The Biden administration, members of Congress and native tribes will commemorate the designation of the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary on Monday — the first such preserve in California to be managed in cooperation with Indigenous peoples. The 4,543-square-mile sanctuary, located off California’s rugged Central Coast, would prohibit oil drilling and offer other protections to an area that encompasses numerous cultural resources, including the suspected remains of ancient, submerged villages. The preserve could one day serve as the final puzzle piece of an effort to protect virtually all of California’s coast from the Channel Islands to Point Arena, north of the Bay Area.

Other marine sanctuary and offshore drilling articles:

• NPR: The U.S. gets a new national marine sanctuary, the first led by a tribe
• Times of San Diego: Biden Administration Designates New Marine Sanctuary Along California Coast
• Los Angeles Times: Nearly 10 years after California oil spill, plan to reactivate pipeline sparks anger