Biden Administration announces a new National Marine Sanctuary that is also the first to be led by Indigenous people.
More than 4,500 square miles of ocean will soon be protected by the federal government off the Central California coast. The Biden administration is creating a new national marine sanctuary, which will be the third largest in the U.S.
The sanctuary is also the first to be led by Indigenous people. It was nominated by members of the Northern Chumash Tribe, who drove the effort for more than decade to protect the rugged coastline that is their historical homeland.
Going forward, the new Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary will be managed in partnership with tribes and Indigenous groups in the area, who will advise the federal government. It marks a growing movement under the Biden administration to give tribes a say over the lands and waters that were taken from them. www.npr.org/…
Way to knock it out of the Park on Indigenous People’s Day!
Secretary of Interior Haaland, Biden, Harris, Walz..
So many good reasons to celebrate this amazing team of leaders.
The new sanctuary is home to a diverse marine ecosystem, where dense kelp forests support a broad array of life from sea otters to migrating whales. For Walker, the area is also home to many sacred sites dating back thousands of years, like the rocky cliffs known as Point Conception.
“It’s where we spiritually believe that all people leave this world into the next life,” she says. “They take their journey – whatever faith you are, whatever spirituality you have – and that area will be fully and forever protected. For my father, our ancestors, elders who have passed – I think they would be the most excited about that.”
