The Biden administration on Friday announced the creation of the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary along California’s central coast, a victory for the Chumash tribe that pursued the designation for a decade.
The newly formed sanctuary is part of U.S. President Joe Biden’s goal to protect 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030.
Stretching from just south of Diablo Canyon Power Plant in San Luis Obispo County to the Gaviota Coast in Santa Barbara County, the sanctuary will bring community- and ecosystem-based management to nationally significant natural, historical, archeological and cultural resources including kelp forests, rocky reefs, sandy beaches, underwater mountains and more than 200 NOAA-documented shipwrecks.
The sanctuary excludes areas where transmission cables and other infrastructure to support planned offshore wind facilities could be installed, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said in a statement. The agency, a division of the Department of Commerce, said it will consider expanding the sanctuary after the cables have been laid.
The Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary comprised of 4,543 square miles of coastal waters along 116 miles between San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. It is the fifth marine sanctuary to be designated in California and the third largest in the United States.
“Generations of U.S. land and water policies have placed Native Americans at a great disadvantage throughout our history,” said Kenneth Kahn, chairman of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. “Today’s announcement is a sign that things are changing. The Chumash tribal government never relinquished its aboriginal right to manage our traditional homelands. We are grateful that NOAA recognizes this inherent sovereignty and welcomed us as a co-steward of the sanctuary that bears our name.”
(Reuters – Reporting by Nichola Groom; editing by Diane Craft) (Additional reporting by Wendy Laursen)