A stretch of rugged California coastline is returning to the people whose ancestors cared for it long before a highway was ever built there. State officials have approved the transfer of Blues Beach and the surrounding bluffs in Mendocino County to Kai Poma, a nonprofit representing three Indigenous nations — the Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians, the Round Valley Indian Tribes, and the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians. The 136-acre transfer marks the first time land managed by the California Department of Transportation has been returned to tribal stewardship.
At a glance
- Land return: 136 acres of bluffs and beach just south of Westport, in Mendocino County, will transfer from Caltrans to Kai Poma, a tribal nonprofit — the first such transfer in California history.
- Tribal stewardship: The Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians, Round Valley Indian Tribes, and Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians will use the land for cultural and archaeological surveys, resource management, and cultural camps.
- Public access: Under the approved management plan, Blues Beach will remain open from sunrise to sunset, with commercial activity barred on the property.
“This is beyond huge,” said J. Carlos Rivera, tribal chairman of the Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians. “It’s enormous from our tribal perspective that we are basically obtaining the land that our people once lived on before colonization.”
How a highway project separated a people from their shore
California purchased this section of rocky cliffs and windswept shoreline in the 1960s to support the expansion of Highway 1 and create a scenic overlook for travelers. The land sat in state hands for decades after that purpose was largely fulfilled.
In recent years, public access went largely unregulated. Summer weekends drew large crowds who camped and partied on the beach, at times driving vehicles through sensitive areas, damaging cultural sites, and leaving trash behind. The place that tribal members regard as sacred had become, in the eyes of the California Coastal Commission, a management problem.
For the Pomo people, that history has a sharper edge. The coastal waters here are used for seaweed and abalone gathering. The shores have hosted youth cultural camps. Rivera describes the entire property as a sacred site. “Protecting the land has a deeper meaning for us because we’re connected to the land,” he said.
Years of work and a change in state law
The path to this transfer required more than persistence — it required rewriting California law. Until 2021, C.E., Caltrans had no legal mechanism to transfer land to tribal governments. That changed when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill sponsored by state Sen. Mike McGuire enabling the transfer. The law also bars commercial activity on the property and requires that public access be maintained.
The transfer cleared its final regulatory hurdle on June 26, 2026, C.E., with approval from the California Transportation Commission. Caltrans staff will now record the deed transferring title from the state to Kai Poma, according to Neil Thapar, an attorney advising the nonprofit.
“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. “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.”
What comes next on the land
Kai Poma plans to conduct cultural and archaeological resource studies and environmental surveys before preparing a full resource management plan for the property. The goal is to allow the tribes to set the terms for how Blues Beach is used — balancing public access with the protection of a place their communities have treated as sacred for generations.
This transfer fits within a broader pattern of Indigenous land rights gains gathering momentum around the world, as governments begin to formally acknowledge that Indigenous stewardship is one of the most proven tools for protecting ecosystems and cultural heritage alike. California’s action is one of many wildlife and land recovery success stories showing that returning governance to original caretakers can produce better outcomes for both people and the environment.
Still, the transfer is a small first step in a much larger story. The Pomo peoples and many other California tribes lost vast territories through colonization, federal removal policies, and land sales that were rarely voluntary. One hundred thirty-six acres on a single stretch of coast cannot undo that history, and the legal frameworks for broader land repatriation in California remain limited. What this transfer does is establish a precedent and a model — proof that the mechanism exists and that it can work.
The California Coastal Commission and Kai Poma have already drafted a public access management plan. Blues Beach will open at sunrise and close at sunset. The tribes will be the ones deciding what that day looks like.
Read more
For more on this story, see: Los Angeles Times
For more from Good News for Humankind, see:
- Indigenous land rights gain global momentum ahead of COP30
- Ghana establishes a new marine protected area at Cape Three Points
- The Good News for Humankind archive on the United States
About this article
- 🤖 This article is AI-generated, based on a framework created by Peter Schulte.
- 🌍 It aims to be inspirational but clear-eyed, accurate, and evidence-based, and grounded in care for the Earth, peace and belonging for all, and human evolution.
- 💬 Leave your notes and suggestions in the comments below — I will do my best to review and implement where appropriate.
- ✉️ One verified piece of good news, one insight from Antihero Project, every weekday morning. Subscribe free.
