Aerial tour provides birds-eye view of soon to be designated Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - A special aerial tour Tuesday provided media members, along with other invited guests, a birds-eye view of some of the coastline that is included in the proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary.

The tour was held by EcoFlight, along with the Northern Chumash Tribal Council as effort to help provide invited guests an aerial perspective of the Central Coast land and seascape that moved a major step closer earlier this month toward receiving final designation from the federal government.

"This is Chumash homeland," said Violet Sage Walker, Tribal Chair of the Northern Chumash Tribal Council. "We've lived here, continuous occupation for over 17,000 years. To be able to see all of our sacred sites connected, it was just a beautiful day. The fog stayed away and we got to see the whole coastline. I got to tell the story and the history of why the Chumash people are involved in the Marine Sanctuary, why it's important to our family and our connection to this place."

Sage Walker was one of several passengers that boarded three scheduled flights from the Santa Maria Jet Center.

For about one hour, Sage Walker, whose late father Chief Fred Collins spearheaded the effort towards the creation of the Marine Sanctuary, provided insight on the cultural significance of the land and sea located in Southern San Luis Obispo County and Northern Santa Barbara County.

"It's so important to us and to our family because people around the world will know who the Chumash people were, where we lived, and that we're caretakers of this land and we're taking care of our homeland," said Sage Walker. "People around the world will say Chumash and they'll know our names. They'll know where we're from. They'll know about our sacred land and our sacred sites and they'll know that we're still here."

On Sept. 6. 2024, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released its final environmental impact statement for designation of marine sanctuary, which would protect 116 miles of coastline from just south of Diablo Canyon Power Plant in San Luis Obispo County to the Gaviota Coast in Santa Barbara County.

It marked one of the last major hurdles that is needed to be cleared for the Marine Sanctuary to earn its final designation.

Under the NOAA's "Final Preferred Alternative", it would cover 4,543 square miles of coastal and ocean waters offshore of Central Coast, stretching out to nearly 60 miles from shore and down to a maximum depth of 11,580 feet, and provide several restrictions, including offshore oil drilling.

During the flight, which was piloted by Bruce Gordon, EcoFlight's founder and chief pilot, passengers flew over a number of culturally important sites, such as Morro Rock, the area around Diablo Canyon Power Plant, the Guadalupe Dunes, and several others.

"With EcoFlight, I've been flying over some of the great landscapes in the country and the world and that was really something to those dunes and that pristine waters there," said Gordon. "I thought that was amazing."

EcoFlight is a non-profit organization that uses small aircraft to help educate and advocate for environmental issues. The organization describes its aerial efforts as a way to connect stakeholders with differing viewpoints so that it may advance its goals of conservation and environmental justice. 

After the Sept. 6 release, the NOAA is now waiting 30 days after publication of the final environmental impact statement before making its decision, which is required by the National Environmental Policy Act.

"We're looking for final designation to be in less than 60 days," said Sage Walker. "We're hoping right before the holidays we'll see the final designation. It'll be a great time for our community to celebrate the designation of the newest national marine sanctuary in 25 years off the coast. It'll be the first tribally nominated national marine sanctuary and it's something really special. It holds a lot of importance for our tribe and for the people in this community."