The Biden-Harris administration officially designated the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary. It’s now the third largest marine sanctuary in the country, and it could get even bigger.
The sanctuary spans more than 4,500 square miles from Pismo Beach to Gaviota.
Congressman Salud Carbajal, who pushed for the sanctuary alongside indigenous groups, said this milestone is decades in the making.
“This means a huge accomplishment and win for Native Americans in our region, for the protections that it's going to provide for the environment, for our ocean waters and our cultural resources in the area,” Carbajal said.
Right now, the sanctuary’s boundary excludes Morro Bay waters, where electrical transmission cables and offshore wind projects may be developed. Once those projects are complete, Carbajal said the sanctuary could be expanded.
“There will be an effort to move that boundary to where the Monterey Sanctuary boundary is and tighten up that area where we have the development of offshore wind energy, so the only pending challenge is expanding the boundary in the future,” Carbajal said.
Moving forward, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will work with the Northern Chumash tribe and other local groups to manage the designated area.
