Wednesday the Northern Chumash Tribal Council and other indigenous tribes gathered at Morro Rock for a rally.
They were there to push for changes in a plan from the federal government that would create the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary.
The federal government unveiled a draft plan for a marine sanctuary that would stretch 134 miles from the Coast of San Luis Obispo to Santa Barbara.
But, the proposal leaves out the waters of Morro Bay – an exclusion which sparked the rally.
Several years ago, the Northern Chumash Tribal Council proposed a sanctuary that would include Morro Bay.
The federal government wants to keep those waters open for potential offshore wind energy projects.
However, the area is a culturally sacred place for the Chumash and other tribes.
“We need to protect the land from the federal government intrusion of the wind farms,” Salinan Tribal Councilmember Robert Piatti said.
“Even though the wind farms might be a great benefit if they prove to be successful, they will want to populate this entire coast with them, and that's something we don't want,” he added.
Piatti also said he wants the government to name the sanctuary after all the tribes with historic ties to the area.
Steve Levine from the Marine Mammal Center also joined the rally. He supports adding Morro Bay for another reason.
“It’s home where all the sea otters live; we see harbor seals here, sea lions” Levine said. “It’s a huge natural environment for them to live in.”
NOAA is accepting public comments until October 25. To leave your comment, you can visit sanctuaries.noaa.gov.
