This map shows the final designated boundaries of the new, Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary, as decided by NOAA. Map courtesy NOAA
After over a decade of trying to navigate bureaucratic waters the nation has a new National Marine Sanctuary.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) finalized formation of the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary at the end of November, ending a long road to getting protections for a huge swath of the California Coast and Pacific Ocean.
“Designated in 2024,” reads a news release from NOAA, “Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary is America’s 17th national marine sanctuary; the sixth off the U.S. West Coast; and is one of the largest in the National Marine Sanctuary System.
“The sanctuary encompasses 4,543 square miles of Central California’s beautiful coastal and ocean waters,” NOAA continued, “providing protection to nationally significant natural, cultural, and historical resources while bringing new opportunities for research, community engagement, and education and outreach activities.”
The boundaries for the sanctuary have changed since it was first proposed. Initially the boundary was to start at the southern edge of the Monterey Bay NMS (roughly Cambria) and extend down past Point Conception in Santa Barbara County, butting up against the Channel Islands NMS.
But a lot has changed since then, the biggest being the advent of proposals to build offshore floating wind energy farms in the open ocean 20-30 miles off San Simeon.
While that nearly 400-square mile area is outside the sanctuary, the route that transmission cables would need to take to bring the 3 gigawatts of energy ashore would have run straight through it.
To avoid that, NOAA moved the northern boundary south, eventually down past Point Buchon and Diablo Canyon power plant.
They also pushed the southern boundary down the Gaviota Coast and farther out to sea to cover seamounts off Point Conception in deep water.
From its inception, the sanctuary has caused rifts in the community, including between the local Native American Tribes that historically lived along the Central Coast. NOAA acknowledged both but seems to pick a side.
“NOAA,” reads a message from the agency, “respectfully acknowledges that the ocean waters, seafloor, and coast within and beyond Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary are, and always have been, the native homelands of Chumash Peoples and their ancestors, and that adjacent waters and coasts further north are also the native homelands of Salinan Peoples and their ancestors.
“NOAA designates this sanctuary with respect and reverence for the Indigenous Peoples of this coastal area, and looks forward to a future of partnership and collaborative co-stewardship to protect and honor this special place.”
That term, “collaborative stewardship” is a key to how this all will shake out going forward. Among the most important tasks that lay ahead is the selection of an appointed advisory board. Those applications are underway now.
“NOAA is establishing a Sanctuary Advisory Council,” NOAA said, “and is inviting applications for 13 seats during a 60-day recruitment period from Jan. 7 to March 7, 2025.”
The council will have 15 voting members and 15 alternates, NOAA added, “reflecting a variety of local community interests and experience relevant to the sanctuary.
“The advisory council will also have additional categories of non-voting seats: government agencies, students, and local representatives from NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.”
There are in actuality just 13 seats to be filled (12 voting and one non-voting) and NOAA is looking for specific types to fill them:
• Indigenous Cultural Knowledge (2 members, 2 alternates);
• Public-at-Large, San Luis Obispo County (1 member, 1 alternate);
• Public-at-Large, Santa Barbara County (1 member, 1 alternate);
• Conservation (1 member, 1 alternate);
• Education (1 member, 1 alternate);
• Research (1 member, 1 alternate);
• Tourism and Recreation (1 member, 1 alternate);
• Ports, Harbors, and Maritime Transportation (1 member, 1 alternate);
• Offshore Energy and Telecommunications (1 member, 1 alternate);
• Commercial Fishing (1 member, 1 alternate);
• Recreational Fishing (1 member, 1 alternate); and,
• Student Leadership (Non-Voting -— 1 member, 1 alternate)
Working with Native Americans appears to be of special importance to NOAA.
“A core element of Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary is developing and implementing a ‘Framework for Indigenous Collaborative Co-Stewardship.’ This will eventually lead to the formation of a special Sanctuary Advisory Council working group — the Indigenous Cultures Advisory Panel — to provide for the respectful and meaningful involvement of representatives and partners from multiple local Tribes and Indigenous communities.
“In addition, NOAA intends to create a separate Intergovernmental Policy Council, which will bring together federally recognized Tribes (the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians) with the State of California and NOAA.”
Email questions about the Sanctuary Advisory Council to: chumash.heritage@noaa.gov.
For information about applying for the advisory council, see: sanctuaries.noaa.gov/chumash-heritage/advisory.