Complete list of press releases

“President Obama’s decision to lead from the White House in a new national effort to reduce carbon pollution is a crucial step in the fight against climate change.

“As the president made clear, it is urgent that we develop a comprehensive solution to climate change. The sensible first steps he proposed tonight will be historic, and will build on powerful work at the state and local levels. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the president has the authority and the duty to get started. Ultimately, though, we’ll need even bolder action from Congress in order to shift America to a clean energy economy and prevent the worst impacts of climate change.

“Solving climate change is not just part of our responsibility to leave a better world to our children and grandchildren. It is essential to protect Americans right now – by helping farmers and ranchers cope with drought, cities brace for more damaging storms, and children and the elderly avoid rising health risks.

“By taking action to address climate change, President Obama will secure his environmental legacy and help create a cleaner, healthier and safer America. I commend the president for his leadership tonight.”

• Fred Krupp, President of Environmental Defense Fund 

(COLUMBUS, OH – February 8, 2013) Environmental Defense Fund commends Ohio Governor John Kasich’s administration for the swift and decisive action taken yesterday against D&L Energy and Hardrock Excavating. After reports that these operators were dumping oilfield waste into a storm sewer that empties into the Mahoning River watershed, regulators quickly took steps to confirm the reports, start clean-up operations and initiate permanent revocation of operating permits. Credit goes to Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director Jim Zehringer, Oil and Gas Division Chief Rick Simmers and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Director Scott Nally. If proceedings prove these companies violated the law, permanent revocation of operating permits will be entirely appropriate. Gross violations of public trust should be met with zero tolerance.

(Washington D.C. – Feb 7, 2013) Today, the Alliance Commission on National Energy Efficiency Policy released a report with recommendations that would put the U.S. on a path towards doubling its energy productivity by 2030. The Commission, convened by the Alliance to Save Energy, is a diverse coalition of energy leaders that includes representatives from energy utilities, academia, industry and environmental groups.  Fred Krupp, President of Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), serves on the Commission.  The Commission found that a doubling of energy productivity (or obtaining twice as much output from the energy we use) would reduce U.S. carbon dioxide pollution to four billion tons per year by 2030, which is 33 percent below 2005 levels. The report is available at energy2030.org.

“The Alliance Commission’s recommendations are an innovative approach to greatly increasing our nation’s use of energy efficiency, which represents a huge – and largely untapped – opportunity,” said Fred Krupp, President of EDF.  “Reducing wasted energy through efficiency is a true win-win solution that cuts harmful pollution and saves people money on their energy bills.” 

(Washington – February 6, 2013) Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) President Fred Krupp released the following statement in response to President Obama’s announced intention to nominate Sally Jewell, president and CEO of Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI), as Secretary of the Interior:

 “Sally Jewell offers a unique perspective on conservation in America, with both outdoors and energy credentials. She will bring to the job an inspiring mix of engineering, finance, recreation and conservation expertise. We look forward to working with her to continue the department’s work in developing renewable energy, restoring the Gulf Coast, and creating new tools to manage endangered species, such as those that reward landowners for restoring habitat.”

(WOODWARD, Okla.—February 5, 2013) Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) conducted the first of four public hearings to obtain comments on the Service’s proposal to list the lesser prairie chicken as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. A spokesperson from Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) attended the initial meeting in Woodward, Okla., to speak on behalf of David Wolfe, EDF’s Texas Regional Wildlife Director. Wolfe provided the following statement:

“Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)’s guiding principle is ‘finding the ways that work,’ and that’s what we’re hopeful we can accomplish for the lesser prairie chicken in the coming months.

“Our solution, known as Wildlife Habitat Exchanges, works by offering ranchers and farmers the opportunity to voluntarily create and maintain vital lesser prairie chicken habitat. Energy companies and other developers pay the landowners for this ‘mitigation service’ in order to meet their obligations to offset wildlife impacts.

“With an energy boom in the West, Wildlife Habitat Exchanges allow for responsible oil, gas, wind and other development to continue while also contributing measurable conservation benefits for wildlife. EDF is already speaking to energy developers, farmers and ranchers, and we believe that together we can create positive results for everyone. To guarantee these results, EDF and our energy, agriculture and conservation partners are building this exchange tool with the best available science in mind. This ensures that farmers and ranchers are providing mitigation services truly valuable for species recovery.

