By Megan Howatt-Kinzler, MBC 2024
The proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary (CHNMS) is well on its way to becoming the first Tribal-nominated national marine sanctuary designation in the U.S. After receiving almost 100,000 comments during the final public comment period in October 2023, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is tackling the tough job of finalizing the designation details including the much debated boundary of the sanctuary.
Marine life knows no boundaries
The initially nominated sanctuary includes over 7,500 square miles of ocean and 152 miles of coastline from Cambria, California to the Gaviota coast just north of Santa Barbara. One critical component of this proposed boundary is the bridge it creates between the existing Monterey Bay and Channel Islands sanctuaries. If approved, the new sanctuary would result in hundreds of contiguous miles of protected ocean, which is expected to increase opportunities for ecological connectivity and protected corridors for marine life.
Map of nominated boundary submitted to NOAA in 2015. Source: https://chumashsanctuary.org/about/
The NOAA-preferred alternative boundary
In August 2023, NOAA released a draft management plan along with boundary alternatives informed by a comprehensive environmental impact statement. Of the multiple proposed alternatives, the agency landed on a combination of two alternatives that protects 5,600 square miles of ocean and 134 miles of coastline.
Map of NOAA-proposed alternative boundary. Source: https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/chumash-heritage/
What’s the difference?
The final agency-preferred alternative differs from the initial proposal in two key ways:
- Most notably, it excludes a wide area off the coast of Morro Bay in support of planned offshore wind development due to concerns that electrical transmission cable infrastructure may be incompatible with sanctuary protections.
- It includes additional areas of the Gaviota coast, including high traffic state parks, existing conservation areas, and areas near historical Chumash village sites.
Can conservation and renewable energy coexist?
A large portion of the almost 100,000 submitted comments advocated for NOAA to uphold the initial 7,500+ square mile designation proposal, challenging the agency to assess whether its possible for conservation efforts and climate mitigation initiatives to coexist. Just last week, two members of Congress representing the districts directly impacted by the proposed sanctuary urged NOAA to enact the original boundary, stating “[g]rowing our blue economy and being good stewards of our natural resources are not mutually exclusive.” The Northern Chumash Tribal Council also unsurprisingly echoes this sentiment, but is also very aware of the importance of finalizing the designation before the 2024 election. While spokespeople from the clean energy sector have also been quoted in local media outlets highlighting the complexities the overlap would pose, it all comes down to NOAA’s decision on where to draw the line between two of the President’s biggest priorities – conservation and clean energy.
Stay connected
NOAA is targeting to publish the final designation documents in mid-2024 with the goal of formally designating the sanctuary in Fall 2024. Learn more about NOAA’s designation process. In the meantime, stay connected to local communities and advocates by signing up for updates or following along on Instagram.