• Collaboration: The San Luis Obispo Science and Ecosystem Alliance (SLOSEA) in Morro Bay on the central California coast was established in 2006 to harmonize the activities of local stakeholder groups, scientists, environmental organizations, and federal and state agencies to enhance understanding of ecosystem functioning and improve management of the area’s resources.
• Scale: SLOSEA is a multi-stakeholder organization that is working with two local non-profit organizations “to build on their existing strengths and to overcome previous limitations by conducting research and monitoring over spatial scales that complement what the other organizations do and by establishing an integrated, cross-jurisdictional management community for the entire Morro Bay ecosystem (land, estuary, and coastal ocean).”
• Balance/Integration: It strives to make connections between management questions, local research initiatives and decision-making processes.
• Complexity: SLOSEA’s EBM initiative is a science-based effort focused on integrating social and ecological concerns, and restructuring the institutional landscape to better address these issues.

Lead Organizations

Key Parties

SLOSEA is also comprised of representatives of the following organizations:

• Los Osos Community Advisory Council
• City of Morro Bay
• California Department of Parks and Recreation
• California Coastal Commission
• California Department of Fish and Game
• Bay Foundation
• Regional Water Quality Control Board
• Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
• California Coastal Conservancy
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service
• US Fish and Wildlife Service
• US Environmental Protection Agency
• Port San Luis Harbor District
• Cuesta College Geology Department
• Coastal San Luis Resource Conservation District
• A handful of private consulting agencies

SLOSEA is comprised of three primary groups: the Leadership Team, the Advisory Committee and the Science Team.

• The SLOSEA Leadership Team includes the SLOSEA Program Director from California Polytechnic State University, SLOSEA Program Coordinator, the Director of the Morro Bay National Estuary Program, a Marine Policy and Communications Manager, and a Strategy and Fisheries Policy Advisor from the Marine Interests Group of San Luis Obispo County. The Leadership Team provides oversight and direction for the EBM effort and ensures connections are made between the scientific research being conducted and relevant resource management decision-making processes.
• The Advisory Committee is SLOSEA’s primary governing body. It is comprised of representatives of organizations with jurisdictional authority and management responsibilities in the ecosystem, stakeholders that live and work in the ecosystem, and three individuals from the Science Team. The Advisory Committee develops areas for scientific investigation, reviews planned research project objectives and methodologies as well as subsequent results, ensures data products are linked with resource management decision-making processes, and provides a forum for participating agencies and stakeholders to share information relevant to the ecosystem, discuss challenges and opportunities, and form collaborative relationships. 
• The Science Team is comprised of academic and agency scientists and associated research staff members. This group facilitates development of appropriate research methodologies for prioritized projects, reviews progress of research and activities in SLOSEA’s six initiative areas and assists with the integration of research results and management decisions.

SLOSEA partners also participate and are members of the community that take part in SLOSEA discussions and activities and/or are hired as consultants for SLOSEA’s initiatives.

Prior to the initiation of the San Luis Obispo Science and Ecosystem Alliance’s ecosystem-based management effort in Morro Bay on the central California coast, scientific research, resource management activities and local stakeholder engagement efforts were conducted by agencies and organizations operating independently of one another with minimal coordination between them.

Two local entities, the Morro Bay National Estuary Program (MBNEP) and the Marine Interests Groups of San Luis Obispo County (MIG), were well established local non-profit groups that were doing elements of ecosystem-based management -- engaging stakeholders, monitoring resources, pursuing conservation and working towards sustainable use of Morro Bay’s resources; however, each focused on a different segment of the Morro Bay ecosystem. 

Additionally, key ecosystem players (e.g., California Department of Parks and Recreation and Department of Fish and Game) were not formally represented in their activities. Such fragmentation and isolation among organizations limited understanding of interactions between habitats, resources and the provision of ecosystem services, and mechanisms for linking local science with resource management decision-making processes were nonexistent.

Recognizing the need to integrate the activities, resources and knowledge of the MBNEP and MIG with the scientific capacity of California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly) and government agencies with authority over land and resources in and around Morro Bay, a scientist from Cal Poly joined forces with the director of the MBNEP and professional facilitator of the MIG.

Together, they formed the San Luis Obispo Science and Ecosystem Alliance (SLOSEA) in 2006 and began engaging a variety of ecosystem actors in working toward holistically addressing the area’s social, ecological and institutional issues.