“Wildlife Habitat Exchanges give farmers and ranchers another revenue stream, making habitat services another commodity provided by the agriculture community, since many of their operations are compatible with the habitat needs of the lesser prairie chicken.

“It’s critical that lesser prairie chicken mitigation be done in partnership with these private landowners, as most of the bird’s remaining habitat is on private lands.

“We’ve seen this type of exchange program work in Texas at the Fort Hood Army base where neighboring ranchers contributed to growing populations of golden cheeked warblers.  A similar tool was adopted by your agency for the dunes sagebrush lizard in Texas.

“We are confident that this solution can work for the lesser prairie chicken and put the bird on a positive trajectory in the short timeframe that we have. But we need to all be working together if we are going to achieve our common goals. Wildlife Habitat Exchanges already work in concert with landscape scale conservation plans, such as the five-state plan under development for the lesser prairie chicken. 

“By supporting this approach, you can help turn a potentially contentious political battle into a positive framework for wildlife recovery and economic prosperity.

“We are excited about the potential for these exchanges to provide a new, fast and cost-effective framework for conservation in America, starting here in Oklahoma.”

(Washington, D.C. – February 5, 2013) Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) is deeply disappointed in a new letter from five U.S. senators asking the President to stop a proposal to update passenger vehicle emissions and fuel standards (commonly referred to as Tier 3) before the American public has even had an opportunity to see and comment on the proposal.

“We think the senators are just wrong on this one,” said EDF’s Mark MacLeod. “These new standards — supported by both the auto industry and the American Lung Association — will cut smog, soot, and other dangerous pollutants at a low cost. It’s time to move forward with this rule to protect the health of all Americans, especially children, the elderly, and those with asthma.”

Updating vehicle emissions and fuel standards will help protect public health, provide greater regulatory certainty for the automobile industry, and create jobs in refineries. 

“It’s no wonder that state health commissioners, the automobile industry, and health advocates have all come together to support this effort,” MacLeod added.

In fact, the auto industry has already publicly embraced the goals of Tier 3. Mitch Bainwol, president of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, recently told Automotive News, “We’d like to see lower sulfur. That’s important to meeting the goal of cleaner emissions … We’re going to be pushing that in Washington.”

Contrary to the senators’ letter, the health benefits of Tier 3 are well understood. More than one in three Americans lives in an area where air pollutant levels exceed at least one of the health-based National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Also, passenger vehicles remain the second largest emitters of oxides of nitrogen and volatile organic compounds in the U.S.; those are the primary pollutants that form ozone. Passenger vehicles also emit more than half of all carbon monoxide pollution, and contribute significantly to lethal particulate matter emissions. 

According to a National Association of Clean Air Agencies (NACAA) study, updating the standards for passenger vehicles has the potential to cut motor vehicle emissions of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and volatile organic compounds by 29, 38 and 26 percent respectively.

“These vital health protections will be achieved at an extremely modest cost; the additional cost to consumers of the cleaner gasoline would be less than a penny a gallon,” said MacLeod. 

A study by Navigant Economics stated that these health benefits have an estimated value of $5 to $6 billion annually by 2020, and $10 to $11 billion annually by 2030.

Updating our national standards for fuel and vehicles would establish a harmonized national market for cars and small trucks. Timely finalization of the standards would allow manufacturers to efficiently align technology upgrades with the landmark fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions standards for cars and trucks that have already been adopted. Furthermore, once American manufacturers tool up to meet U.S. standards, we can turn to exporting our products around the world.

Manufacturers of emissions control equipment stand ready to manufacture the equipment that will reduce vehicle emissions – and will do so while creating jobs here in America. In 2010 alone, the industry generated $12 billion of economic activity and accounted for 65,000 U.S. jobs, mostly in manufacturing. They have provided the technology to meet every emissions reduction goal ever set, and will do so again. 

The Navigant study also estimated that implementation of the cleaner fuel standard will create more than 5,300 permanent jobs in the operation and maintenance of new refining equipment, as well as more than 24,000 new jobs over a three year period for equipment installation at the nation’s refineries. 

