Nine years ago, the Northern Chumash Tribal Council officially proposed the creation of a Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary off the Central California coast with support from the Surfrider San Luis Obispo Chapter, the Sierra Club, and other partners. On September 6, the federal government released the final environmental impact statement (EIS) for the proposed sanctuary, one of the last remaining steps of the designation process. The announcement from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a strong signal that the agency intends to officially designate the sanctuary in the very near future.
“The Surfrider Foundation applauds NOAA for moving forward with designating the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary,” said Surfrider's Ocean Protection Manager, Pete Stauffer. “The sanctuary will help protect more than 4,500 square miles of 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 officially designate Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary this fall with a strong management plan that will achieve the proposed goals of the 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, pinniped spawning areas – the list goes on and on. Yet, these invaluable resources are highly vulnerable to human impacts, including potential offshore oil and gas exploitation and other harmful activities.
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.
In 2023, NOAA released the draft EIS, management plan, and proposed rule for public review. While Surfrider was generally pleased with the draft regulations, we were concerned with the agency’s plan to reduce the size of the sanctuary by removing the area from Morro Bay to Cambria from the sanctuary boundaries. Accordingly, Surfrider has advocated for the designation of the original proposed boundaries through a phased approach that allows for the installation of transmission cables to the Morro Bay Offshore Wind Energy Area. Surfrider also supports the Gaviota Coast 5B Extension to include the coastal waters off northern Santa Barbara in the final boundaries. To read Surfrider's full comment letter, click here.
Learn More:
NOAA Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary Page