Ocean Conservancy Photo Contest!

Ocean Conservancy, one of the non-profits I advocate for online, has a photo contest going on. If you have a photo of marine life or habitats enter, it's free! Go to their website to do that or just look at some of the pics already entered; they are wonderful! Here is mine:

It was shot from the deck of the Conception, which was the small sailing vessel from the Truth Aquatics fleet that the Sierra Club of Los Angeles went on to sail through the Channel Islands National Marine Life Park. It was an unforgettable 3 day cruise where we anchored offshore and took rubber rafts or kayaks onto shore to explore the islands. We had just begun our trip early in the morning when I looked back to where we had moored for the night and saw this wonderful shot!

It's Official! Executive Order Stewardship of our Oceans, Our Coasts and The Great Lakes!!

Mendocino Headlands State Park

I just finished a 3 day camping trip along the Northern California Coast and back through the Redwood coastal forests. It was a working vacation. I missed out on last year's work schedule for my business Starbell Enterprises to complete the scenes in the Federal Marine Life Sanctuaries. I wanted to add Muir Beach and Pt. Reyes National Seashore and focus on some of California State Parks. Also wanted to add The Wild coastal scenes to my new offline, offshore series of large paintings. Thirdly, I needed to get away from the city and population density.

Mission accomplished on all three points! My turnaround point was Mendocino Headlands State Park. I never take pictures of the coast but this was so breathtaking and something I probably won't paint that I snapped several. There was no camping here but not far is Van Damm State Park so that is where I stayed just across the highway from the beach so that the ocean's waves put me to sleep.

Just want to celebrate this long worked for event of the Ocean's Policy so many ocean's groups have supported, and it includes stewardship. AT LAST!! Thank you, Mr. President.

 

Ocean Conservation ~ 2009 is off to a great start!

President Bush's Blue Legacy

Wonderful news! President Bush is finishing his term in office by signing off on ocean conservancy. Like President Clinton and the roadless forests bill he signed as he left office, so Bush is preserving the last of the almost pristine Pacific ocean that has millions of seabirds, vast coral forests, teems with fishes and marine mammals. Click on the title or this link to read about it at ENN.

Several groups helped facilitate this win defeating overfishing and the killing of our beautiful Pacific Ocean. Two that I am affiliated with are The Pew Environment Group: Global Ocean Legacy and Environmental Defense Fund. Many people wrote and sent emails to express their support for ocean conservancy and in the end President Bush heard their voices. Thank you!