(Washington, D.C. – February 5, 2013) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) newly-released and expanded database on greenhouse gas emissions will be crucial for America’s efforts to reduce the pollution that’s linked to climate change, according to Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).

For the second year in row, the data shows that coal-fired power plants are the single largest source of carbon pollution in America.  And, for the first time, methane data was released for some major sources such as oil and gas.  

“This new data will provide Americans with important information about the climate-disrupting pollution that’s being emitted by large industrial sources in our communities,” said EDF’s Peter Zalzal. “This vital new information is a call to action for America to work together in deploying innovative solutions to address the carbon pollution from power plants and methane from oil and gas development activities.”

EPA unveiled the 2011 data on America’s largest industrial emitters today, through its user-friendly website. Collectively, the database tracks the sources of billions of tons of climate disrupting pollution.

EPA’s database is part of a program signed into law by President Bush in 2007. This year’s data covers more than 8,000 industrial sources that emit 25,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent or more per year. (Churches, homes, cattle, and other small sources are not covered under the program.)

For the first time this year, EPA’s database includes information on methane emissions from large sources like the oil and natural gas sector. Methane is a “climate accelerant” – a potent greenhouse gas that has an intensified impact on the climate. Today’s new data will provide insights into methane emissions industry-wide, which can help policymakers, as well as oil and gas operators, identify cost-effective opportunities to reduce pollution and prevent the waste of a valuable domestic energy source.

EPA’s website allows all Americans to search and sort emissions information by geographic area and industry sector, to compare emissions among facilities, and to share the information using social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter. That means Americans can find out the biggest pollution sources near their hometowns. It also means that companies, policymakers and investors can compare pollution levels at similar facilities – which can identify the companies that are leading the way in pollution reductions, and the effective strategies they’re using.

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Cambridge, Mass. (Jan. 31, 2013) — A study released today shows Ocean Spray Cranberries gained a 20 percent reduction in greenhouse gases on top of a 40 percent savings in transportation costs by making smart process changes to one of its primary transportation and distribution routes. The study, conducted by the Center for Transportation & Logistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT CTL), measured the sustainability improvements after Ocean Spray, a $2.2 billion agricultural cooperative and household-name fruit juice and food manufacturer, opened a new distribution center and partnered with a competitor to improve transportation efficiency.

Ocean Spray’s first process change to reduce transportation costs, shave delivery distances and, ultimately, trim emissions, was to open a new distribution center in Florida, bringing product supply closer to demand. The company was looking for a more cost-efficient and environmentally sustainable way to transport finished products to the new distribution center, when they learned of a competing juice company’s New Jersey to Florida backhaul opportunity. Ocean Spray investigated whether it was possible to fill the competitor’s vacant railcars with Ocean Spray product already headed in that direction by truck.

Taking advantage of the backhaul opportunity involved working with a logistics partner as intermediary and coordinating shipments with each other’s schedules. With only a modest investment of time and money, Ocean Spray realized both financial and greenhouse gas emissions savings over a 12-month period:

• A shift of 80 percent of its freight traffic between New Jersey and Florida to a new rail route
• A 20 percent overall carbon footprint reduction in that lane
• An estimated 40 percent savings on transportation costs in that lane –about $200 per truckload
• A savings of 1,300 metric tons of carbon dioxide, a 68 percent reduction–contributing to the overall reduction of 20 percent identified by MIT–the equivalent to saving over 100,000 gallons of fuel

“We recognize the importance of managing our food and juice business in a way that advances our environmental sustainability performance. We needed a more efficient way to haul products south. Our competitor was spending money and energy moving empty railcars in that direction. It made good business sense for us to collaborate,” said Ken Romanzi, Ocean Spray’s Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, North America. “Ocean Spray has a history of innovative partnerships, and this case study shows how collaboration in freight operations can boost efficiency and identify opportunities for environmental benefits.”

“This is a great example of how a company can be driving savings to the bottom line and find they’ve improved sustainability at the same time,” said the report’s author, Dr. Edgar E. Blanco, Research Director at MIT CTL.

Companies regularly redesign their transportation networks to better serve their customers. These network adjustments usually translate into cost savings due to reduced mileage or the shifting of transportation modes. As the Ocean Spray case study demonstrates, such improvements also often result in significant CO2 emissions savings since they are related to the same drivers that reduce transportation costs: lower mileage and more fuel-efficient modes. Ocean Spray is so impressed with the overall benefits of logistics sustainability, it plans to include emissions reduction methodologies in future transport and distribution plans.

