US Sea Level Change Website Launched; Chumash Marine Sanctuary Designated

We often talk about developments in the realm of environmental management and change. While we’re not scientists, we do our best to deliver accurate and unbiased information. This task has now been made easier with the launch of the US Sea Level Change website, a new resource delivering accessible climate information to the public. This first whole-of-government resource for coastal residents and decision-makers on sea level rise projections, associated impacts, and adaptation measures has been launched by the US Global Change Research Program and on behalf of the US Interagency Task Force on Sea Level Change. The information presented on the site pairs the latest research on sea level change with foundational educational content on how and why sea level rise is happening, its impacts, and actions that can be taken to address the challenges coastal communities face from rising seas.

“By boosting access to sea level rise data, the Interagency Task Force on Sea Level Change is helping local communities across the nation access essential information that strengthens our resilience to the changing climate,” NOAA administrator Rick Spinrad, Ph.D. said. “NOAA is proud to be a partner in delivering this valuable whole-of-government approach to a website that bridges between scientific data and real-time decision making.”

New resources, including interactive tools, educational materials, and the latest research findings, facilitate easy access to information and support engagement with the science of rising seas. By providing a central hub for federal sea level rise science, the initiative aims to enhance public understanding and support resilience for coastal communities across the nation.

Data on past, present, and future sea level change, along with information on impacts like erosion, property damage and habitat loss, as well as strategies to address risks, can be viewed on the new site in an interactive National Sea Level Explorer.

You can view the new website at US Sea Level Change.

For the full USGCRP release and more information on the sea level rise portal, visit US Global Change Research Program.

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Locally, the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary (CHNMS) is close to becoming California’s first national marine sanctuary in 30 years, and the third-largest of its kind in the United States.

Designated in 2024, the sanctuary encompasses 4,543 square miles of Central California’s coastal and ocean waters, spanning 116 miles of coastline between San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. The sanctuary will span a maximum distance of 60 miles from shore and reach a maximum depth of 11,580 feet below sea level.

The sanctuary was first proposed in 2015 by the Northern Chumash Tribal Council as a way to protect the region’s marine resources and ecosystems, stimulate research and economic growth, and protect the Indigenous communities’ cultural values. On October 11, almost 10 years later, NOAA has handed down its decision designating the establishment of the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary.

The Record of Decision states, “NOAA will promulgate regulations that, with a few exceptions, will prohibit the following: new offshore oil and gas development; wildlife harassment; alterations to the seabed; discharge of sewage and certain other substances; disturbance of historical resources; attracting a white shark; deserting a vessel; and introducing non-native species into the sanctuary.”

The sanctuary’s final area was decided after “thorough consideration of public and Indigenous community comments, NOAA’s responses to those comments, Administration and state of California priorities, and consultation among federal agencies and the federally recognized Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.”

The sanctuary area contains extensive kelp forests, vast sandy beaches and coastal dunes, and wetlands that serve as nurseries for numerous commercial fish species, and is an important habitat for many threatened and endangered species such as blue whales, southern sea otters, black abalone, snowy plovers, and leatherback sea turtles. It also holds many nationally significant shipwrecks such as the USCG Cutter McCulloch, which sank off Point Conception after colliding with the passenger steamship SS Governor on June 13, 1917.

All in all, it seems October has been a pretty good month for the ocean environment.