Sep 12: Open House at Hopkins Marine Station

The oldest marine laboratory on the West Coast is right here in Pacific Grove. On September 12, we have the chance to see some of that work up close.

Hopkins Marine Station will host an Open House on Saturday, September 12, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 120 Ocean View Boulevard.

I've long admired the work happening at Hopkins, and the more I learn about its history, the more remarkable its connection to Pacific Grove becomes.

More Than a Century of Discovery

Founded in 1892, Hopkins is the oldest marine laboratory on the West Coast and the third oldest in the United States.

Today, about half of the faculty in Stanford’s Oceans Department are based here, conducting research ranging from the biology of individual organisms to entire marine ecosystems.

Hopkins' history includes some extraordinary science.

Early researcher Cornelis van Niel made important discoveries about photosynthesis and helped establish microbiology as a field of study in the United States.

His influence extended to scientists who later became major figures in modern biology.

That tradition continues through scientists such as Barbara Block, whose pioneering electronic tagging work transformed what we know about the movements of tunas, sharks, and other large ocean predators.

Her research helped reveal the remarkable offshore migration of California white sharks to the area now known as the White Shark Café.

And Ayelet Voskoboynik is using a very different marine creature, the humble sea squirt, to investigate some enormous questions.

Her research on stem cells, regeneration, immunity, and aging is helping scientists understand biological processes with potential relevance far beyond the ocean.

Hopkins is also home to scientists such as Fiorenza Micheli, whose work examines marine conservation, ecosystem resilience, and how coastal communities and ocean ecosystems can thrive together.

We have such an incredible caliber of scientific discovery happening right on our shoreline.

Pacific Grove Protected the Bay Early

The science at Hopkins developed alongside another remarkable story: Pacific Grove’s early commitment to protecting its waterfront.

When Pacific Grove adopted its first City Charter in 1927, residents declared the City’s rights to its waterfront, including lands under water, to be inalienable.

That last phrase is especially interesting.

Those submerged lands belonged to the State of California, so transferring them to Pacific Grove required action by the Legislature.

In 1931, California passed a special statute granting the City sovereign tide and submerged lands in Monterey Bay, in trust, for public purposes.

The California State Lands Commission still records that 1931 grant today.

Our city then led the way with marine protections, including the Hopkins Marine Life Refuge and additional protections along Pacific Grove’s coast -- an extraordinary heritage of environmental leadership.

And these actions came decades before California created its statewide coastal protection system and long before Monterey Bay became a National Marine Sanctuary.

Protecting the Bay Has Tremendous Economic Value

A healthy marine environment and a strong local economy have long gone hand in hand along Monterey Bay.

NOAA reported that by 2014, approximately 25 marine science institutions associated with Monterey Bay employed more than 2,300 staff and researchers, with combined annual budgets exceeding $315 million.

And Pacific Grove’s natural environment is also an economic asset beyond marine research.

Visitors come here to walk the shoreline, watch wildlife, explore tide pools, visit marine institutions, and experience Monterey Bay.

Those visits support our restaurants, hotels, shops, and other local businesses.

Protecting the bay helps sustain both the character of Pacific Grove and the economy built around it.

That's one of the reasons I'm excited that the Pacific Grove Chamber of Commerce has launched Visit Pacific Grove.

A Legacy of Environmental Leadership

All of this is to say that Hopkins sits at the center of a wonderful Pacific Grove story.

Scientists here have spent generations helping us understand the ocean.

Earlier generations of Pacific Grove residents made unusually forward-looking decisions about protecting the shoreline where that science was taking place.

And today we benefit from both.

I'm looking forward to celebrating some of the researchers and students continuing that work today.

I hope to see you there!

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