Jason Mathers, Senior Manager, Supply Chain Logistics at Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), which sponsored the study, said, “Ocean Spray has shown that concrete and measurable sustainability results can be found within projects that were previously identified for cost savings only. We encourage all companies who identify cost cutting opportunities within their logistics operations to also calculate potential emissions reductions to add greater overall value to their organizations.”

“Case Studies in Carbon-Efficient Logistics: Ocean Spray – Leveraging Distribution Network Redesign” can be downloaded here. EDF’s report on the study can be accessed here.  

(PHOENIX—January 31, 2013) Today, Aravaipa Creek was featured as the Arizona “River of the Month” in a year-long series celebrating the state’s rivers in honor of its centennial year. The short profile released today by five conservation groups is the eleventh in a year-long series and highlights the river’s ecology, geography, and use by the people who rely on it.

Aravaipa Creek originates 50 miles northeast of Tucson and flows westward, encompassing rugged terrain and a remote canyon. Its 10-mile long central canyon was designated a wilderness area in 1984 to preserve the secluded scenery and habitat. Today, The Nature Conservancy owns and protects the 9,000-acre Aravaipa Canyon Preserve on the east and west ends of the canyon.

Aravaipa Creek’s year-round flows and healthy riparian forest of cottonwood, willow, walnut, alder and sycamore trees provide 17 miles of habitat for a wide variety of species including one of the most diverse populations of native desert fishes remaining in Arizona. These include the endangered spikedace and loach minnow, as well as roundtail chub, speckled dace and desert sucker. More than 200 species of birds have also been observed along Aravaipa Creek, including the peregrine falcon, many hawk species and migratory songbirds.

Given the protected status of much of the Aravaipa watershed, human use of the creek centers around  recreational activities such as hiking and wildlife-watching, and also includes small amounts of groundwater pumping for farming and livestock grazing in privately owned areas of the watershed. 

 “This river is unique in its offering of relatively untrammeled wilderness,” say the conservation groups who created today’s profile. “Aravaipa Creek is a desert stream worth visiting and celebrating—and continuing to protect in order to preserve this unique Arizona place for generations to come.”

The River of the Month series profiles one of Arizona’s rivers each month. It is produced by Environmental Defense Fund, Grand Canyon Trust, Sierra Club, Sonoran Institute, and Western Resource Advocates, with technical assistance provided by the University of Arizona Water Resources Research Center. Previous profiles—starting with a feature of the iconic Colorado River—may be downloaded from Environmental Defense Fund, Sonoran Institute, or Western Resource Advocates, and interested groups and individuals may sign up here to receive a notification when a new profile is released.

(Washington – January 29, 2013) Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) applauds the nomination of U.S. Senator John Kerry as Secretary of State.

“Senator Kerry is a superbly qualified public servant who will bring to his new post a deep understanding of issues at the confluence of international diplomacy, national security, economic growth and environmental protection, along with a demonstrated willingness to lead on climate change — the signal environmental challenge of our time,” said EDF President Fred Krupp.

“President Obama’s decision to put climate change at the heart of his second-term opens the prospect for Secretary Kerry to push for real and measurable progress on climate change in a range of bilateral and multilateral forums,” Krupp said. “We look forward to the opportunity to work with Secretary Kerry and his team as they redouble America’s commitment to diplomatic leadership in confronting the climate challenge.”

(Washington, D.C. – January 24, 2013) Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied petitions for rehearing en banc of the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule – a historic pollution reduction measure that would have protected air quality for 240 million Americans across the Eastern United States and saved up to 34,000 lives each year. The rule was created by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the “good neighbor” protections of the Clean Air Act.  

“We urge EPA, states and cities alike to take corrective action and secure healthier, longer lives for millions of Americans,” said EDF General Counsel Vickie Patton. “The states and cities afflicted by power plant pollution can and should petition EPA under the nation’s clean air laws to safeguard the health of their citizens.”   

Earlier, on August 21st, a deeply divided three-judge panel of the court vacated and remanded the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule to EPA.

