Chuck Darwin on Nostr: US approves first-ever tribal marine sanctuary After years of campaigning by ...
US approves first-ever tribal marine sanctuary
After years of campaigning by Indigenous Americans in central California,
the US has finally approved the country’s first Indigenous-nominated national marine sanctuary,
-- a 4,543 sq mile expanse of ocean that will protect marine life from mining and oil drilling.
⭐️The Chumash Heritage national marine sanctuary
– which will be nearly four times the size of Yosemite national park
– will stretch along 116 miles of the California coastline that supports a number of at-risk species,
including southern sea otters,
abalone and blue whales.
The area is also home to critical kelp forests,
which not only provide food and shelter for marine life,
but also act as a carbon storage system
– they can sequester up to 20 times as much carbon as terrestrial forests.
“We had huge, overwhelming support for this area to be protected, and we brought communities together,”
says Violet Sage Walker,
chairwoman of the Northern Chumash Tribal Council (NCTC),
who was integral in pushing for the sanctuary to be nominated.
The tribe worked with a variety of community and environmental groups to rally support for the sanctuary.
“Generations of central coast residents from tribal elders to college students have knocked on doors, sent postcards and emails, circulated petitions, addressed local governments and community groups, and held fundraisers on behalf of the marine sanctuary,”
said Gianna Patchen, coordinator of the Santa Lucia Sierra Club chapter.
“Now that our community’s hard work has come to fruition, we’re elated to help make this sanctuary the best it can be.”
Walker took over campaigning following the death of her father, Fred Collins, former chief of the tribe, who had nominated the sanctuary in 2015.
The tribe say they are stewards of both the land and the ocean,
and have a duty to protect the waters from oil drilling, deep sea mining and overfishing.
The sanctuary will encompass Point Conception
– known as Humqaq in the Chumash language, which means “the Raven comes”.
This area, also known as the “western gate”, is particularly sacred to the tribe,
who believe it is the point from which the souls of their dead travel from this world to the next
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/19/tribal-marine-sanctuary-chumash-heritage?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
After years of campaigning by Indigenous Americans in central California,
the US has finally approved the country’s first Indigenous-nominated national marine sanctuary,
-- a 4,543 sq mile expanse of ocean that will protect marine life from mining and oil drilling.
⭐️The Chumash Heritage national marine sanctuary
– which will be nearly four times the size of Yosemite national park
– will stretch along 116 miles of the California coastline that supports a number of at-risk species,
including southern sea otters,
abalone and blue whales.
The area is also home to critical kelp forests,
which not only provide food and shelter for marine life,
but also act as a carbon storage system
– they can sequester up to 20 times as much carbon as terrestrial forests.
“We had huge, overwhelming support for this area to be protected, and we brought communities together,”
says Violet Sage Walker,
chairwoman of the Northern Chumash Tribal Council (NCTC),
who was integral in pushing for the sanctuary to be nominated.
The tribe worked with a variety of community and environmental groups to rally support for the sanctuary.
“Generations of central coast residents from tribal elders to college students have knocked on doors, sent postcards and emails, circulated petitions, addressed local governments and community groups, and held fundraisers on behalf of the marine sanctuary,”
said Gianna Patchen, coordinator of the Santa Lucia Sierra Club chapter.
“Now that our community’s hard work has come to fruition, we’re elated to help make this sanctuary the best it can be.”
Walker took over campaigning following the death of her father, Fred Collins, former chief of the tribe, who had nominated the sanctuary in 2015.
The tribe say they are stewards of both the land and the ocean,
and have a duty to protect the waters from oil drilling, deep sea mining and overfishing.
The sanctuary will encompass Point Conception
– known as Humqaq in the Chumash language, which means “the Raven comes”.
This area, also known as the “western gate”, is particularly sacred to the tribe,
who believe it is the point from which the souls of their dead travel from this world to the next
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/19/tribal-marine-sanctuary-chumash-heritage?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other