U.S. Doubles Protection For California's Channel Islands

Federal officials today added 145 square miles to a network of marine protected areas surrounding the Channel Islands off Southern California, doubling the range of protected underwater habitat and making it the nationus second-biggest network of marine reserves after the Northwest Hawaiian Islands National Monument. The long awaited move will help bring back the islandsu world-famous ocean wildlife, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and The Ocean Conservancy. The first half of the joint state-federal marine protected network was created by California in 2003. Todayus federal action extends the boundaries of those protected areas from three to six miles from shore...