Three petitions were filed asking the full court for a rehearing. EDF — joined by the American Lung Association, Clean Air Council, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Sierra Club – filed one of the petitions in support of the Cross-State Rule. EPA also filed a petition, as did a coalition of 15 states and cities (North Carolina, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Baltimore, Bridgeport, Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.).

The Cross-State Air Pollution Rule would have reduced the sulfur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen pollution emitted from coal-fired power plants across 28 eastern states. Those emissions, and the resulting particulate pollution and ozone — more commonly known as soot and smog — drift across the borders of those states and contribute to dangerous, sometimes lethal, levels of pollution in downwind states.   

The Cross-State Air Pollution Rule would have reduced power plant sulfur dioxide emissions by 73 percent and oxides of nitrogen by 54 percent from 2005 levels. 

EPA issued the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule under the “good neighbor” protections of the Clean Air Act, which ensure that the emissions from one state’s power plants do not cause harmful pollution levels in neighboring states. While no one is immune to these impacts, children and the elderly in downwind states are especially vulnerable. 

EPA estimated the Cross-State Rule would have: 

• Saved up to 34,000 lives each year
• Prevented 15,000 heart attacks each year
• Prevented 400,000 asthma attacks each year
• Provided up to $280 billion in health benefits for America each year  

Judge Kavanaugh wrote the opinion of the court when the three-judge panel ruled in August, joined by Judge Griffith. (The court’s opinion expressly left in place the existing Clean Air Interstate Rule pending EPA’s further action.)

Judge Rogers vigorously dissented, arguing Judge Kavanaugh’s opinion represented a “trampling on this court’s precedent on which the Environmental Protection Agency (‘EPA’) was entitled to rely in developing the Transport Rule rather than be blindsided by arguments raised for the first time in this court.”  (from the Dissent Opinion at page 1)
 
Judge Rogers further explained, “The result is the endorsement of a ‘maximum delay’ strategy for regulated entities, rewarding States and industry for cloaking their objections throughout years of administrative rulemaking procedures and blindsiding the agency with both a collateral attack on its interpretation of section 110(a) and an objection raised for the first time in this court.” (from the Dissent Opinion at page 43).      

“I’m very happy to hear that Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressman Henry Waxman are creating a new task force to fight climate change. In his inaugural address, President Obama called on all of us to protect our children and future generations from the dangers of climate change. This task force, along with Senator Barbara Boxer’s recently announced “climate clearinghouse,” are important steps towards putting those words into action and reducing the pollution that endangers us. At EDF, we’re grateful to these lawmakers for their ongoing leadership on this critical issue, and we stand ready to help the task force however we can.”

• Fred Krupp, President of Environmental Defense Fund 

(New York, NY - Jan. 23, 2013)  Buy a more fuel-efficient car and you will drive it more. The ‘rebound effect’ is real, argue Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) economist Gernot Wagner and three colleagues in this week’s Nature, but it is too small to reverse energy savings entirely.

In Monday’s inaugural address, President Obama set a clear signal that climate change will be high up on his second-term agenda. He could do worse than look to energy efficiency measures as one area of focus. That will inevitably cause detractors to point to the ‘rebound effect’ as an excuse for inaction.

But the rebound effect is never an excuse for inaction argues Wagner together with Yale University’s Kenneth Gillingham, David Rapson at University of California, Davis, and Matthew J. Kotchen, currently on leave from Yale to serve as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Environment and Energy at U.S. Treasury.

“Energy inefficiency is never a good thing,” says Wagner. “Yes, more efficient cars are cheaper to use, so we drive a bit more. But that response is indeed small, and even that small response should be considered a net positive.”

The rebound effect comes in four forms, argue the authors. If a car is more efficient, people may drive more, or they may use the savings to buy other products that consume energy. Moreover, price drops due to reduced energy demand in one place may increase use elsewhere, and more efficient technologies may spur industrial growth, again leading to energy increase. From their own studies and others, the authors conclude that the rebound effect is usually small, 10% or less, and unlikely to exceed 60%. So even in the worst of circumstances, energy efficiency measures save energy overall.

“If anything,” says Wagner, “the existence of the rebound effect may prompt us to use even stricter energy efficiency standards. If you have an overall target in mind, and the rebound effect shaves off a bit, you ought to consider using a slightly stricter target to begin with.”

