The coastal waters west of Santa Maria and Guadalupe are special, scientifically speaking. They’re defined by the Point Sal headland, a rugged coastline with access only via a strenuous 11-mile round-trip hike.
Though the waters are pristine on top, a biodiverse habitat is active beneath the surface. Cliffs running east to west create a protected cove where young fish and invertebrates thrive. Calm waters protect them in their earliest and most vulnerable stage of life, drawing larger mammals to feed there.
Sandy Aylesworth, who’s worked with the Natural Resources Defense Council for more than a decade, has hiked the trail multiple times since taking on the challenge of co-sponsoring the conservation proposal.
“It is absolutely exhilarating to be out there,” Aylesworth told the Sun. “When you’re hiking out on the trail, it’s a ridge trail, and it really feels as if you’re on a peninsula. To the south is Lion Rock … where we saw the whale. Another time that I was there, we saw three humpback whales.”
Through binoculars she’s also seen sea lions swimming around the small island of Lion Rock, where seabirds like to breed and roost. She said it’s an “awe-inspiring” sight.
To preserve cultural significance and maintain a high level of biological diversity at Point Sal, two groups worked together to petition the state for the title of marine conservation area. At the May 5 California Fish and Game Commission meeting, Aylesworth and the chair of the Northern Chumash Tribal Council presented their arguments. Commissioners heard from dozens of public commenters and stakeholders, including local fishermen who rely on the area and spoke against the conservation proposal.
‘Point Sal emerged as a really special place with really strong connections to Chumash heritage and identity, and a place that was pristine and beloved by locals. It was for that reason that we thought that Point Sal might be a promising area to have a new marine protected area.’
—Sandy Aylesworth, director of Pacific initiatives for the Natural Resources Defense Council
Fish and Game commissioners are expected to hold another hearing in August and approve or deny the proposal in October.
Measuring just more than 9 square miles, the proposed conservation area lies off the coast of the Rancho Guadalupe Dunes Preserve to the north and Vandenberg Space Force Base to the south. Regulations wouldn’t allow for any fishing except for onshore activities with a hook and line and incidental takes resulting from critical Vandenberg missions.
The vision for the proposal began a few years ago. In a 2022 review, California found that its marine protected areas (MPA) support biodiversity and increase fish biomass, Aylesworth said. A year later the Fish and Game Commission decided to accept petitions for changes to the network.
Aylesworth and her team jumped on it.
“[We] began sort of scoping for potential candidate areas that we thought might warrant additional protection, all along the California coast,” Aylesworth said. “Point Sal emerged as a really special place with really strong connections to Chumash heritage and identity, and a place that was pristine and beloved by locals. It was for that reason that we thought that Point Sal might be a promising area to have a new marine protected area.”
Point Sal is already part of the federally protected Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary, but that designation doesn’t prevent types of fishing that the Natural Resources Defense Council and other groups state are harmful to biodiversity conservation. For example, the marine sanctuary currently allows for trawling, which yields high amounts of bycatch, or accidental captures.
Chairwoman Violet Sage Walker of the Northern Chumash Tribal Council spoke about the cultural importance of protecting the ocean during her May presentation to the Fish and Game Commission. The former Guadalupe resident said the efforts would also contribute to California’s goal of conserving 30 percent of its land and coastal waters by 2030, known as the 30 by 30 Initiative.
“Ultimately sacrifices and things were made with the marine sanctuary designation that we would like to see shore up better protections for the biodiversity and for durable protections for the coastline. And this is one way that we can achieve that,” Sage Walker said. “It’s also to the benefit of the 30 by 30 and tribal co-management and tribal inclusion in managing our sacred areas and waters. … This area is pristine, precious, and very important to our family.”
Point Sal would still allow fishing with poles from the shore, like many Guadalupe residents and tribal members currently practice.
Aylesworth said the marine protections will create healthier fish habitats in nearby regions, but some fishers are against the proposed regulations.
Wayne Blicha owns and operates Flying Fish Sportfishing out of Port San Luis and said he’s opposed to the conservation proposal.
“I consider myself a marine steward, even though I’m a taker of the ocean. We look at Point Sal as being a very important habitat to us,” Blicha said at the May hearing.
With the already established marine protected areas off Point Buchon and Point Purisima, the fisherman said restrictions for his business activities are increasing.
“We have a very shrinking area that we’re able to access and more emphasis will be put on those smaller areas to fish,” Blicha added. “Point Sal represents a very important fishery to us and our clientele. It’s a high-demand area as well, so it will impact our business.”
Erik Rodrigues expressed similar views. As the captain of Avila Beach’s Patriot, he said his goal is to maintain balance while fishing.
“I just want to say the ocean has saved my life,” Rodrigues said. “It has given me an opportunity to save the lives of others.”
Rodrigues said he and his passengers have a passion for Point Sal and don’t want to overfish the area because they understand how “sacred” it is.
“With this imposed MPA it would cause too much pressure on our limited amount of reef structure, which is already taken away from us,” Rodrigues said. “So, if the goal of this MPA is to remove us from fishing, then it will work. But we would love to keep people fishing forever and show them the value of the ocean.”
Other locals perceive the conservation proposal differently. Stewards of the Rancho Guadalupe Dunes Preserve, to the north of Point Sal, hope to see commissioners approve the petition. The nonprofit Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center hosts community hikes to Point Sal and teaches environmental education to students.
Saule Baipsys leads the center’s community engagement and volunteer events. She views her nonprofit as a liaison between the larger spearheading organizations and the locals on the ground.
“Guadalupe is really unique because it’s such an ecologically rich and amazing area, but it’s also simultaneously one of the only coastal California communities which is technically a disadvantaged community,” Baipsys told the Sun in June.
She believes a marine protected area designation would support the whole ecosystem while preserving natural resources for an underserved community.
“We have this incredible, unique, ecologically diverse area, but it’s not necessarily being advocated for or really celebrated,” Baipsys said. “So, honestly, any chance that we hear to conserve this area, protect this area, … we’re going to jump on it.”
Reach Staff Writer Madison White at mwhite@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in July 2 – July 9, 2026.
