Chart shows the newest boundaries being proposed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for the proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary.
A proposed National Marine Sanctuary off the Central Coast continues to shrink and move farther south, after the federal agency in charge of the program issued a final Environmental Impact Statement and cleared the way for its eventual adoption.
On Sept. 6 and calling it a major milestone, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the umbrella agency that oversees the National Marine Sanctuary program, announced that it was now done with the environmental review for a Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary (CHNMS).
The agency can now turn its attention to officially designating the sanctuary writing and adopting a management plan, forming an advisory board, and setting up all the bureaucracy needed.
But the newest boundaries have been again shifted southward, down past the Diablo Canyon marina and excluding San Luis Bay at Avila Beach. The CHNMS was also extended southward hugging the Gaviota Coast.
The move cuts out entirely SLO County’s North Coast, which was the area the sanctuary was initially intended to protect. When NOAA first accepted the sanctuary nomination from Northern Chumash Tribal Council Chief, the late-Fred Collins, along with several local environmental groups, it was to span the entire coast from the Monterey Bay NMS (at Cambria) down to the Channel Islands NMS off the Coast of Santa Barbara. Things have changed.
“Under NOAA’s preferred alternative,” reads the release, “the sanctuary would include 4,543 square miles of coastal and offshore waters along 116-miles of California’s Central Coast.” The sanctuary boundary spans from the beach out 60 miles and has maximum depths of 11,580 feet, over 2 miles deep.
At 4,543 sq. mi. it’s almost as large as the State of Connecticut, which has a landmass of 4,842 sq. mi. and is larger than Puerto Rico at 3,434.
According to NOAA’s official description, the new sanctuary’s northern boundary begins some 2 miles southeast of Diablo Canyon’s manmade marina and follows the shoreline to Gaviota Creek, which is south of Point Conception.
The sanctuary will stretch far offshore, “From Gaviota Creek,” NOAA said, “the boundary continues offshore to the southwest, and around Rodriguez Seamount and Arguello Canyon. From there the boundary transits north consistent with Alternative 1 along the edge of Santa Lucia Bank to roughly the southern boundary of the Diablo Canyon Call Area.”
“Upon designation,” NOAA’s release said, “the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary would become the third largest national marine sanctuary in the National Marine Sanctuary System.”
The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) “provides an evaluation of the expected environmental, social and economic effects of the proposed sanctuary, and reflects public input from multiple rounds of stakeholder engagement.”
When the sanctuary is officially established it would become the 17th in the National Marine Sanctuary System, NOAA said.
It’ll also be the first Sanctuary to have its boundaries fiddled with because of development, as NOAA has admitted that it’s final boundary recommendations were shaped by the discussion with the three OSW companies, who said they didn’t think their trenching and burying hundreds of high voltage transmission cables for miles through a sanctuary could be done without raising their costs (for permitting), so high as to kill the projects.
The State and Federal Governments have gone all-in on OSW, in an effort to meet the State’s Climate Change goals, and support the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to recast the nation’s energy industry and fight climate change.
But the stated intent is to honor Native Americans. “The sanctuary,” NOAA’s press release said, “would recognize and celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ connections to the region, and be managed with the active involvement of Tribes and Indigenous communities, inclusive of Indigenous values, knowledge and traditions.”
The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, which are the federally recognized Chumash Tribe and who own a casino and resort in Santa Ynez, “will serve as a Co-steward of the sanctuary,” NOAA said.
Violet Sage Walker, daughter of Collins and now chairwoman of the Northern Chumash Tribal Council, was ecstatic. “This is a huge moment for the Chumash People and all who have tirelessly supported our campaign over the years,” she said. “My father, the late Chief Fred Collins, began the journey to protect these sacred waters 40-years ago, and we have been so proud to continue his work. I am delighted to celebrate his vision, today’s success, and the future of our People who will always be connected to past, present and future by this special stretch of coastline and the true magic its waters hold.”
The FEIS was published in two volumes and is available on the Marine Sanctuary program pages on NOAA’s website, see: https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/chumash-heritage to find the links to both volumes.
