TODAY NOAA released the final environmental impact statement for the chumashsanctuary! We are thrilled to see this important step toward ensuring the cultural and ecological resources of the central CA coast are effectively safeguarded through Indigenous collaborative co-stewardship.⁣ ⁣ The Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary advances Indigenous collaborative co-stewardship – integrating traditional practices and knowledge with federal processes. The Sanctuary will protect both an internationally significant ecological transition zone that’s home to a wide variety of wildlife, including many at-risk species, such as snowy plovers, southern sea otters, leatherback sea turtles, black abalone, and blue whales, and ancestral waters of several Tribes from along the Central California Coast.⁣ ⁣ More to come as we await the release of the Final Management Plan and sanctuary regulations, outlining time bound steps to implement the second phase of the sanctuary designation to include the...