The US Gets a New National Marine Sanctuary, the First Led by a Tribe

The federal government will soon protect more than 4,500 square miles of ocean off the Central California coast. The Biden administration is creating a new national marine sanctuary, which will be the third largest in the U.S.

The sanctuary is also the first to be led by Indigenous people. It was nominated by members of the Northern Chumash Tribe, who drove the effort for more than a decade to protect the rugged coastline that is their historical homeland.

Going forward, the new Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary will be managed in partnership with tribes and Indigenous groups in the area, who will advise the federal government. It marks a growing movement under the Biden administration to give tribes a say over the lands and waters that were taken from them.

“We’re still here, and so are the Indigenous people wherever you live,” says Violet Sage Walker, chairwoman of the Northern Chumash Tribal Council, who led the campaign for the sanctuary. “Being able to address climate change, use traditional ecological knowledge, and participate in co-management is Indigenous peoples’ contribution to saving the planet.”

The final sanctuary boundaries are smaller than originally proposed due to California’s burgeoning offshore wind industry. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says it plans to look at expanding the sanctuary in the future.

National marine sanctuaries are similar to a national forest on land. The new sanctuary will be protected from oil and gas drilling, as well as undersea mining, while fishing is still permitted. It also means more public outreach and monitoring for environmental impacts, something NOAA says is vital to understanding how the ecosystem is being affected by climate change.

“People will protect what they love, and they won’t love it unless they understand it,” says Paul Michel, regional policy coordinator for NOAA’s West Coast Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. “One of our challenges is to share this incredible resource with people to encourage their advocacy and support for ocean conservation.”

A vision for protection

The new sanctuary is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream of Walker’s father, Fred Collins. He nominated the area to become a sanctuary in 2015 with NOAA. The proposal languished under the Trump administration, and Collins passed away several years later.

“That’s all my dad ever wanted, that people would know that we are the stewards of this land,” Walker says. “One of the last conversations we had in the hospital before he passed away, he says the sanctuary was one of the most important things he did and that he wanted me to finish it.”

The new sanctuary is home to a diverse marine ecosystem, where dense kelp forests support a broad array of l,ife from sea otters to migrating whales. For Walker, the area is also home to many sacred sites dating back thousands of years, like the rocky cliffs known as Point Conception.

“It’s where we spiritually believe that all people leave this world into the next life,” she says. “They take their journey – whatever faith you are, whatever spirituality you have – and that area will be fully and forever protected. For my father, our ancestors, elders who have passed – I think they would be the most excited about that.”

The Pacific Ocean has also been hit hard by climate change, like the massive marine heat wave known as “the Blob,” which dramatically altered the food web from 2014–16, affecting everything from the tiniest creatures to massive whales.

“The historic designation of the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary comes not a moment too soon,” says Congressman Salud Carbajal, who represents the area. “As our oceans and communities face unprecedented challenges from a changing marine environment, this new sanctuary comes at a critical time for our region.”

Compromise with the wind industry

In 2022, the federal government held the first offshore wind leases on the West Coast, opening the door for wind energy. The new floating turbines will be outside the sanctuary, but under the original sanctuary boundary, the undersea cables that bring power to shore would have been within it.

After negotiations, wind energy companies and tribal groups agreed to a smaller boundary for the sanctuary, with a phased approach to expand it. The current boundary leaves a corridor for wind energy infrastructure to be built. After that, NOAA has said it will begin the process of considering expanding the sanctuary to the original proposed size, something wind companies say they’ll support.

“We have a commitment to ensuring that infrastructure advances with consideration of the natural environment and species of concern and sensitive natural resources,” says Erin Lieberman, vice president of environmental compliance and strategy at Invenergy, one of the wind companies developing a project. “How we incorporate that into our project placement and our project design is a priority. And I hope and believe that we can be a model for that.”

Offshore wind energy could be vital for California to reach its goal of getting 100% of its electricity by 2045 from sources that don’t emit planet-heating pollution. Studies show offshore wind produces power at a vital time for the state – right as the sun sets and solar farms start turning off.

“Compromises were made, but I think that’s the way we also move forward with addressing climate change,” Walker says. “Dealing with renewable green energy is not always easy.”

Developing Indigenous co-management

NOAA says it plans to manage the new Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary with input from the tribes and Indigenous groups in the area. Since only one band of Chumash, the Santa Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, is federally recognized, the involvement may look different for different groups, something NOAA is still determining.

“Really, what this represents is a starting point because we realize we’ve got a lot of work to do to get to know one another, to build some trust,” Michel says.

The federal government has piloted Indigenous co-management in a handful of places, like at the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary in Washington state. On land, the government is also working with five tribes in managing the Bears Ears National Monument in Utah.

After centuries of displacement and violence, Walker says it will take time for Indigenous peoples to repair the relationship with the federal government.

“This is a big step for them and we’ll just see how things go,” Walker says. “As long as I’m breathing, we’re going to be fighting to protect our Earth, Mother Earth. That’s just who most Indigenous people are.”