A group of folks in 2023 who volunteered at The Cloisters during regular beach and waterway cleanup days put on by the Morro Bay National Estuary Program.
Photos by the Morro Bay National Estuary Program
Story by Judy Salamacha
“Morro Bay is a national treasure, providing habitat for an incredible diversity of species. It is also our home and the core of our community. The Morro Bay National Estuary Program continually leads and organizes the efforts of our residents to protect the bay for all the species that use it, including local citizens. Because of these efforts, the bay is accessible, cleaner, healthier, and more protected,” states Ethan Bell, senior aquatic ecologist at Stillwater Sciences the nonprofit’s informative website at www.mbnep.org.
Back in the 1980s local scientist Dava Paradies was the first president of the Friends of the Estuary at Morro Bay. The Friends became aware of a new federal program that would help create national recognition and potential funding to maintain continued pristine waterways in our area. They applied to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) to be federally recognized as a National Estuary Network. It took a second application and the group’s diligence was rewarded. One could say the Estero Bay was at the right place at the right time with the right volunteers! The EPA estuary recognition program would close forevermore after the second year to future applicants. For the last 30 years Morro Bay has had an interactive program with partial funding helping it keep our waterways environmentally protected.
Recently I met with Forest Lurz, the program’s education & outreach coordinator at MBNEP’s office and public display area upstairs in Morro Bay at 601 Embarcadero Suite 11. He announced that on Monday, October 12 at the Morro Bay Theater their organization is collaborating with the Morro Bay Maritime Museum to tell the original MBNEP story how these forward-thinking “Friends” essentially protected and saved our Estero Bay waterways. This documentary film, “Of Marshes and Morro,” was directed and co-written by Simo and Carol Nylander with additional filming provided by Andy Kulikowski and Tom Wilmer, who narrates the story. Doors open at 5 p.m., film begins at 5:30 and is a fundraiser for the Morro Bay Maritime Museum. The donation is $15.
Note: A second film will be shown called “Speara” about Mitsuki, a woman who left Japan at 16 and by age 26 became a world champion spear fisherwoman while working as a chef and living in California. The film directed by Florian Baron has stunning underwater action photography.
Forest plans to have a table display of the many programs currently operated by the MBNEP. He explained, “Every three years we are required to assess our programs. We will have free brochures of the State of the Bay 2026 available. Recently, we presented to the Morro Bay City Council the outcome of our assessment.”
sediment monitoring.
The full color brochure pictures staff and volunteers in recognizable locations throughout our estuary. Discover the answers to the following questions: Is water in the creeks and bay clean enough for aquatic life? Does Morro Bay support healthy eelgrass beds? Is Morro Bay safe for swimming? Is the bay clean enough to support commercial shellfish farming? What about the population of steelhead? How stable is our land for our bird population? How are the bay and creeks impacted by accelerated sedimentation?
And based on weather warnings about this coming winter’s storms, we all should be concerned and relieved that Morro Bay has a strong MBNEP staff and Friends group in place to monitor and create solutions if predictions for an El Nino winter cause havoc.
MBNEP has several ongoing programs we all should investigate, possibly volunteer time, or maybe consider one of the programs in your annual giving support. It’s all about sustaining our pristine waterways. Forest said, “We are one of the smallest NEPs, but have been able to support one of the largest staffs and volunteer corps focused monitoring our environment daily. We are not a federal agency, so we can’t regulate so we depend on our volunteers for support.”
Many of the volunteers are members of other organizations MBNEP partners with. For example, besides participating in the upcoming film presentations at the Bay Theater, Forest participated in a full day of interactive programs geared to teach elementary school children about caring for the estuary at this summer’s Morro Bay Maritime Museum’s summer STEM sessions. Forest will also be at MBMM’s upcoming Family Fun Day on Sunday, October 25.
Forest and other staff members are available to do presentations and offer field trips on land and boat tours on the bay. For example, if your group is interested in the history and geology of Morro Rock as well as a boat trip on the bay, contact Forest at 805.772-3834.
MBNEP staff will also partner with the Morro Bay Triathlon held at Morro Bay’s Beach between Morro Rock and Cayucos on November 1. They hold regular beach and waterway clean up days. Forest noted, “EcoSLO hosted the Coastal Clean-up Day on September 19 and MBNEP also hosts clean-up days on the Embarcadero. Volunteers are often surprised at how little garbage they find. Cigarette butts continue to be an ongoing issue and caustic for our water quality.”
There is a volunteer group called the SLO Beaver Brigade that included 60 volunteers who took a day to shore up restoration needs at the Salinas River. Staff also provided a tour of the area to an additional 99 attendees. Forest mentioned a new program developed with the support of our county’s ranch owners. It identifies then protects impacted tributaries flowing to the ocean containing bacteria from natural activities on Estero Bay’s expansive working ranch lands.
Possibly one of the more recognized programs by the MBNEP is the Mutts for the Bay program. Thirty-six containers of bags for dog waste are visibly stationed for easy public use in Los Osos and Morro Bay. Contributions fund the program and volunteers keep the 300,000 bags stocked annually.
Forest said, “Dog waste does degrade and it is high in bacteria. We provide the bags in high traffic areas like our parks, hiking trails and Harbor Walk, but we also need the cooperation of the dog owners to pick up the waste and throw the bags away in an appropriate trash container. And, please, not in the green waste.”
MBNEP offers an annual competitive grant program for nonprofits with great ideas to augment additional restoration and teaching programs. The grant cycle for submissions ends September 30.
A popular education program has been developed at Baywood Elementary School in cooperation with MBNEP. An on-campus school garden was planted and is maintained throughout the year by the students. They also celebrate Earth Day each April.
Who knew how much the Morro Bay National Estuary Program has done for the Estero Bay since its creation in the 1980s? There is so much more to learn and potentially volunteer to help if only in your own backyard or park or Harbor Walk. Forest and members of the staff will be at the Bay Theater on October 12 with Morro Bay State of the Bay 2026 brochures and some creative coloring books about Mutts for the Bay and a Marine Protected Area Coloring Book. Be sure and thank this group for all they do to protect the environment we call home.
