Plan to create a new marine sanctuary off the Central Coast is still alive, NOAA says
Ocean waters off the Central Coast could one day be protected as part of a new national marine sanctuary.
A proposal to create a marine sanctuary along a section of shore stretching from Cambria to Gaviota Creek near Santa Barbara has been granted another five years of review, rather than being taken off the table as of the Oct. 5 deadline, according to a letter sent Sept. 24 to the Northern Chumash Tribal Council by John Armor, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.
If approved, the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary could mean no oil rigs, wind farms or development of the in-ocean resources in an area of the Pacific Ocean that’s between two existing sanctuaries. However, uses such as fishing, boating, diving and walking along the beach would be allowed. Proposals for wind turbines off Morro Bay would be located farther out to sea, beyond the sanctuary’s boundary.
On Thursday, the Federal Register reported that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reviewed information about the merit of the nomination, giving “particular attention to new scientific information about the national significance of natural and cultural resources, as well as increases or decreases in the threats to resources originally proposed for protection,” plus “the level of community-based support for the nomination from a broad range of interests.”
That review showed there are “still significant threats to the area.”
The proposal for the sanctuary, which would protect an area of ocean waters that lie between the Monterey Bay and Channel Islands national marine sanctuaries, “continues to meet the 11 sanctuary nomination process criteria,” Armor wrote. “The nomination will remain on the inventory of areas NOAA may consider in the future for national marine sanctuary designation.”
Armor added in his letter that he, NOAA, stakeholders and interested community members will continue working together on the possibility of “long-term, comprehensive conservation of this area.”
The site of the possible sanctuary is considered a transition zone between major ocean currents and persistent upwelling systems that serve as a natural laboratory to foster remarkable species diversity.
NOAA added the Chumash plan into the inventory of new sanctuaries being considered in 2015.
If a sanctuary designation proposal is still in the works five years after it was nominated — as is the case for the Chumash sanctuary — NOAA must reconsider if it should be stay on the list and in the pipeline. Otherwise, the nomination expires.
Arguments for and against marine sanctuary
The Chumash concept has been in the planning stage for more than a decade.
It’s been under debate, sometimes fierce, ever since. And that’s likely to continue as stakeholders work to resolve their differences, such as “conflicts and concerns of the commercial fishing industry and traditional working harbor uses,” as was cited in an objection letter from the Morro Bay City Council.
During NOAA’s reassessment of the proposal, the agency received a groundswell of more than 14,300 comments, including letters of support ranging from local officials to state and federal legislators, including senators Kamala Harris and Dianne Feinstein, congressmembers Salud Carbajal, Jimmy Panetta and others, county Supervisor Bruce Gibson, the city of San Luis Obispo and the Cambria Community Services District.
Those letters meant everything to sanctuary proponents, especially members of the Chumash community.
It’s an area in which the Chumash Peoples lived during a time when the ocean level was 300 feet lower, and in which other aspects of U.S. history lie, such as the wreck of a Civil War-era ship.
Violet Sage Walker, vice chairwoman of the Northern Chumash Tribal Council, said Thursday morning that she’s “overwhelmed by the level of support and thankful for it,” especially during such turbulent times. She said it was amazing “for so many people to take the time to write letters to say how important the ocean and the sanctuary are.”
Proponents cited diverse marine resources to be protected in “one of the most culturally and biologically diverse coastlines anywhere in the world,” according to the Chumash application for sanctuary status. It’s an area in which, according to Feinstein and others, dangerous ocean acidity is increasing twice as fast as it is in other global seas.
Not all the letters were in favor of the concept.
Among those opposed were representatives of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, the Morro Bay Commercial Fishermen’s Organization, the California Sea Urchin Commission, the Morro Bay City Council and the San Luis Obispo County Supervisors, by a 3-2 vote.
If ultimately approved, the boundary of a Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary would extend along the shore for 140 scenic and culturally rich miles, and out into the ocean along a meandering line from six to 13 miles out from the shore. That line corresponds to the edge of the outer continental shelf, where California land used to extend many eons ago.
For more information, such as the review, letters, analysis and technical report, go to www.nominate.noaa.gov, which was due to be updated Thursday, Oct. 1.
