Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary Proposal Presentation in Cambria, June 4th

by Carol Georgi and Karl Kempton,
Former Energy Planner for San Luis Obispo County,
Lead Author of Proposed Central Coast National Marine Sanctuary, 1990

Introduction

Greenspace-the Cambria Land Trust has joined other local groups in their support of the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary Proposal, and will host a Sanctuary presentation on June 4, 2014 at 6:30 pm at Rabobank’s Community Room in Cambria.

Presentations for the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary Proposal are being given by various leaders representing the Northern Chumash Tribal Council (NCTC), the Santa Lucia Chapter of the Sierra Club, the San Luis Obispo Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, the Marine Sanctuary Alliance, and other local, state, and national grassroots organizations.

More information can be found online at Chumash Sanctuary and Greenspace Cambria.

Greenspace-the Cambria Land Trust May 22, 2014 press release:

Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary

Sanctuary proposed for submerged Chumash sites and local waters The Northern Chumash Tribal Council is leading the effort to expand marine sanctuary protection to local waters including submerged cultural sites, off our coast between Cambria and Santa Barbara. The proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary would connect Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. The NMS designation embodies the Chumash concept of thrivability, a deep understanding of this unique and precious marine environment and its local human inhabitants.

Tribal Administrator Fred Collins will present the proposal at a meeting sponsored by Greenspace-The Cambria Land Trust, June 4, 6:30 pm at Rabobank's Community Room. The Santa Lucia Sierra Club's executive director, Andrew Christie, will join him. The Bakersfield Chumash Tribal Council, the Modoc Nation Government for the Modoc People of Southern Oregon and Northern California, Surfrider, Friends of the Elephant Seal and other nonprofits also support the proposal.

"Fred Collins brings Chumash history and culture to the discussion," said Greenspace board member Mary Webb. "This will protect all our ocean resources. It's important to all of us who live here."

Some of the submerged Chumash sites are villages and solstice alignments six to 13 miles offshore. Chumash records suggest they have occupied the Central Coast at least 20,000 years. Karl Kempton states, “Artifacts dated 18,000 years old have been found at Point Conception, an important sacred site. On the Channel Islands, the Arlington Springs Woman burial, was dated 14,500 years ago. Sites onshore adjacent to the ocean have been continuously occupied for 9,000 years and longer."

Those sites include the site for which Pismo Beach is named, the site of the traditional ritual ceremony cycle, the old Chumash capital, now partially submerged in the Avila Beach area and the sacred site at Diablo Cove. Two village sacred sites in Cambria have been continuously occupied for 10,000 years and a sacred site in Cayucos that has been continuously occupied for 8,000 years. Protecting the heritage sites will also shelter ocean life, honored by the Chumash people. The Chumash understanding and culture- based respect for Nature comes from their long and profound relationships with coastal marine ecosystems. Other significant features encompassed in the area include: the major offshore Santa Lucia Bank with bottom-dwelling communities of world-wide significance where 13 species of whales and dolphins gather and feed; three major upwellings, one of which is persistent, bringing up nutrient-rich water to feed marine life that also enhances the ecosystems of the two adjacent Sanctuaries; a 3,000-meter deep five-fingered submarine canyon through which the West Coast’s only persistent upwelling flows; whale and dolphin gathering areas and migration lanes.

Additionally, there are a significant percentage of the California sea otter population; thriving kelp forests; rocky intertidal regions with world-class fish diversity and densities; large numbers of pinnipeds including pupping areas and harbor seals; spawning areas and rookeries; fish nurseries; three estuaries; high coastal dunes; magnificent views and vistas; and the splendid waters of Morro, Estero and San Luis Bays.

A $5 donation is requested but all are welcome to learn about the proposed heritage sanctuary. Call Greenspace at 927-2866 for more information or online at Chumash Sanctuary and Greenspace Cambria.

More Information

The Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary Proposal - The January 2014 Marine Sanctuary article in the SLO Coast Journal presents the description of the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary Proposal. Fred Collins' letter invites participation and gives an overview of the Chumash Sanctuary Proposal in the October 2013 SLO Coast Journal.

Go to this link to view 122 slides in the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary Proposal powerpoint presentation created by various members of the Chumash Nation. (See: Chumash Marine Sanctuary.pdf)

Maps of the Seven Core Area of the proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary can be found in our April 2014 SLO Coast Journal article.