Baseline Environmental Assessment of Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary

Officially designated in 2024 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary (CHNMS) encompasses 4,543 square miles of culturally significant and ecologically productive waters along 116 miles of California’s central coastline. This project synthesizes existing literature, monitoring programs, and publicly available datasets to assess historic and current environmental trends within the sanctuary. This report presents a baseline environmental assessment of CHNMS across three broad focus areas: physical, biological, and human use and relationships. To achieve this, physical analyses utilize long-term data sets to assess trends in oceanographic variables and water quality, and biological analyses assess the spatial and temporal presence of marine mammal and seabird species via several long-term datasets. Finally, human use and relationship with sanctuary waters is explored through the use of satellite boat tracking data, census data, and the development of communications materials. All deliverables of this project contribute to the collective understanding of the region, and support informed management and ongoing stewardship of sanctuary waters.

Acknowledgements

UC Santa Barbara Bren School: Christopher Free, Research Professor; Mukta Kelkar, PhD Student; Alexandra Phillips, Assistant Teaching Professor; Lynn Scarlett, Chair of the Bren School Dean's Council; Alessandra Vidal Meza, PhD Student

UC Santa Barbara Marine Science Institute: Christopher Jerde, Associate Researcher UC Santa Barbara Environmental Studies Department: Halia Fleming, Undergraduate Student; Sanjana Sujeet, Undergraduate Student; Ed Sweeney, Lecturer

NOAA Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary: Carolina Behe, Acting Superintendent; Sachiko Lamen, Sanctuary Advisory Council Coordinator/Program Analyst; Monisha Sugla, Marine Research Ecologist; Kirsten White, Resource Protection/Permit Specialist

NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries West Coast Region: Laura Ingulsrud, Policy Analyst

National Marine Sanctuary Foundation: Lindsey Peavey Reeves, NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries Sound Monitoring Program Manager

Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute: John Ryan, Senior Research Specialist