Sanctuary Update - July 2023
Happy Summertime!
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD COMING SOON!
Stay tuned: We anticipate the final and defining public comment period for the proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary will be coming soon.
The date is to be determined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Interested in getting involved? Sign up to volunteer, in person or virtually:
Click here to sign up for shifts!
Victoria, outreach lead at our Avila farmers market booth.
We expanded our community outreach, near and far. We are at the SLO and Avila Farmers Markets and our team has led over 25 presentations this year. Thank you to the volunteers and staff who make this possible!
What have we been up to? Check it out…
We are excited to announce the launch of our new Northern Chumash Tribal Council website! This will help us extend beyond the Chumash Sanctuary (CHNMS) campaign.
The first week of June, our team went to Washington, DC for Capitol Hill Ocean Week (CHOW). We went to a lot of meetings, including with CA Senator Alex Padilla’s Policy Advisors and CA Congressman Salud Carbajal.
Left to Right: Advisor PJ Webb, NCTC Chair Violet Sage Walker, Congressman Salud Carbajal, & Campaign Manager Gianna Patchen!
Left to right: Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš, Chair Violet Sage Walker, Uncle Solomon Pili Kahoʻohalahala, Dr. Lola Fatoyinbo and the moderator Betsy Lopez-Wagner on the podium.
Violet Sage Walker, NCTC’s Chair, was honored to be on a Capitol Hill Ocean Week (CHOW) plenary panel titled “Building Resilience Through Ocean-Based Climate Solutions,” where they talked about equitable ocean solutions in order to create a thriving future for all people!
Congratulations Uncle Solomon Pili Kahoʻohalahala and Uncle William J. Ailā Jr. for being awarded The Sanctuary Wavemaker Award by the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation! Thank you for all of your hard work.
Check out this Chumash Sanctuary article in the Guardian by Lucy Sherrif. It took off this summer bringing more attention to the sanctuary campaign!
Violet joined Natalia Vásquez of Heart in Brain Studios for a Latino Conservation Week interview for the 10th-anniversary celebration of LCW. Thank you to the Hispanic Access Foundation for making this possible!
If you're interested in chatting with us visit our weekly farmers market booths in San Luis Obispo on Thursday and Avila on Friday.
As always, thank you for your support and for making our work possible.