California is currently engaged in a historic effort to establish a system of marine protected areas (MPAs)—similar to national parks and forests on land—to protect and restore our ocean wilderness. Currently, two LiMPETS partners (Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary and the Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association) have been awarded funding to support this effort. Students and LiMPETS staff are collecting new data and analyzing historic data within these new MPAs to document key aspects of these areas as they are established.