GFA Takes the Stage at the 2026 Coastal & Estuarine Summit

Greater Farallones Association was well represented at the 2026 Coastal & Estuarine Summit, held September 22–25 in San Francisco. The national gathering brought together scientists, restoration practitioners, community leaders, and partners from across the country to share solutions for healthier, more resilient coasts.

GFA staff gave presentations and shared research spanning bull kelp restoration, coastal resilience, sediment management, and ecosystem monitoring. From new approaches to cultivating and outplanting bull kelp to understanding how fish communities respond to restoration, our team had the opportunity to share lessons from GFA’s work along the north-central California coast with a national audience.

GFA Executive Director Monika Krach also spoke during the Summit’s Our Connected Coasts plenary and panel discussion. Her remarks focused on a question at the heart of GFA’s work: How do we connect people to the ocean in ways that inspire lasting stewardship? She shared stories of community scientists and commercial fishermen whose deep connections to the coast have become an essential part of understanding and restoring it.

We were proud to see so many GFA staff sharing their expertise on a national stage—and equally excited for them to bring home new ideas, partnerships, and perspectives to strengthen our work protecting California’s coast and ocean.

GFA Presentations:

• From Plan to Practice: Building an Adaptive Bull Kelp Restoration Program in Northern California – Rietta Hohman
• Evaluating Bull Kelp Restoration: Kelp Enhancement and Grazer Suppression in the Greater Farallones Marine Sanctuary – Maria Velazquez
• Bull Kelp Culturing & Outplanting for Restoration in the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary – Julieta Gomez
• CoSMoS-DUNE: A Coupled Shoreline and Dune Evolution Model for California – Maria Winters
• Regional Sediment Coordination: How Partnerships Are Moving California Coastal Projects Forward – Wendy Kordesch

GFA Posters:

• Environmental Variability at Two Northern California Bull Kelp Restoration Sites: Implications for Restoration Success – Angela Zepp 
• Fish Assemblage Response to Kelp Restoration in Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary – Tyler Mears
• Who Benefits From Natural and Nature-Based Coastal Features? Evidence From Cellphone Locational Data in the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary Region – Wendy Kordesch