The California Ocean Protection Council voted Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022, to provide $3.6 million to support the Tribal Marine Stewards Network, a collaboration between five coastal tribes and state government to protect marine ecosystems, including those at San Miguel Island.
SACRAMENTO, Calif.-Five California tribes will reclaim their right to manage coastal land significant to their history under a first-in-the-nation program backed with $3.6 million in state money.
The five tribes are the Kashia Band of Pomo Indians of the Stewarts Point Rancheria, the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, the Resighini Rancheria, the Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation, and the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.
The tribes will rely on their traditional knowledge to protect more than 200 miles of coastline in the state that have suffered damage from climate issues and human activity.
Leaders on the Tribal Marine Stewards Network say they plan to create agreements among tribes and with state government for managing these areas.
Some of the tribes' work will include monitoring salmon after the removal of a century-old defunct dam in the redwood forests of the Santa Cruz Mountains and testing for toxins in shellfish, while also educating future generations on traditional practices.
In 2020, the staff of the Ocean Protection Council, which coordinates activities of ocean-related state agencies, recommended the agency set aside $1 million toward developing a pilot program to support the network in conducting research, reaching out to tribes and creating plans for the future.
The council recently voted to provide an additional $3.6 million, which will support the groups in their continued efforts to monitor coastal and ocean resources, offer educational opportunities to tribal members, and pass along cultural knowledge to younger generations.
Creating a network of tribes to steward areas with the backing of state government money and nonprofit support breaks new ground in the United States, though similar partnerships have been formed in Australia and Canada.
Leaders plan to expand the network to include more tribes throughout the state. California has 109 federally recognized tribes, the second highest number in the country behind Alaska.
