California Returns 136 Acres of Coast to Native Tribes

For the first time in California history, a stretch of breathtaking coastline is returning to the hands of the people who stewarded it for generations.

Three Native American tribes received 136 acres of Mendocino County coast from the California Department of Transportation in late June. The property includes Blues Beach and coastal bluffs just south of Westport, land the tribes consider culturally and spiritually sacred.

The Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians, Round Valley Indian Tribes, and Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians formed a nonprofit called Kai Poma to manage the transfer. The state originally acquired the windswept shoreline in the 1960s for Highway 1 expansion plans that never fully materialized.

"This is beyond huge," said J. Carlos Rivera, Chair of the Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians. "We are basically obtaining the land that our people once lived on before colonization."

The beach has drawn large crowds in recent years, with visitors sometimes camping, driving through sensitive areas, and leaving trash behind. Tribal leaders plan to conduct cultural, archaeological, and environmental surveys before developing a long-term protection plan.

The transfer required changing state law. Until 2021, Caltrans couldn't transfer state property to tribal governments. State Senator Mike McGuire sponsored legislation signed by Governor Gavin Newsom that made such conveyances possible.

"One of the most spectacular stretches of the Mendocino Coast will be forever protected," McGuire said. "These three dynamic Native American tribes have the rightful opportunity to reclaim sacred lands and cultural traditions."

The Ripple Effect

The coastal waters provide traditional gathering grounds for seaweed and abalone, resources the tribes have harvested for centuries. The shore has hosted youth cultural camps, connecting younger generations to their heritage.

Kai Poma worked with the California Coastal Commission to ensure the land stays open to visitors from sunrise to sunset. Commercial activity is banned, but public access continues under tribal stewardship.

The agreement shows how conservation and cultural restoration can work together, creating a model other states might follow for returning ancestral lands while protecting natural resources and maintaining public access.

Sacred land is coming home, protected by those who know it best.