The country’s 17th national marine sanctuary will protect ocean sites sacred to Indigenous Peoples and hotspots of biodiversity along the California coast
Silver Spring, Md. – September 6, 2024 – The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation joined Indigenous, national, state and community leaders in celebrating the advancement of Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary, announced today by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), as a milestone achievement for marine conservation and elevating Indigenous perspectives and cultural values in ocean conservation.
Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary will become our nation’s 17th national marine sanctuary protecting 4,543 square miles of ocean along 116 miles of the south Central California Coast; it represents a step toward addressing major global issues including climate change, biodiversity loss, and systemic inequity. It protects sacred sites of Indigenous Peoples, feeding grounds for numerous species of whale and dolphin, sea otters, kelp forests, and is home to vital commercial and recreational fisheries. The sanctuary supports protected corridors and ecological connectivity for fish and other wildlife. The designation advances the Biden-Harris Administration’s America the Beautiful Initiative, which supports locally-led collaborative conservation efforts across the country with a goal to conserve and restore 30 percent of U.S. lands and waters by 2030 to protect biodiversity and address the climate crisis.
The sanctuary designation process, formally initiated by NOAA in 2021, is the culmination of more than a decade of work on the nomination led by Northern Chumash Tribal Council Chair Violet Sage Walker and the late Chief Fred Collins, and consultation of diverse community groups and advocates.
Joel R. Johnson, president and CEO of the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, said, “The designation of Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary is a transformational moment for our coastal California waters and all stewards of our shared ocean. Truly, the first Indigenous-nominated sanctuary is an historic achievement for our country, benefiting the natural wonders of these waters as well as the people and communities that are at the heart of its story.”
“The designation of Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary advances ocean justice and equity by protecting ancestral waters and upholding the Central Coast Tribes’ traditional knowledge and ways of stewarding cultural and marine resources.
“The diversity of America’s network of marine protected areas is strengthened with this designation, and it closes a biodiversity protection gap along the California coast. Blue whales, leatherback sea turtles, black abalone and southern sea otters are just a few of the species gaining new habitat protection. People will benefit from access to recreational activities like fishing and surfing. The communities who steward the sanctuary will benefit from new opportunities for public-private partnership. Indigenous collaboration in its management will secure cultural practices for generations to come.
“National marine sanctuaries are critically important management tools to conserve marine biodiversity and sources of solutions facing our waters and our world. We applaud NOAA and the Administration, and all the partners who worked hard to advance this nomination for many years, for protecting these magnificent ancestral waters.”
About Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary
Located along the south Central California coastline, from just south of Diablo Canyon Power Plant in San Luis Obispo County to the Gaviota Coast in Santa Barbara County. Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary will become our nation’s 17th national marine sanctuary. The sanctuary would become the third largest national marine sanctuary in the National Marine Sanctuary System by protecting 4,543 square miles of ocean along 116 miles of the south Central California Coast.
Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary is a culturally and biologically diverse coastline. These waters are an essential part of the heritage of the Chumash and other Central California tribes. The area provides a special sense of place to coastal communities and international visitors because of the significant historic, archaeological, cultural, aesthetic and biological resources found here.
The central coast of California encompasses some of the most biologically diverse and ecologically productive regions in the world. The sanctuary includes important offshore ecological habitats, including Rodriguez Seamount, Arguello Canyon, and part of the Santa Lucia Bank. The sanctuary contains a key transition zone that includes vital upwelling of great biological productivity supporting kelp forests, wetlands, estuaries and rookeries. Onshore, the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes are the largest remaining dune system south of San Francisco and the second largest in California. These diverse habitats are crucial for vulnerable species such as the endangered western snowy plover and the threatened southern sea otter and are also designated critical habitat for several species including the Chinook salmon and the leatherback sea turtle. Sustaining these vulnerable populations requires maintaining ecosystem diversity through protection of this wide variety of representative and unique habitats.
For millennia, Indigenous peoples have traversed these waters, forging a profound connection with their depths and the diverse marine life they harbor. The sanctuary would protect waters that are essential to the heritage of numerous Central Coast Tribes and Pacific Ocean voyaging tribes predating European colonization. Their long-standing historical relationships with land and sea run deep. Chumash heritage sites, including evidence of astronomical observatories and other cultural resources, are now submerged. The more holistic perspective on stewardship that this knowledge offers is invaluable for equitable, effective, community-led management and collaborative conservation moving forward. The sanctuary designation strengthens Indigenous perspectives and cultural values in ocean conservation by supporting locally led and locally designed conservation efforts, providing support for Tribal groups priorities, and integrating an equitable and inclusive Framework for Indigenous Collaborative Co-Stewardship for meaningful engagement.
In addition to these submerged Chumash historic and cultural resources, there are also over 200 known historic shipwrecks in the region. Sanctuary designation will preserve these wrecks in perpetuity, allowing for study and interpretation of these historically, culturally, and archaeologically distinctive national treasures.
Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary will join America’s national marine sanctuaries as the essential network of protected waters, which sustain miraculous species, coastal communities, and our shared heritage. The National Marine Sanctuary System includes 17 national marine sanctuaries and two marine national monuments. These unique waters sustain critical, breathtaking marine habitats that provide homes to endangered and threatened species. They preserve America’s rich tapestry of cultures and maritime heritage and are living laboratories for science, research, education and conservation. Sanctuaries also offer world-class outdoor recreation experiences for all ages and support local communities. Communities across the nation look to sanctuaries to protect nationally significant areas of our ocean, coasts, and Great Lakes.
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The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, established in 2000, is the official non-profit partner of the National Marine Sanctuary System. The Foundation directly supports America’s national marine sanctuaries through our mission to protect species, conserve ecosystems and preserve cultural and maritime heritage. We accomplish our mission through community stewardship and engagement programs, on-the-water conservation projects, public education and outreach programs, and scientific research and exploration. The Foundation fosters innovative projects that are solution-oriented, scalable and transferable, and develop strategic partnerships that promote the conservation and recovery of species and their habitats. Learn more at marinesanctuary.org.
Contact: Chip Weiskotten
Director of Strategic Communications
301-754-6134
chip@marinesanctuary.org