We protect the wildlife, habitats, and cultural resources of one of the most diverse and bountiful marine environments in the world, an area of 3,295 square miles off the northern and central California coast. The waters within Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary are a nationally significant marine ecosystem, and support an abundance of life, including many threatened and endangered species.
The Greater Farallones Association works in partnership with the sanctuary to preserve, monitor, research, educate about and enhance the sanctuary. The Executive Director leads all managerial, operational and financial aspects of the GFA.
Bolinas Lagoon is an internationally recognized tidal estuary with complex habitat types that support a myraid of plant, bird, terrestrial, and marine species. Just 15 miles north of San Francisco, the Lagoon faces current and future environmental challenges from flooding, erosion, and sea level rise, that threaten its surrounding natural and built environments. Learn more about how Greater Farallones and GFA are working together to help this important ecosystem adapt to these changes so that people, plants, and animals can continue to enjoy the beautiful landscape of Bolinas Lagoon.
Beach Watch is the National Ocean Service flagship citizen science program, developed in 1993 to document changes along the California coast. With sanctuary biologists, hundreds of specially trained members of the community conduct surveys to monitor the sanctuary shoreline.
Brisk spring winds churn up cold, nutrient-rich waters from the deep ocean, and sunlight sparks photosynthesis in microscopic sea plants. Tiny animals feed on them, and in turn become food for fish, seabirds, sharks and whales. Seabirds breed in raucous colonies on islands and cliffs, and giant whales move in to feast on fish and krill. The Pacific High pressure system holds storms at bay, sometimes shrouding the coast in fog.
Artist Andrea Fischer explored the five West Coast national marine sanctuaries this past summer and created a unique painting for each.
Deep-sea corals and sponges are some of the oldest animals on Earth, living for hundreds of years at depths that defy direct human observation. Coral, sponge, and fish communities thrive in the cold, deep waters off California's coast, but are rarely – if ever – visited or studied.
The ocean takes care of us; let's return the favor. Visit Thank You Ocean.
The Greater Farallones Association (GFA) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to protect the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary habitats and wildlife through the development of a diverse community of informed and active ocean stewards.
Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary