of the Business Resource Center.  Stebbins also noted that the Gaviota region, which extends from Isla Vista to Vanderburg Air Force Base and inland, has been called the largest undeveloped coastal region in California.
   
        Invited panelists include, by organization: Northwest Straits Initiative (Puget Sound, WA), the Sonoran Institute (Tucson), the California Rangeland Trust, the Nature Conservancy, and the Marin Agricultural Land Trust, as well leaders from the California Department of Conservation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Forest Service.
   
         For more information on the Gaviota Coastal Forum, visit the official Website for the event, at www.sbchamber.org/businessresourcecenter , where there is also a link to more information on the NPS Study. 

        Public attendance at the event is on a first-come-first-served basis, with seats  held until 9:30 a.m. for those who reply to the conference e-mailbox, at  gaviotaforum@sbchamber.org.