SLOSEA has employed a variety of strategies and tools:

• Diverse Stakeholder Engagement, Including the Public: To ensure an integrated management effort that involved cross-agency and inter-sectoral collaboration, SLOSEA engaged representatives from diverse ecosystem interests in planning and management activities. In addition, SLOSEA interacts with the general public by holding public meetings and semi-annual public reviews of plans and research results.
• Use of Conceptual Models: A conceptual model was developed for the coastal ocean, estuary and watershed that demonstrates connections between systems via species movements, freshwater inputs and tidal exchange. The model has enabled managers and other stakeholders to indentify key ecosystem connections, delineate boundaries, identify important questions and formulate hypotheses. The use of visual models also helped explain the concept of ecosystem-based management.
• Engaging Volunteer Monitors: Engaging volunteer monitors through the Morro Bay National Estuary Program’s Volunteer Monitoring Program has bolstered SLOSEA’s ability to monitor the ecosystem and collect various types of data.
• Pilot Projects and Adaptive Management: SLOSEA’s activities are conducted within an adaptive management framework that involves initiating pilot projects that are monitored over time and inform ongoing management discussions.
• Use of the Internet: SLOSEA has used the internet to inform the public of their activities and solicit input. Updates on project activities are posted to the SLOSEA website along with Advisory Committee meeting minutes, presentations, reports and other relevant documents. SLOSEA has also used their website to collect survey data, and the organization maintains a listserv.
• Surveying Users: Under the economic indicator initiative, participants in the local economy were surveyed to generate a clearer understanding of ecosystem-dependent activities and enable economic indicators to be identified. Also, coastal user surveys were administered online and the results are being integrated into an environmental history database for the area.
• Engaging in Collaborative Research with Fishermen: Within the context of SLOSEA’s collaborative fisheries initiative, local knowledge and expertise of fishermen and skippers was combined with scientists’ experimental design skills to develop a research protocol that is being used to assess local fish stocks and evaluate efficacy of newly established marine protected areas. Both the fishermen and scientists are working to interpret to the resulting data.
• Hiring a Policy and Communications Manager: To ensure the copious amounts of information SLOSEA has compiled and generated is shared with a wider audience and integrated into policy-making discussions, SLOSEA hired a Marine Policy and Communications Manager. This person is responsible for making connections between SLOSEA’s research results and relevant resource management decision-making forums, and pursuing recommended policy changes.
• Miradi Adaptive Management Software Tool: For its second strategic plan, SLOSEA used the Miradi Adaptive Management software tool that follows steps outlined by the Conservation Measures Partnership in its Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation. This process enabled the organization to discuss and come to consensus on the forces influencing the ecosystem and those that SLOSEA should target with its activities.
• Marine Protected Areas: Two marine protected areas were established in Morro Bay in 2007. While members of SLOSEA participated in the process that designated these areas, the MPAs in Morro Bay were established along with 27 other MPA’s in the central coast region of California in accordance with the objectives of the Marine Life Protection Act that was passed in 1999, not directly through a SLOSEA initiative.

The system is being continuously monitored through voluntary monitoring efforts, research being conducted by local scientists, and a network of water quality monitoring stations in the estuary and coastal waters. As data from these sources accumulate, a better understanding of the system emerges and new questions are raised. When the project team meets, participants are able to discuss new questions and deliberate on strategies for addressing them. Possible solutions are then pursued as experiments. As results of these experiments and other research projects are presented and integrated, and the understanding of the state of the ecosystem and how its components interact, fluctuate and respond to management activities grows, activities and the prioritization of issues are re-evaluated and modified as needed.

SLOSEA has made significant progress in each of its initiative areas, conducted valuable ecosystem-based science that has yielded a more comprehensive understanding of the ecosystem, and advanced the practice of ecosystem-based management. Some of its major accomplishments as of January 2010 include:

• Establishment and Maintenance of an Interagency Advisory Committee: The SLOSEA Advisory Committee built on prior efforts of the Morro Bay National Estuary Program to provide a forum for interagency collaboration and stakeholder engagement that allows diverse perspectives to be shared, strategic relationships to be forged, new insights to be obtained and challenges to be identified for collective deliberation.
• Habitat Initiative: All navigable areas of the bay were mapped yielding depictions of bathymetry and topography contours of the Morro Bay harbor, mudflats, salt marsh and sand dunes, and surveys of ichthyofauna were completed, which enabled researchers to understand changes in fish diversity and abundance over a period of twelve months.
• Human Access Initiative: Scientists affiliated with SLOSEA conducted experiments on human use of rocky intertidal habitats and their results were provided to the California Department of Parks and Recreation to inform management decisions regarding human access.
• Water Quality Initiative: A network of continuous, real-time Land/Ocean Biogeochemistry Observatory water quality monitors was established throughout the bay, watershed and at the mouth of Morro Bay in Estero Bay. Since 2007, they have been continuously monitoring a variety of pollutants and abiotic parameters. The data derived from this network informed the development of a hydrodynamic model that can be used to track and predict movements of land-based pollutants across the ecosystem.
• Bioindicators Initiative: Indicator organisms for tracking nitrate pollution were identified and a Mussel and Oyster Watch program was established. In addition, scientists affiliated with SLOSEA discovered a high incidence of nonylphenol, an industrial chemical, in the sediment and water in the bay, which has been linked to tumors in resident fish.
• Economic Indicators Initiative: A three-year study of ecosystem-dependent business activities in Morro Bay was completed. The results of this study have contributed to a growing understanding of linkages between economic activities and changes in ecological conditions in the ecosystem; however, limited baseline ecological data has restricted progress in this area.
• Collaborative Fisheries Initiative: The two main accomplishments of the collaborative fisheries initiative have been the collaborative development of a peer-reviewed monitoring protocol for monitoring the status of local fish stocks and evaluating nearby MPAs, and the drafting of an action plan that explores opportunities for regional fisheries management using this novel stock assessment protocol.
• Invasive Species Management: Scientists have determined the extent of invasive invertebrate species within the Morro Bay ecosystem. They have also elucidated the community and habitat characteristics that facilitate or inhibit a community’s susceptibility to invasion. Furthermore, a pilot project for removing invasive species yielded insight into the system’s resilience.
• Climate Change: A hydrodynamic model was calibrated and is being used to simulate the effects of tides and currents within the estuary, which will be used to predict the effects of climate change at a local level.
• West Coast EBM Network: In 2008, SLOSEA joined the West Coast EBM Network - a network of six EBM initiatives on the US west coast that is seeking to strengthen and enhance the practice of EBM.
• Sharing Experience with EBM Implementation: SLOSEA has informed others of its approach to ecosystem-based management and the findings of its research efforts through newspaper articles, book chapters, academic literature and reports on ocean management.

