In August 2005, the Statewide CCA Committee selected one Pilot CCA in each of the four regions of the coast, and one within San Francisco Bay. Beginning with the five Pilot CCAs, the CCA Program will form teams of local stakeholder (watershed groups, special interest organizations, and community members) and government agencies (state, federal, and local) to develop community-based NPS Watershed Assessment and Action Plans for addressing polluted runoff that threatens coastal resources within these CCAs.

The NPS Watershed Assessment and Action Plan will integrate and build on existing local watershed protection and restoration efforts, identify needs and available resources, focus the attention of responsible agencies, and coordinate with other relevant water quality protection programs.

This page will provide information on the development of the NPS Watershed Assessments and Action Plans developed by each Pilot CCA. The lessons learned from these Pilot projects will be applied to CCAs throughout the coast.

CCA Priority List

In 2004, the Statewide CCA Committee developed a list of Priority Critical Coastal Areas, where the Committee deemed that water quality would benefit most from CCA Action Plan development and implementation. Criteria used to prioritize the CCAs included current water quality conditions, resource value and sensitivity, new or expanding threats to beneficial uses of the watershed, and practicality concerns such as degree of local support and likelihood of success.

The Committee considered the Priority CCAs first for Pilot selection and for grant funding recommendations. The Priority List will be updated as the Committee gains knowledge about the CCAs.

View CCA Priority List (click here)

Pilot CCAs Selected, August 2005

Five Pilot CCAs have been selected for CCA Action Plan development and implementation:

1. North Coast: Kelp Beds at Trinidad Head CCA (fact sheet)
2. San Francisco Bay Area: James V. Fitzgerald Marine Reserve CCA (fact sheet)
3. Within San Francisco Bay: Sonoma Creek CCA (fact sheet)
4. Central Coast: Watsonville Slough CCA (fact sheet)
5. South Coast: Combination of Newport Beach Marine Life Refuge (fact sheet), Irvine Coast Marine Life Refuge (fact sheet), Heisler Park Ecological Reserve (fact sheet), and Upper Newport Bay CCAs (fact sheet)