Sustain and build capacity for the CAL poly humboldt marine mammal stranding program (CPH mmsp) by supporting stranding coordinator (SC) salary, student stipends and community coordinators thereby…

Cal Poly Humboldt Sponsored Programs Foundation (HSU Foundation) received a $134,854 Project Grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) under the Marine Mammal Data Program (CFDA 11.439), effective January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026. The award supports the Cal Poly Humboldt Marine Mammal Stranding Program (CPH MMSP) by funding a Stranding Coordinator salary, student stipends, and community coordinators to sustain and expand operational capacity in Northern California.

The funded program delivers four primary services: (1) response to all public reports of dead marine mammals; (2) necropsy services and acute stranding event response; (3) data management, including rehabilitation seal sighting documentation shared with the West Coast Region (WCR) website and maintenance of long-term, effort-based marine mammal surveys across Northern California; and (4) response to large whale strandings and whale entanglement reports throughout Northern California. These services directly support NOAA's marine mammal conservation and health monitoring objectives by building regional response capacity and collecting critical population and health data.

Sustain and build capacity for the CAL poly humboldt marine mammal stranding program (CPH mmsp) by supporting stranding coordinator (SC) salary, student stipends and community coordinators thereby enhancing our programs ability to 1. Respond to all public reports of dead marine mammals, 2. Conduct necropsies, respond to acute stranding events, 3. Manage data including sharing rehab seal sightings with the WCR website and managing long-term effort-based marine mammal surveys in northern california, 4. Respond to large whale strandings and whale entanglement reports in northern california.