California’s coastline is one of the nation’s greatest conservation success stories. From recovering sea otters and nesting snowy plovers to migrating gray whales and the vibrant national marine sanctuaries that many species call home, generations of Californians have fought to protect the wildlife and places that make this coastline extraordinary.Few may realize these conservation successes are made possible, in part, by a little-known but critically important federal law: the Coastal Zone Management Act.For more than 50 years, the act has given California and other coastal states a meaningful voice in federal decisions affecting their shorelines. Through the law’s federal consistency program, California works with federal agencies and project proponents to ensure that offshore drilling proposals, pipelines, ports and other federally authorized activities are consistent with the state’s coastal policies.Contrary to the perception that California simply says “no” to any coastal development, the overwhelming majority of projects reviewed under the program ultimately move forward. Critical work happens behind the scenes when California state agencies negotiate changes that reduce harm to wildlife, protect coastal communities and improve projects before they are approved.The partnership has restored more than 100,000 acres of habitat, from kelp forests and estuaries to coastal dunes. It has removed over 26 million pounds of trash from beaches and waterways and given Californians a voice in decisions affecting their shoreline.Now, that partnership faces its greatest threat.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is conducting a premature, out-of-cycle review years before its typical 10-year schedule and before the previous review has even concluded. On paper, it may look routine. It is anything but. If a review results in decertification of California’s coastal management program, it could mean the state loses its strongest tool to resist federal actions over harmful decisions affecting the coastline’s prosperity.So why is the federal agency pursuing a review now?The timing is difficult to ignore. It follows the California Coastal Commission’s rejection of Elon Musk and SpaceX’s 2025 proposal to expand rocket launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base and comes as the Trump administration plans to advance a draft leasing program that could reopen California’s federal waters to oil and gas drilling for the first time in more than four decades. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has said the review is meant to ensure California gives “proper weight” to federal priorities and to prevent what he called “obstructionist policies that delay critical national infrastructure.”What does this mean for Californians and residents of other coastal states? It means that our voices could be silenced.Now is the time to speak up for our wildlife, communities and coastal economies that depend on it as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is accepting public comments through Aug. 22.Keep Reading
