PROJECT HIGHLIGHT
The recent decline of California’s ghvtlh-k’vsh (kelp) forests directly affects the cultural lifeways and, thus, health of the Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation. This project will train and certify up to ten Natural Resources Staff and Tribal Citizens of the Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation to conduct both kelp monitoring and restoration efforts, including establishing kelp nurseries and grow-out sites.
PROJECT SUMMARY
Ghvtlh-k’vsh (kelp) forests hold a profound ecological and cultural significance to the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation (TDN) and other coastal Indigenous communities in Northern California. As first stewards of the land and sea since time immemorial, the Nation has been and always will be conservationists grounded in a holistic perspective towards stewardship, restoration and understanding nature's intricate interconnectedness and balance.
TDN’s Marine Division does not currently have the knowledge or training to monitor and restore ghvtlh-k’vsh forests. This project will bring intensive training for TDN Natural Resources staff to acquire critical monitoring skills, such as scientific diving and kelp monitoring protocols. In partnership with Sunken Seaweed, TDN will pilot the use of tumble culture for production of lat (Pyropia spp.) to be used in cultural practices and in fostering tribal food sovereignty. This work will also engage Indigenous youth in kelp restoration workshops rooted in community-based participatory methodologies.
These practices can serve as a template for other Indigenous communities that want to develop culturally relevant kelp forest monitoring and restoration within their ancestral territories. In building capacity and integrating Western and Indigenous sciences, this project will promote sustained representation of tribal coastal community stakeholders in policy and management of marine resources.