The WiLDCOAST Mission
WiLDCOAST protects and preserves coastal ecosystems and wildlife in the Californias and Latin America by building grassroots support, conducting media campaigns and establishing protected areas.
PROGRAMS:
PRESERVING COASTAL WILDLANDS
Over the next five years, through the establishment of WiLDCOAST Wildland Projects, we will preserve more than one million acres of the most enchanting and ecologically significant beaches, islands and bays in the world, including the last gray whale calving lagoons on the planet. WiLDCOAST Wildlands are places where bighorn sheep perch on rocky outcrops, overlooking aqua-blue coves filled with sea turtles. And they are home to bald eagles that soar high above newborn gray whales.
Our Wildlands Conservation Program focuses on four ecologically significant sites on the Baja California peninsula and the U.S.-Mexico border that host high levels of biodiversity, endemism, and productivity: Laguna San Ignacio, Bahía Concepción, Bahía de los Angeles and the U.S.-Mexico Border Coast. Sea turtles, fish, aquatic birds, and marine mammals depend on these areas for feeding, nesting, and migrating, yet their existence is threatened by resort developers, multi-national mining companies, and poachers. WiLDCOAST is preserving these large and diverse sites by establishing national parks and nature reserves in partnership with local landowners and communities in order to protect the resources they need for their long term survival.
Recently, we reached a significant milestone by working with the Laguna San Ignacio Conservation Alliance to preserve 120,000-acres of pristine wildlife habitat surrounding Laguna San Ignacio.
COASTAL PROTECTION AND ADVOCACY
The overall objective of this program is to protect the coastal communities and natural resource of the Mexico-U.S. border region from pollution and mega-development projects. The beaches in this area are among the most polluted in both Baja California and California and under the greatest threat from industrial development. We will also begin to advocate for long-term solutions to the problems of polluted ocean water in the region that impact disadvantaged communities in the region. Finally we will monitor the increasing levels of industrialization of this coastal and marine region such as the proliferation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals being proposed throughout the U.S.-Mexico border region by the world’s largest energy companies. Environmental health and justice are critical components of this program as well the use of legal advocacy to halt pollution and unsustainable coastal development.
PROTECTING WiLDLIFE
As many as 35,000 green sea turtles are killed in the waters of Baja California each year to satisfy a black market demand for their meat and eggs. Although it has been illegal to harm or kill turtles in Mexico since 1990, and even though they are protected internationally, tens of thousands of turtles are still being killed and eaten openly in Mexico and southwestern United States. Sea turtle meat is a traditional dish, commonly served at political rallies, birthday parties, festivals, and religious holidays. Turtle eggs are mistakenly considered an aphrodisiac and are often stolen from their nests on southern Baja beaches for consumption.
WiLDCOAST’s ongoing “Don’t Eat the Sea Turtles” campaign uses billboards, postcards, media interviews, and local spokespeople to challenge the deep-rooted tradition of turtle consumption. Through eye-catching and far-reaching campaigns, we are creating a new ethic that allows turtles to be safe and free.
WiLDCOAST TEAM
Serge Dedina, Ph.D. - Executive Director
sdedina@wildcoast.net
(619) 423-8665 ext. 202
Jesus Gonzalez - Project and Finance Manager
jgonzalez@wildcoast.net
(619) 423-8665 ext. 203
Elizabeth Horpedahl - Office Manager
ehorp@wildcoast.net
(619) 423-8665 ext. 201
Fay Crevoshay – Communications Director
fcrevoshay@wildcoast.net
619-423-8665 ext. 205
Aida Navarro – Wildlife Conservation Program Manager
anavarro@wildcoast.net
619-423-8665 ext. 207
Saul Alarcon Farfan - Wildlands Conservation Program Manager
saul@wildcoast.net
619-423-8665 ext. 204
Benjamin Winkler-McCue – Coastal Conservation Program Manager
benjamin@wildcoast.net
619-423-8665 ext. 208
Board of Directors:
Jorge Tapias - President
Smoky Bayless
Susan Flieder
Jim Sandler
Jeff Opdycke
Ron Forster
Larry Wan
Jake Young
For more information contact:
- WiLDCOAST
