Newsom-backed commission transfers popular coastline to indigenous tribes

A popular stretch of California’s Mendocino County coastline is being handed over to an Indigenous peoples group after a Gov. Gavin Newsom-backed state commission approved the transfer of 136 acres of beach and coastal bluffs.

The property, which includes Blues Beach just south of Westport, will be transferred from the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to Kai Poma, a nonprofit founded by representatives of the Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians, Round Valley Indian Tribes and Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians.

Caltrans gave final regulatory approval to the deal on June 26.

"For the first time in California’s history, land managed by Caltrans and owned by the state was transferred to Kai Poma, a nonprofit established by three local Native American tribes with ancestral ties to the region," Caltrans District 1 announced in a statement last week. "Once transferred, Kai Poma will own and maintain the 136-acre site and protect sensitive natural resources and Native American cultural resources."

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Once transferred, Kai Poma will own and maintain the 136-acre site and protect sensitive natural resources and Native American cultural resources that includes Blues Beach in California. (Caltrans)

The state acquired the windswept shoreline and rocky bluffs in the 1960s as part of plans tied to Highway 1 expansion and the creation of a scenic overlook for motorists, according to the California Coastal Commission.

In recent years, the beach has drawn large summer and holiday crowds, with public access largely unregulated. State planning documents say visitors have camped and partied on the beach, driven through sensitive areas, damaged cultural resources and left trash behind.

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The Blues Beach Project turns over a portion of the Mendocino, California, coast to three tribes. (Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Tribal leaders have described the land as culturally and spiritually significant. The coastal waters are used for traditional gathering, including seaweed and abalone, and the shore has hosted youth cultural camps.

Kai Poma is expected to conduct cultural, archaeological and environmental surveys before developing a long-term resource management plan for the land. The nonprofit has also worked with the Coastal Commission on a public access plan that will keep the property open to visitors from sunrise to sunset.

The transfer required years of work and a change in state law. Until 2021, Caltrans did not have authority to transfer state-owned property to tribal governments. That changed when Newsom signed legislation sponsored by state Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, allowing such conveyances.

"With 136 acres now officially transferred into tribal stewardship, one of the most spectacular stretches of the Mendocino Coast will be forever protected," McGuire said in a statement. "This agreement, the first of its kind in California, gives these three dynamic Native American tribes the rightful opportunity to reclaim sacred lands and cultural traditions on this special piece of earth. And it’s about damn time."

California coastline north of Mendocino will be transferred to a group of Native American tribes after final approval last month. (Smith Collection/Gado)

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The law bars commercial activity on the property and requires continued public access.

Supporters say the transfer will protect one of the region’s most scenic stretches of coast while returning sacred land to the descendants of the people who historically stewarded it.

"This is beyond huge," Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians Chair J. Carlos Rivera told the Los Angeles Times. "It’s enormous from our tribal perspective that we are basically obtaining the land that our people once lived on before colonization."

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With the commission’s approval complete, Caltrans staff are expected to record the deed transferring the property from the state to Kai Poma.

Fox News Digital reached out Newsom, the coastal commission, Round Valley Indian Tribes and Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians for comment.