Welcome to Magdalena Baykeepers

Our Mission and Vision

Vigilantes de Bahía Magdalena AC(Magdalena Baykeepers or VBM) was legally established in July of 2005 with the mission to to conserve the natural resources in Magdalena Bay.  VBM’s activities are focused on monitoring and reporting on water quality at specific points on the bay, and raising awareness within the local population of local water quality issues.  In 2005, VBM was accepted into the International Waterkeeper Alliance, whose Executive Director and Field Coordinator attended the opening of VBM’s office in August.

Vigilantes de Bahía Magdalena envisions a healthy bay ecosystem that supports productive fisheries, sustains a home to migrating Gray Whales and endangered sea turtles, and provides a healthy, contamination-free resource to the local community and visitors.

STAFF

	Julio Solís, long time resident of San Carlos, directs the organization as the Keeper of Magdalena Bay. His work on the water with the School for Field studies and the Grupo Tortuguero has given Julio a particular attachment to the Bay. When he's not on the water, Julio can be found working on his drag racer, which he enters in competitions throughout the peninsula.	VBM Photos tuna cannery VBM & Environment Now beach cleanup mangrove	click the image below to see an example of Vigilantes' Water Quality Bulletin visit the International Waterkeeper Alliance
Armida Romero works as VBM's project assistant, managing beach cleanups and raising community awareness.

BOARD

Dr. Francisco Ollervides, School for Field Studies
Osvaldo Flores, FLOVE Asociados
Chris Pesenti, Pro Peninsula
Eliza Steinmeier, Lawyers for Clean Water
Dr. James Bolender, Universidad de San Diego
Dr. Michel Boudrias, Universidad de San Diego
Miguel Angel Leal, Centro Investigaciones Biólogicas del Noroeste
Dr. Rafael Rios Mena, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur
Pablo Uribe, Centro Mexicano de Derecho Ambiental

Magdalena Bay 

Magdalena Bay, our focus area, Bay is the largest wetland ecosystem on the west coast of the Baja California Peninsula and is considered one of the 10 most important wetland systems in North America. Magdalena Bay is also one of the most important calving areas for the Pacific Gray Whale. The area contains mangrove forests, barrier beaches and sand dune islands, contributing to incredible scenery, and diverse biological makeup of the Bay. The wetland harbors the continent’s northernmost breeding colony of Magnificent Frigatebird, the southernmost breeding site for threatened bald eagles, a large nesting colony of the endangered California brown pelican and one of the largest California sea lion colonies on the Pacific coast of the peninsula.

While the area contains considerable ecological value, these resources suffer from constant and uncontrolled overexploitation. Evidence exists of residential and industrial runoff leaching into the bay, which negatively affects local water quality. Similarly, there is a considerable accumulation of solid waste, which contributes to the problem and deteriorating quality of life, and reflects lack of public consciousness.

VBM runs a twice-monthly monitoring program to quantify and address the negative effects from industrial and residential effluent in Magdalena Bay. Download one of our sample Community Water Quality Bulletins.

We are also working to address the lack of community awareness, utilizing beach pollution as a tool to raise awareness in the community, and creating the link between visible contamination and contamination of water which may not be as visible to the naked eye.

As a partner in the conservation of Magdalena Bay's natural resources and beauty, Pro Peninsula has partenered with Magdalena Baykeepers, providing administrative support and institutional development during VBM's initial stages.