The MY Arctic Sunrise traveled to Morro Bay in September 2023 with members of the Northern Chumash Tribal Council and allies to support the federal designation of the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary. Upon designation, the proposed new protected area will be the first U.S. National Marine Sanctuary nominated by Indigenous people and would protect the ancestral waters of the Chumash and other tribes of coastal California. Greenpeace also supports co-management of the new sanctuary between the US government and California’s coastal tribes.
The MY Arctic Sunrise traveled to Morro Bay in September 2023 with members of the Northern Chumash Tribal Council and allies to support the federal designation of the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary. Upon designation, the proposed new protected area will be the first U.S. National Marine Sanctuary nominated by Indigenous people and would protect the ancestral waters of the Chumash and other tribes of coastal California. Greenpeace also supports co-management of the new sanctuary between the US government and California’s coastal tribes.
Washington, DC (October 14, 2024)-On October 11, the Biden-Harris Administration and NOAA announced the designation of the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary off the California coast, marking the first Indigenous-nominated national marine sanctuary in the U.S. and the state’s first new sanctuary in over 25 years. Arlo Hemphill, Greenpeace USA Oceans Are Life Campaign lead, said: “This designation is a victory for Tribal and community leaders who have campaigned for four decades to protect the culturally and ecologically significant waters off San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara. The Sanctuary represents a new era of ocean management shaped through Tribal collaborative co-stewardship, where traditional knowledge and practices are woven into federal management processes. This historic measure protects wildlife while safeguarding sacred sites and embracing a model of ocean stewardship that respects the ancestral waters of the Chumash and other Tribes.”
“As we await the Final Management Plan and sanctuary regulations, it’s essential that the second phase of the sanctuary designation moves forward with clear, time-bound steps to expand the boundaries. We need to close the protection gap to ensure that this globally significant ocean habitat, with its diverse species like snowy plovers, southern sea otters, leatherback sea turtles, black abalone, and blue whales, gets the comprehensive protection it deserves.”
The Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary preserves critical biodiversity and supports the Biden-Harris Administration’s 30×30 goal to protect 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030. This landmark decision sets a precedent for future ocean management, embracing Tribal stewardship to protect both nature and cultural heritage.
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Contact: Tanya Brooks, Greenpeace USA Senior Communications Specialist, P: 703-342-9226, E: [email protected]
Greenpeace USA is part of a global network of independent campaigning organizations that use peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future. Greenpeace USA is committed to transforming the country’s unjust social, environmental, and economic systems from the ground up to address the climate crisis, advance racial justice, and build an economy that puts people first. Learn more at www.greenpeace.org/usa.