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The Northern Chumash Tribal Council (NCTC) and Morro Bay Offshore Wind Leaseholders have announced joint support of a phased approach to the designation
"Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary would be the fifth national marine sanctuary off California and sixth off the continental West Coast," write Erica Donnelly-Greenan, Dan Haifley and Tracey Weiss in a Guest Commentary. "This new designation would increase the protection of ecosystems from Mendocino County to southern Santa Barbara County. It would fulfill national marine sanctuary program protection goals, facilitate research, outreach, education and maritime heritage objectives by protecting sacred Chumash cultural sites."
A new research partnership will combine Indigenous and scientific knowledge to monitor marine life in a sacred tribal region that may be a bellwether of how native species will fare in the face of climate change.
With climate change in the spotlight thanks to the January 2023 storms, local environmental activist Dan Haifley reminds us of the important work happening at the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, part of a national network of protected areas that fights climate change and pollution and protects biodiversity. That includes climate change research and preserving iconic kelp forests that reduce coastal erosion and absorb excess carbon from climate change.