In early 1969 an event off the coast of Santa Barbara, California had terrible consequences for the region's environment and economy.
An offshore oil platform operated by Union Oil suffered a catastrophic blowout that sent 80,000 to 100,000 barrels of oil gushing into the ocean and onto area beaches.
Television was the new, universal medium through which we witnessed Neil Armstrong step onto the moon and the environmental disaster off Santa Barbara, including scenes of birds helplessly coated in oil.
One of those was a source of national pride while the other lead to a national resolve to protect our national resources.
That determination helped to catalyze a burgeoning environmental movement whose political depth was understood by congress and President Richard Nixon, and in 1972 a series of environmental laws were approved including one that established a national marine sanctuary system designed to protect ocean habitats and wildlife and to promote research and education about the ocean.
Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, your national marine sanctuary system began with one small reserve protecting the wreckage of a civil war iron clad.
With the passage of time and the sweat and toil of thousands of citizens who worked to preserve key ocean areas, it evolved into today's sprawling system that encourages multiple uses but protects strategic areas from threats such as offshore oil drilling, undersea mining and poorly treated sewage.
Nationally, the system includes 14 sites, including a marine national monument in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands and marine sanctuaries ranging from the Great Lakes' Thunder Bay to American Samoa, covering 150,000 square miles.
It's managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries with its stated goal to "protect important natural and cultural places, while still allowing people to enjoy and use the ocean."
California hosts four national marine sanctuaries off its coast that cover nearly 9,500 square miles of water in a region stretching from Ventura north to Bodega Bay.
The designation of each has a rich history of citizen involvement behind it that I don't have the column inches to review here. But as I did in this column a year ago I'd like to provide a quick snapshot of each, moving north to south:
Its boundaries don't touch land. Salmon, tuna and other fish feed in productive waters here, as do seabirds including albatrosses, shearwaters and petrels.
More than 20 species of marine mammals swim above the bank which also hosts a visually delightful array of anemones, sponges, and hydrocorals which provide a home to fish such as lingcod and various rockfish and invertebrates such as sea stars, urchins, crabs and Pacific octopus.
These waters, part of the nutrient-rich California Current ecosystem, contain 26 species of wildlife that enjoy various levels of federal endangered species act protection. 36 species of marine mammals are found here, as are breeding white sharks and the largest concentration of breeding seabirds in the contiguous United States.
Tens of thousands of elephant seals and sea lions breed here. One-fifth of the state's harbor seals breed on the Farallones Islands each spring, and northern fur seals have begun breeding again after an absence of more than 150 years.
Its northern boundary is shared with the Gulf of the Farallones Sanctuary. In 2008 waters enveloping Davidson Seamount, with its colorful underwater gardens of wildlife, was added.
The sanctuary's defining feature is the Monterey Canyon, which runs 60 miles seaward from Elkhorn Slough and plunges a mile deep.
Within in the sanctuary, 33 species of marine mammals, 94 species of seabirds, 345 species of fish, four species of sea turtles and thousands of invertebrates have been found here.
California sea otters live in kelp beds and gray whales pass through during migration. These waters support fisheries such as squid, salmon, and crab and are world renowned for marine research.
A new Sanctuary Exploration Center opened up across from Santa Cruzs' main beach this year and later this year a proposal to use sound cannons for seismic surveys off San Luis Obispo County, though defeated, may have provided an argument for sanctuary protection south to the Santa Barbara County line.
The only California sanctuary that doesn't share a boundary with another, it doesn't touch the mainland. Warm water collides with cold here to produce a unique mix of wildlife. Sea grass lives in shallow waters with dense kelp forests further offshore. More than 30 species of marine mammals, including blue and humpback whales, feed here.
Elephant seals, harbor seals, California sea lions and northern fur seals use the islands as rookeries. The area contains habitats for endangered species, such as the threatened black abalone and white abalone.
About 60 seabird species feed here and the area includes California's only permanent rookery for threatened Brown Pelicans. In 2011 there was a surprise visit: after a 100-year absence, the California Common Murre returned. Besides its natural treasures, there are also 150 shipwrecks resting on its sea floor.
There's a lot going on in your marine sanctuaries. For information, go to http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/.
Dan Haifley is executive director of O'Neill Sea Odyssey. He can be reached at email@example.com.