October 15, 2024 — The Biden administration said Friday it has designated 4,543 square miles of coastal and offshore waters along 116 miles of California’s Central Coast as the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary.
The sanctuary, which stretches from from just south of the Diablo Canyon power plant in San Luis Obispo County to the Gaviota Coast in Santa Barbara County, is the third-largest in the National Marine Sanctuary System, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.
It is also the first tribally nominated sanctuary in the United States, said U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, a Democrat representing California and chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife.
“After years of advocacy, today’s announcement finally honors the Chumash people’s sacred waters as a National Marine Sanctuary and safeguards a vibrant and diverse Central Coast ecosystem,” Padilla said. “This sanctuary designation marks a hard-fought victory for the Chumash people, our conservation priorities, and the responsible development of offshore wind as California strives to meet its ambitious clean energy goals.”