DO YOUR PART - Get a kayak angler on MLPA Stakeholder Group

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Your help is needed with the first significant test in the upcoming Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) process. This state law will close anywhere from 10 to 20 percent of our state waters. Obviously, the choice of which areas to close is critical. The wrong 20 percent – an unlikely outcome, but possible – would put us out of business.

Kayak anglers will only have a significant say in the matter if we earn a spot on the South Coast Regional Stakeholder’s Group. The RSG is responsible for collaboratively creating reserve network proposals that meet the standards of the law while minimizing impacts on current uses.

I’m submitting myself as a nominee representing the kayak fishing community. For those who don't know me, my name is Paul Lebowitz. I’m the inaugural director of the Kayak Fishing Association of California, a grassroots organization dedicated to preserve and expand kayak fishing opportunities across the entire state, but especially in Southern California, kayak fishing’s epicenter. I’m also a huge promoter of a sport that’s provided me incredible enjoyment over the past decade, becoming not only a lifestyle but a vocation. I write about the sport for Western Outdoor News and many other regional and national publications. In short, I love kayak fishing and I’m ready to devote countless hours to keeping our ocean access.

I’m asking for your help. Please send a letter, email, or phone call supporting my nomination to a couple of key decision makers: the Executive Director of the MLPA Initiative and the Director of the DFG. Their contact information and a sample letter are included below. Please personalize your letter – it will have more impact if you do.

Government contact info, links, and sample letters are available on the KFACA website: http://www.kfaca.org/rsg_nomination.htm

Thank-you,

Paul

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Time is growing short. If we don't get on the Stakeholder's Group, kayak anglers will be left out in the cold, with no expectation that other groups will protect our interests.

Please send a letter, email, or phone call supporting the nomination of KFACA DIRECTOR PAUL LEBOWITZ and KFACA DEPUTY DIRECTOR MJ KENNEDY to the Executive Director of the MLPA Initiative and the Director of the DFG. Letters from kayak fishing business owners are especially helpful. Please personalize your letter – it will have more impact if you do.

Government contact info, links, and sample letters are available on the KFACA website: http://www.kfaca.org/rsg_nomination.htm

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MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

MJ Kennedy and I will represent the kayak fishing community on the MLPA South Coast Regional Stakeholders Group.

The main reason we were selected among a group of government, institutional, and academic figures is the help and support of the people who paddle out to fish Southern California's rich ocean.

It was a near-run thing.

Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you for your trust and confidence. MJ and I will do our utmost to preserve kayak fishing access.

The work is only beginning. At critical times, we'll ask for more of your help.

We're here for you - never hesitate to contact us with questions and concerns.

Paul