Resource management through permitting in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Speaker: Kacy Cooper, Permit Coordinator at Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Thursday, November 6, 2025
6:00pm to 7:30pm Pacific Time
Morse Building, Room B105
426 Van Buren Street, Monterey, CA 93940
MORE INFO AT GO.MIIS.EDU/SUSTAINABILITY

About the Topic

The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary covers over 6,000 square miles of water along the coast of California; from San Francisco to Cambria. It encompasses a variety of unique ecosystems from sandy beaches, to tide pools, to kelp forests, and offshore seamounts teeming with life, and species from tiny shrimp to giant blue whales. National marine sanctuaries balance environmental protection, stewardship and ocean research with other compatible uses. One key method of balancing all of these uses and impacts is through the issuance of permits to conduct otherwise prohibited activities.

Learn more about the glamorous world of permitting and how this tool is used by sanctuaries to enhance collaboration and data sharing, analyze cumulative impacts to sanctuary resources, and address broader issues such as climate change, invasive species, and wildlife disturbance.

About the Speaker

Kacy Cooper joined the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary as the Permit Coordinator in February 2024. Prior, she was the California Sea Grant Fellow at Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary where she coordinated the Sanctuary Advisory Council and supported other programs including Resource Protection, Education and Outreach, and Research. Kacy completed her masters degree in international environmental policy with a focus on ocean and coastal resource management from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, December 2022. Her main focus of work included developing a roadmap to authorizing pop-up fishing gear in the California Dungeness crab fishery. Along with her professional work, Kacy is an avid scuba diver, traveler, fantasy book reader, and animal enthusiast.

Location: Morse Building, Room B105

The Morse Building is located at 426 Van Buren Street, Monterey, CA, 93940, on the campus of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. The Morse building usually has flags hanging from it, and is located next to the MIIS Our Green Thumb garden. B105 is located toward the back of the building on the first floor. There is a wheelchair lift in the Holland courtyard, and stairs can be avoided by circling the back of the Holland Center and back to Morse. Restrooms are located in the Holland Center. View the campus map.

Parking

Parking is available in any Middlebury Institute campus lot after 5 p.m., no parking permit required, no fee. View the campus map. (be sure to not confuse city lots with campus lots—city lots do charge a fee). Free parking is also available on the street (time limits on surrounding streets end at 6 p.m.).

Questions

Contact Rachel Christopherson at the Center for the Blue Economy at cbe@miis.edu or (831) 647-4183.