(SACRAMENTO, CA —January 23, 2013) Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) was awarded with the Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award for its sustainable fishing loan project, the California Fisheries Fund during a ceremony last night at the California Environmental Protection Agency headquarters. EDF was joined at the awards ceremony by fisherman Steve Fitz, a California Fisheries Fund loan recipient.  

“Increasingly, Americans want locally-caught and environmentally-sustainable seafood,” said Phoebe Higgins, Director of the California Fisheries Fund.  “Fishermen need financing to transition to more sustainable fishing practices. With the California Fisheries Fund, we’re supporting fishermen to improve the profitability and sustainability of their fishing operations.” 

At stake is California’s highly-valued ocean economy—worth $43 billion and contributing more than 474,000 jobs to the state, according to a 2010 study by the National Ocean Economics Program. Commercial fishing landings statewide peaked at over 900 million pounds in 1981 and by 2005 had declined to 297 million pounds due to overfishing and misguided regulation. As catches plummeted and fishing costs rose, banks in California were increasingly unwilling to extend loans to fishermen. The California Fisheries Fund was started in 2008 to help West Coast fisheries transition to sustainable and profitable fishing.

In 2011 a new sustainable fishing management program went into effect for more than 60 species of  West Coast “groundfish” – fish like sand dabs, sole, flounder and cod - that gives fishermen a secure quota share of the overall catch. The new system ‘righted the fishing management ship,’ giving fishermen the right to catch a certain amount of fish each year and the responsibility to not exceed it. Unlike the older management system, catch shares give fishermen a direct investment in the fish stock because as fish populations rebound, the value of their shares grows.

Environmental sustainability is improving under catch shares and with the help of the California Fisheries Fund, as a 2012 report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) cited a dramatic reduction in bycatch (unwanted fish or other marine life) and discards after catch shares implementation. Under the new catch share program, fishermen have time to fish more carefully and when weather and prices are best. As a result, they can bring in higher quality fish for a higher price. Statewide fisheries landings are improving in California, up to 438 million pounds in 2010, according to the latest numbers from the National Ocean Economics program. 

Fishermen need financing to switch to fishing vessels and gear that minimize habitat and fish damage and to target the most abundant species of fish and to avoid threatened species. The CFF makes loans available to fishermen who are a part of the groundfish catch share management program, as it provides confidence that the fisheries are being managed sustainably. Fishermen’s catch share quota can also be used as collateral for a California Fisheries Fund loan. 

The California Fisheries Fund has awarded 14 loans totaling nearly $1.7 million to 11 borrowers, providing fishermen with promising business opportunities to market fresh, local and sustainable seafood. Loans have been given to fishermen like Bill Blue in Morro Bay who used the funds to replace his more than 100 year old boat to make safer, more efficient trips to support employing his sons and improving his bottom line. Wild Planet Foods in McKinleyville, CA was also the recipient of a loan which it used to help process and market fresh, sustainable seafood. 

The most recent CFF loan was awarded a loan to Steve Fitz to catch groundfish in Half Moon Bay, California. With his California Fisheries Fund loan, Mr. Fitz was able to secure the extra financial assistance he needed to buy his uncle’s boat, the “Mr. Morgan,” and start his fishing business. The loan has not only helped Steve Fitz grow his business but also gave him the opportunity to continue his family tradition of having the only commercial fishing operation in the United States that uses Scottish Seine gear, an eco-friendly fishing technique that gently herds fish into the path of light-weight nets without dragging heavy and destructive gear on the ocean floor.  

“My loan from the California Fisheries Fund has benefitted me in several ways and for that I am grateful,” said Fitz. “It’s allowed me to purchase my boat, start my business, preserve my strong family fishing heritage, upgrade my fishing equipment and bring a higher quality and sustainable product to the dock.” 

The Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award (GEELA) pays tribute to individuals, organizations and business that have successfully achieved measurable environmental and economic outcomes in preserving the state’s natural resources through innovative partnerships. Award recipients are chosen in different categories based on their success in results, transferability/scalability, environmental conservation impact, economic progress, innovation and uniqueness, pollution prevention, public health and environmental justice.