Stand Up for the Protection of California’s coast
We need your help standing up for California’s coast.
The California Coastal Management Program (CCMP) is widely regarded as one of the world’s most successful examples of integrated coastal management. The federal government is conducting a new review of the CCMP that could put its federal certification and the coastal protections that depend on it at risk.
Tell NOAA that protecting California’s coast matters.
Submit a written comment by August 22 and tell the federal government: “Hands off the California coast.”
What’s Happening
The federal government has formally initiated a review of the California Coastal Management Program under the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA). The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) published a Federal Register notice announcing public meetings and inviting comments on the state’s oversight of offshore oil production, spaceport infrastructure, desalination, pipelines, and undersea cables.
California coastal communities joined Heal the Bay, Indigenous, State, and local leaders, as well as several local and state organizations, to speak up for a safe, clean coast for everyone. Watch the full press conference.
What’s at Stake
The review escalates ongoing federal-state conflicts over SpaceX rocket launches at Vandenberg Space Force Base, as well as the federal government’s plans to auction California’s coastal waters for offshore oil drilling and restart offshore oil production in the Santa Barbara Channel.
If NOAA finds the state out of compliance, the review could put California’s coastal permitting authority at risk, along with millions of dollars in annual federal funding for the California Coastal Commission, San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, and State Coastal Conservancy.
What You Can Do
Submit a written public comment to NOAA by August 22, 2026.
Email your comment to NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management at czma.california-evaluation@noaa.gov.
How to Write an Effective Comment
Use “Comments on Performance Evaluation of the California Coastal Management Program” as the subject line. Written comments received by 11:59 p.m. PT on August 22, 2026, will be accepted.
Consider including the following in your comment:
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Introduce yourself and, if applicable, the organization or community you represent.
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Describe what California’s coastal protections mean to you, your organization, or your community.
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Highlight an accomplishment of the California Coastal Management Program. This summary of the CCMP’s accomplishments over the past 50 years provides examples of coastal protections you may wish to discuss.
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Explain why the timing of this review is inappropriate. California’s Coastal Management Program was evaluated in 2024, and the evaluation found it was working as intended.
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Optional: Note that California has largely approved aerospace and space-launch-related projects, undersea fiber-optic cable projects, and offshore oil and gas projects—demonstrating that the state is not standing in the way of national priorities.
For more information on submitting your comment, see the Federal Register notice.
