Meeting Minutes
Draft Minutes Bolinas Lagoon Advisory Council
Regular Meeting November 7, 2025
Bolinas Fire Protection District, 100 Mesa Road, Bolinas
Members Present:
Sarah Allen (At-Large)
Ralph Camiccia (Bolinas)
Rudi Ferris (Bolinas Rod and Boat Club)
Jean Gould (Seadrift Association)
Dr. Wendy Kordesch (Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary)
Jeff Loomans (Stinson Beach)
Mischon Martin (Marin County Parks/Open Space District)
Mia Monroe (Golden Gate National Recreation Area)
Joe Mueller (College of Marin)
Lynne Stenzel (Point Blue Conservation Science)
Nils Warnock (Audubon Canyon Ranch)
Members Absent:
Dave Press (Point Reyes National Seashore)
Staff Present:
Samantha Haimovitch, Superintendent (MCP)
Call to Order at 10:07 am
Public Comment
Open time for public expression, up to three minutes per speaker, on items not on the Bolinas Lagoon Advisory Council Agenda. (While members of the public are welcome to address the Council, under the Brown Act advisory council members may not discuss, deliberate, or take action on items not on the agenda, and generally may only listen.)
- No comment from the public.
Approve Meeting Minutes (Action Item)
Motion: Council to accept the Meeting Minutes from April 25, 2025 as submitted.
M/S Camiccia/Allen
AYES 11
NAYS 0
ABSTAIN 0
ABSENT 1
2026 State of the Lagoon Conference
(Action Item)
Notes: The BLAC has a longstanding tradition of hosting a “State of Bolinas Lagoon” conference every other year to highlight projects and issues affecting the Lagoon. The last in-person event was held in May 2019, followed by a virtual conference in June 2021 due to COVID and staffing constraints.
A consulting team from SJSU/Moss Landing Marine Labs and Central Coast Wetlands Group offered to help coordinate the next conference. Staff recommended holding an in-person event in late spring/early summer 2026 and forming a BLAC subcommittee to plan it in partnership with the consultants. The full council nominated a subcommittee consisting of Jeff Loomans, Jean Gould, Sarah Allen, Wendy Kordesch, and Rudi Ferris to participate in the subcommittee and plan the theme, topics and format of the conference.
Motion: Council to approve the date selected (May 7, 2026) and direct the subcommittee to plan and implement the 2026 State of the Lagoon Conference in collaboration with the SJSU/Moss Landing Marine Labs/Central Coast Wetlands team.
M/S Allen/Warnock
AYES 11
NAYS 0
ABSTAIN 0
ABSENT 1
Agency Reports
(Information Item)
Agency members may report on agency activities that have taken place since the previous BLAC meeting that do not appear on the agenda. Council cannot discuss or take action on these items.
Notes:
NPS: Parks service reports that Coastal Clean-up was successful on the beaches of Stinson, Bolinas Lagoon and Steep Ravine, appreciative of the collaborative efforts with Marin County Parks volunteers at Stinson/Upton beaches. A decline in trash has been seen over time. There’s an effort to protect the Stinson Beach dunes. Royal tides are happening now, impacting roads. NPS volunteers will be documenting them in December and January. They also just ended the Monarch overwintering count – over a thousand monarchs at 3 sites in Bolinas and a big handful at Stinson, and flyers at Muir Beach and Fort Baker.
GFNMS: Their agency is working on developing dune modeling software that should be able to provide a new kind of analysis of the dune areas over long term timeframes (decades). There should be some data available for sharing on that by the time of the State of the Lagoon Conference in May.
PRNS: (Sarah Allen, volunteer with PRNS, reported on behalf of absent representative Dave Press that the highest number of Harbor Seal pups ever recorded were on Bolinas Lagoon, due to the increased presence of coyotes in the region.)
MCP: New staff in West Marin operations with Chief Jason Olivotti rotating away to our South region, and Chief Ian McLorg rotating into West Marin. The Bob Stewart Bridge has suffered irreparable damage and per previous reports to the BLAC, it will be removed as soon as it can be scheduled. Bolinas Wye Update: the project is complete and into the monitoring phase. All aspects of rehabilitation seem to be successful so far.
Council Member Comments (Information Item)
Council members may speak about items of interest that do not appear on the agenda. Council members cannot discuss or take action on these items.
Notes:
Seadrift: Vice-Chair Gould commented that the Association has been monitoring road drainage. Partnering with GFNMS on the South End project and partnering with the Fire Department on mitigation work.
Rod and Boat Club: Councilmember Ferris reported on weird specimens of Chinook Salmon in the Lagoon recently and commented that the recent tsunami had a significant effect on the Lagoon environment. He also commented on the lateness of brown pelican sightings in the Lagoon this year and did not know why.
Point Blue: Councilmember Stenzel announced that Melissa Pitkin is the new Director at Point Blue.
College of Marin Lab: Councilmember Mueller talked about the upcoming summer children’s programs at the Lab, including touch tanks to get the kids up close and live with the critters. They are just starting with pilot programs with schools that can afford them and hope to find ways to expand their reach to more.
Town of Bolinas: Councilmember Camiccia commented on the fact that there used to be a causeway across the mouth of Bolinas Lagoon connecting Seadrift and Bolinas, which was removed long ago for the benefit of the Lagoon.
At-Large: Councilmember Miller mentioned the Chicken Ranch Beach restoration project, which will be completed shortly.
Town of Stinson Beach: Chair Loomans reported that SB is starting a long-range planning committee, which he and Vice-Chair Gould are both sitting on. Sea level rise plans are required by 2035.there is an effort by the county, including consultant AECOM, to organize widely for sea level rise. However, this effort seems to have been stalled and currently there is no representation for West Marin included in the effort. More to follow.
Audubon Canyon Ranch: Councilmember Warnock reported that Audubon Canyon Ranch has rebranded to All Hands Ecology, effective September 18, 2025. The organization, headquartered in Stinson Beach, updated its name to better reflect its broader conservation mission, which includes studies on fire, mountain lions, and land stewardship beyond its original focus on heron and egret habitats. Councilmember Warnock also reported that water levels up in Tomales Bay are very high, with flooding incidents. All Hands is working on fuel reduction exercises, burns and pile removals to help mitigate conditions.
Next Regular Meeting Date (Action Item)
Approve Friday March 27, 2026 for the next Bolinas Lagoon Advisory Council meeting.
Motion: Vote on March 27, 2026 for the next meeting date.
M/S Camiccia/Gould
AYES 11
NAYS 0
ABSTAIN 0
ABSENT 1