The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation announced that it is celebrating the creation of the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of California.
Many of the USA’s 17th National Marine Sanctuary’s sites are considered sacred to Indigenous peoples.
The move is heralded as a first where the perspective of Indigenous people and their cultural values are taken into account when creating marine sanctuaries. The Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary lies along 116 miles/187km of the south-central California coastline and will protect 4,543 square miles/11,766 square kilometers of ocean.
According to National Marine Sanctuary Foundation President and CEO Joel Johnson:
“The designation of Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary is a transformational moment for our coastal California waters and all stewards of our shared ocean. Truly, the first Indigenous-nominated sanctuary is an historic achievement for our country, benefiting the natural wonders of these waters as well as the people and communities that are at the heart of its story. National marine sanctuaries are critically important management tools to conserve marine biodiversity and sources of solutions facing our waters and our world. We applaud NOAA and the Administration, and all the partners who worked hard to advance this nomination for many years, for protecting these magnificent ancestral waters.”