The following factors have facilitated SLOSEA’s progress:

• Small Scale: Relative to other US estuaries (e.g., the Chesapeake Bay area), Morro Bay is a small ecosystem. Many of SLOSEA’s participants were familiar with one another to some degree prior to joining the SLOSEA Advisory Committee.
• History of Collective Action: MorroBayhas a legacy of activism beginning in the 1960s and a history of stakeholder engagement.
• State Legislation: There is support for EBM in California as the state has led the country in passing legal mandates to protect marine resources and make considerations at the ecosystem level.
• Grant Funding: To date, SLOSEA has received grant funding from several different sources, which has made the EBM effort in Morro Bay possible, providing the resources needed to hire staff and consultants, convene meetings, conduct research and coordinate activities within each of SLOSEA’s initiative areas.
• Respected Leadership: The personalities of those involved in SLOSEA have facilitated fruitful interactions among participants.

The following issues have challenged SLOSEA’s efforts:

• Institutional Fragmentation: From the beginning, institutional isolation and fragmentation of research and management efforts posed obstacles to data integration, comprehensive understanding of ecosystem dynamics and ecosystem-level coordination of activities. SLOSEA has tried to overcome this fragmentation through its Advisory Committee; however, segmented authority over land and resources continues to pose challenges to coordinated incorporation of research findings into management decisions across agencies.
• Mismatched Scales: Mismatches between scales (i.e., the mismatch between the scale of ecosystem dynamics and governance, and between research findings and policy-making processes) make it difficult for SLOSEA to use their scientific findings to instigate management and policy changes.
• Measuring Economic Value and Impacts: Within the economic indicators initiative, problems arose with regards to measuring economic impact and economic value because private firms were reluctant to reveal gross or net revenue data. There are also high costs associated with conducting consumer and producer surplus studies, and it is difficult to apply these studies to repeated time series.
• Communicating to Non-technical Audiences: With some of SLOSEA’s non-technical and non-science participants, it has been challenging to convey and elicit feedback on abstruse ecological concepts and scientific methodologies.
• Unsustainable Funding: Absence of a continuous stream of funding poses a challenge to SLOSEA’s sustainability. A reliable source of financial resources will be necessary for SLOSEA to continue its activities, including its interagency meetings and research efforts.

Several key lessons have been learned by SLOSEA’s EBM program participants regarding EBM implementation:

• Create a network of diverse stakeholders. Creating a network of scientists, resource managers and other stakeholders that represent interests across the ecosystem will provide opportunities for sharing information, identifying issues, forming collaborative partnerships and taking action.
• “Start local, grow global.” SLOSEA’s ability to scale up management to an ecosystem level was dependent upon a prior history of grassroots initiatives that cultivated relationships between groups of stakeholders, resource managers and scientists at a local level where people more easily connect to each other and their environment, and observe interconnections.
• Use visuals as communication tools. Visual models of ecosystem dynamics can help establish a framework for leading discussions, developing questions, formulating hypotheses and demonstrating concepts such as ecosystem-based management in a way that enables different participants to understand.
• Conduct user-driven research. Having resource managers and stakeholders identify critical questions of interest, and then pursuing these questions scientifically, will help ensure decision-makers share ownership of the scientific direction from the onset and will enhance the likelihood of the results being considered among management discussions.
• Create institutions that encourage mutual learning. Shared experience that involves the integration of scientific investigations, policy development and public input will facilitate ownership over program outcomes and outputs, and the development of collective learning opportunities enhances EBM activities by allowing diverse perspectives to be expressed and unique knowledge to be contributed.
• Create flexible institutions. It is essential to remain flexible and respond to new opportunities, challenges and potential learning experiences in a creative and adaptable manner.

San Luis Obispo Science and Ecosystem Alliance (SLOSEA): http://www.slosea.org/

Morro Bay National Estuary Program (MBNEP): http://www.mbnep.org/

SLOSEA webpage on the California Polytechnic State University Center for Coastal Marine Sciences: http://www.marine.calpoly.edu/researchprograms/slosea.php