Letter

Help Advance an Indigenous-Led Marine Sanctuary in California

20,243 signatures. Let’s get to 25K

Call on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to create the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary.

The coastal region near San Luis Obispo, California is the ancestral home of the Northern Chumash people and one of the world’s most biologically diverse regions. The area also hosts 25 threatened, endangered, or critically endangered species, including humpback whales and leatherback sea turtles, and one of the largest remaining kelp forests on the Western Seaboard. 

The proposed area of the National Marine Sanctuary · Only One

This protection would cover feeding grounds for numerous species of whales and dolphins, sea otter populations, kelp forests, and vital fisheries. It would also provide additional resilience to marine ecosystems in the face of climate change, warming oceans, loss of marine biodiversity, and impacts on communities, culture, traditions, and economies. 

At a moment when California has lost more than 90 percent of its kelp to warming waters and a recent oil spill has wreaked havoc on marine life, safeguarding these ecosystems is critical for the future of coastal communities.

The proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary has been on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) nomination list since 2013, but no further action has been taken · Robert Schwemmer / NOAA
Submerged Chumash villages and cultural heritage sites lie under the coastal waters and along the shoreline · Chris Burkard
Underwater towers of kelp provide food and shelter for thousands of fish, invertebrates, and marine mammal species · Claire Fackler / NOAA

The Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary would represent a huge step forward for Indigenous-led conservation in the United States and a major milestone for addressing systemic climate inequality. 

The Chumash are one of the few ocean-going tribes among the First People of the Pacific Coast — the island and marine ecosystems co-evolved with the Tribe's culture and traditions. As such, the climate crisis disproportionately affects their way of life and their longstanding historical relationships with the land and sea. 

California is the seventh largest source of fossil fuel in the U.S. · Guillaume Issaly

If the recent oil spill off the California coast has shown us anything, it’s that we cannot afford continued inaction in protecting vulnerable marine ecosystems and the coastal communities that depend on a thriving, healthy ocean. Creating this marine sanctuary will stave off future oil exploration and exploitation of natural resources, enacting critical protections for both people and the planet.  

Add your name to the official sign-on letter urging the NOAA to swiftly designate the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary. 

Click here to view the official letter.

Note: 10,672 of the signatures reflected on this page are carried over from a current petition on Only One calling on President Biden to Advance the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary.

Supporters
Mel R

we have the power to help

2 weeks ago
Maz S

I want marine sanctuaries and to protect the oceans and it's inhabitants.

3 weeks ago
Louisa u

graag hulp is nodig

3 weeks ago
Anne-Marie L

our oceans are important for the survival of all the creatures in them.

3 weeks ago
Karin M

The futures of the mankind who is not jet born.

4 weeks ago
Alan L

If we don't protect it now, we may lose it for the future.

1 month ago
Alberto P

I love the sea and all the animals that live there

1 month ago
Jessica D

I care about marine life.

1 month ago
Camilla L

it has to happen

1 month ago
Linda P

I care

1 month ago
Barbars G

The Indigenous have always cared for the land, the water and all the creatures living there.

1 month ago
Evelyn H

Since I no longer have the mean$ to donate to such causes, signing petitions is what I’m glad to do.

1 month ago
Michelle N

The earth belongs to them ❤️.

1 month ago
Brenda G

We need to save our planet and all animal habitats.

1 month ago
Mj H

We have to do our part and here I am

1 month ago
Nila A

i love out planet.

1 month ago
Sheila M

save Luves

1 month ago
Dolores S

if oceans die we all die

1 month ago
Darla P

detrimental

1 month ago
Lisa D

I want to protect as many waterways as possible

1 month ago
Tabytha T

so important in many aspects

1 month ago
Misa K

animals deserve life most precious.

1 month ago
dylan c

this is important we must protect the planet

1 month ago
June S

I believe we need to save our planet’s Marine lfe for future generations

1 month ago
Patricia P

It is obvious that for posterity - in cluding the posterity of our lands - we need to look beyond the rapist capitalisim that has voraciously guled up…

1 month ago
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