GreenLatinos Applauds Historic Designation of Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary—First Tribally Nominated Sanctuary in the U.S

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

10/15/24

MEDIA CONTACT:

Edder Díaz Martínez

602-832-6039

edderdiazmartinez@greenlatinos.org

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WASHINGTON - On September 6, 2024, NOAA released the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary. On October 11, 2024, NOAA announced the designation on its website and uploaded the unpublished materials to the Federal Register for Inspection. The official documents will be published in the Federal Register on October 16th. The sanctuary designation will take effect following a 45-day review by the Governor of California and Congress, beginning on the date of publication.

In response to the historic announcement of The Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary becoming the first Tribally nominated National Sanctuary in the US and the first new sanctuary designated in California in more than 25 years, GreenLatinos Water Equity & Ocean Program Director, Dr. Val Schüll, released the following statement:

"After a forty-year campaign, NOAA has announced the designation of the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary. This is the first Tribally nominated National Marine Sanctuary in the US and the first new sanctuary to be designated in California in over 25 years. GreenLatinos is thrilled to see this important step toward ensuring the cultural and ecological resources of the central CA coast being effectively safeguarded through Tribal collaborative co-stewardship."

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About GreenLatinos

GreenLatinos (NOTE: GreenLatinos is ONE WORD) is an active comunidad of Latino/a/e leaders, emboldened by the power and wisdom of our culture, united to demand equity and dismantle racism, resourced to win our environmental, conservation, and climate justice battles, and driven to secure our political, economic, cultural, and environmental liberation.