Land Ownership and Jurisdictional Setting

A complex tapestry of land ownership and overlapping regulatory jurisdictions exist for both land and ocean in the SBC-LTER region (see map at right). Watershed lands are under public and private ownership. Public lands in the SBC-LTER include National Parks, National Forest and Wilderness areas, State Parks, County Parks and University of California Natural Reserves. A large amount of coastal land is under U.S. military jurisdiction, particularly north of Point Conception where a major base is located. Private landowners include large ranches and corporations, coastal conservancies, homeowners and small businesses.

In the ocean, California state waters extend 3 miles offshore of the mainland and the northern Channel Islands. The Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary (http://channelislands.noaa.gov) surrounds the northern Channel Islands and includes ocean waters out to a distance of 6 nautical miles from the islands. Channel Islands National Park (http://www.nps.gov/chis) includes the islands and waters out to 1 nautical mile offshore and the Channel Islands International Biosphere Reserve (http://www.unesco.org/mab/BRs.shtml) encompasses both the National Marine Sanctuary and National Park.