May 6, 2003
Contact: Linda Krop, EDC: (805) 963-1622 and Drew Bohan, SBCK: (805) 563-3377

ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE CENTER AND SANTA BARBARA CHANNELKEEPER RECEIVE DONATIONS FROM INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY OF SANTA BARBARA

SANTA BARBARA – In April, the Environmental Defense Center (EDC), a nonprofit environmental law firm, and Santa Barbara Channelkeeper, a local watchdog group that seeks to protect the Channel’s resources, each received a $5,000 donation from the International Academy of Santa Barbara. This donation is consistent with the Academy’s longstanding concern for environmental issues and will be used to support EDC’s work with community groups to protect the environment and quality of life on California’s Central Coast, and Channelkeeper’s work to protect the health and integrity of the Santa Barbara Channel and its watersheds.

Dr. Eric H. Boehm founded the nonprofit Academy in 1960 to provide accessible information on global issues. The 1969 oil spill in the Santa Barbara Channel was the stimulus for creating an efficient, low-cost information service focusing on environmental issues. Launched in 1972, and published for 25 years as Environmental Periodicals Bibliography, that tool evolved into Environmental Knowledgebase OnLine (EKOL), accessible via the Internet, and Environmental Knowledgebase OnDisc (EKOD), offered on CD-ROM. The database has been unique in its strong focus on environmental law and policy.

“We are very grateful for this generous donation from the International Academy,” said Linda Krop, Chief Counsel and Executive Director of EDC. “The Academy has contributed immensely to increasing our knowledge about environmental issues, and we are proud to be associated with the Academy and Founding Member Dr. Eric Boehm. This donation will allow EDC to continue our work with community groups to improve our environment and quality of life on the Central Coast.”

“It is fitting that the Academy and Dr. Boehm support local environmental causes, and Channelkeeper is very pleased to be a recipient of this generous funding. Channelkeeper will use these funds to continue our work to protect local treasures like the Goleta Slough,” said Drew Bohan, Channelkeeper’s Executive Director.

EDC is the only nonprofit environmental law firm between Los Angeles and San Francisco. EDC works with community groups on environmental issues such as protecting water quality, preserving precious open spaces, saving species from extinction and guarding public health. Visit EDC’s website at www.edcnet.org. For more information, contact Linda Krop, Executive Director and Chief Counsel of the Environmental Defense Center, at (805) 963-1622.

Channelkeeper is a member of the International Waterkeeper Alliance, and works to protect the Santa Barbara Channel and its watersheds. Santa Barbara ChannelKeeper was founded as a program of the Environmental Defense Center in 1999. Channelkeeper’s website is www.sbck.org. For more information, contact Executive Director Drew Bohan at (805) 563-3377. Santa Barbara ChannelKeeper was founded as a program of the Environmental Defense Center in 1999.

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