The California Central Coast is a vast region made up of rolling hills, lush Pacific terraces, and rugged coastal canyons, which all dramatically meet the majestic Pacific Ocean. It is a place of amazingdiversity and ecosystems, rich in marine and terrestrialwildlife.
The unique geology along the coast creates some of the most beautiful coastal vistas in the world, which inspire locals to revel in its beauty and enjoy its bounty. This visceral and physical relationship to our home makes us want to protect its uniqueness, preserve its abundance, and assure that future generations can appreciate and thrive in this paradise we call home.
That gets accomplished through careful planning, environmentally sustainable development, rigorous use ofscience, strong public participation, education, effective intergovernmental coordination, and the willingness to take a stand for our environment.
We as a community nowhave the opportunity totake a decisive step toward preserving our local marine environment—and the home and sacred place to the Chumash and their ancestors—through the creation and designation of the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary.
This sanctuary would effectively create a level of protection for our nearand offshore marine environmentsthat would close the gap between the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary.
For decades, locals have, tovarying degrees of success, fought corporate attempts to implement destructive projects that would negatively affect our marine ecosystems and impact our local economies.
It is time that we take the necessary steps to protect our local oceans, onceand for all, from projects such as seismic testing, oil exploration anddevelopment, ocean mining, and destructive new technologies that could indefinitely impact our native and migratory species by adding to the already powerful impact of anthropogenic noise.
Yes, this designation would be a federal appointment, but that’s where day-to-day federal oversight ends. Each of the marine sanctuaries throughout the country is run by a local steeringcommittee made up of local stakeholders, and all decisions are made by this balanced entity. There could not be a more democratic and fair way to protect our oceans!
Our local economies wouldthrive, as our fishermen would be assured of a healthy place to continue to work (and no, sanctuaries donot have the right to regulate fishing—they never have, and never will!). And most of all, our richoffshore ecosystems that are so precious and abundant will be protected.
Now is the time to act for our local legacy. Now, you can make a difference in a world where sometimes we struggle to positively impact our Earth and our collective futures. Be part of the processto designate the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary. You can make a formal statement to NOAA in support of this milestone designation here: sanctuaries.noaa.gov/Chumash-heritage. Δ
Mandy Davis is a longtime local hiking and kayaking guide who writes from Los Osos. Send a response for publication to letters@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Year in Review 2021.
A whole lot of this commentary is a fascinating flat out lie. With very little understanding of the power that NOAA holds and is dragging the great Chumash nation under for a individual who proclaims indigenous heritage even after a court order denying them that right. Northern Chumash don’t speak on behalf of all Chumash. Nor are they recognized as a tribe. As for the sanctuary’s real life impact on the coast. This has been opposed but all local tribes but one in the past. And from talks with elders this round will be strongly opposed once again
https://www.newtimesslo.com/sanluisobispo/unnecessary-protection/Content?oid=11847611
My name is Dave Kirk , I have been fishing commercialy for 30 years. Durring that time year in and year out pressure from the wealthy environmental organizations has just about wiped out the fishing industry in Port San Luis . The Sierra Club , and their unrecognized Indian will seal the coffin on us if they get thier way with this Santuary. Being able to utilize the resource from these waters is part of NOAA and Biden’s 30 , 30 plan to close even more area to fishing . I have been working through the Pacific Fisheries Management Council trying to ease regulations in federal waters, which extend outside three miles for many years . Anybody interested in talking to me about this process I welcome your inquiry, you can contact me at salmonkirk@gmail.com
I have 30 years of experience with the National Marine Sanctuary program, which tells me that few of the claims in “Creating Our Legacy” are true. A new NMS in the Central Coast will not provide any more protection against oil and gas development than do existing authorities, such as the CA Coastal Act and the power of the CA Congressional delegation. However, NMS officials refuse to rule out allowing large industrial wind farms inside sanctuaries.
Sanctuary authority is largely redundant to existing, powerful federal and state laws such as the Clean Water Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, among many others.
And having a “Sanctuary Advisory Council” for local co-management? Forget it. The sanctuary management will have complete control over all its functions, such as the selection of representatives, agenda-setting, and to whom it can communicate.
Steve Scheiblauer