10 • 16 • 2024
NOAA Designates Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary!
Surfrider is celebrating the designation of a new national marine sanctuary off central California that will help protect marine ecosystems and celebrate Indigenous peoples.
On October 16, 2024, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) officially designated Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary as a federal marine protected area! The sanctuary protects over 4,500 square miles of marine habitats from threats like offshore oil drilling, seabed mining, and pollution. The sanctuary will celebrate Indigenous culture and history as a primary core value, along with the protection of ocean habitat. Chumash Heritage is the first Indigenous-nominated national marine sanctuary and will elevate awareness of central coast Tribes’ traditional knowledge and ways of stewarding cultural and marine resources.
“The Surfrider Foundation applauds NOAA for designating Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary”, said Surfrider CEO, Dr. Chad Nelsen. “The sanctuary will help protect vital marine and cultural resources off the central California coast, while honoring the Indigenous peoples who have lived in this region for time immemorial. Surfrider urges NOAA to work closely with Indigenous partners and local stakeholders to support successful implementation of the sanctuary. Surfrider also urges NOAA to support the timely expansion of Chumash Heritage to be consistent with the original proposed boundaries”
The sanctuary’s official boundaries extend along 116 miles of coastline from Montaña de Oro State Park down to Naples in Santa Barbara County. This includes the nearshore waters of the Gaviota coast, adjacent to Refugio and El Capitan State Parks, and the historical Chumash village sites at Tajiguas and Dos Pueblos. The sanctuary boundaries exclude a key area off Morro Bay that was part of the original proposal to allow for the installation of transmission cables to service the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area west of the sanctuary. However, the sanctuary management plan includes a commitment to eventually expand the sanctuary’s boundaries north to Cambria.
Surfrider has been a long-time partner and advocate in the campaign to designate Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary. In 2015, Surfrider’s San Luis Obispo Chapter joined the Northern Chumash Tribal Council and the Sierra Club in officially proposing the creation of the sanctuary. In the years since, Surfrider educated our supporters across the United States and mobilized our network to participate in several official public comment periods. Surfrider's efforts complemented the efforts of the Northern Chumash Tribal Council and numerous other partners advocating for sanctuary designation. In total, NOAA received over 100,000 comments that expressed overwhelming support.
Surfrider San Luis Obispo Chapter's support for the creation of a national marine sanctuary off the California central coast goes back to the very beginning of the effort nearly forty years ago. Local advocates recognized the need to protect the region’s unique oceanographic features, submerged Chumash cultural sites, and valuable marine ecosystems from a variety of threats including offshore oil and gas drilling. In 2013, a grassroots collaboration, the Ocean Sanctuary Alliance, was organized by the Northern Chumash Tribal Council, including Surfrider San Luis Obispo, the Santa Lucia Chapter of Sierra Club, and other local environmental organizations to support an indigenous-proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary.
The waters off central California are some of the most productive, biologically diverse and culturally significant on the West Coast. Significant features include Chumash sacred sites, feeding grounds for 13 species of whales and dolphins, major upwelling processes, sea otter population, thriving kelp forests, world class fish diversity, and pinniped spawning areas. Yet, these invaluable resources are highly vulnerable to a variety of human impacts.
A National Marine Sanctuary designation will help to conserve these natural and cultural resources, while promoting scientific research, recreation, and public education. National Marine Sanctuaries are a type of marine protected area that is managed by NOAA. While sanctuaries allow for a range of human activities including recreational and commercial fishing, a primary management goal is to conserve the marine environment. Accordingly, sanctuaries include management measures to help protect ecological and human resources.
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