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Native American tribes also share their expertise with interpretive staff to develop
appropriate exhibits and educational materials for the public. For example, Northern
Chumash tribal representatives helped develop exhibits for the Oceano Dunes SVRA Visitor
Center that accurately reflect their culture from their perspectives. The Indian Canyon
Mutsun Band of Costanoan Indians has been integral to the development of interpretive
programs and exhibits at Hollister SVRA. Hollister SVRA also provided a loan of prehistoric
objects to Indian Canyon for use in research and educational programs. In addition, Tribal
representatives provided training to SVRA staff on aspects of their culture and participated
in educational programs to the public.
Changes to the CEQA Requirements for Native American Consultation
In September 2014, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. approved Assembly Bill 52 (AB 52)
to expand CEQA to require consultation with California Native American tribes during the
environmental review process and create “tribal cultural resources” as a CEQA resource
element. AB 52 went into effect on July 1, 2015 (State of California 2014).
This legislation’s key components affect how public agencies conduct CEQA review and
compliance. The first component adds consultation into the environmental review process.
Consultation is required with all California Native American Tribes on the Native American
Heritage Commission (NAHC) maintained list, which includes federal and non-federally
recognized tribes. The consultation process has several steps:
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The NAHC provides tribes with a list of lead agencies and contact information.
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If the tribe wishes to be notified of projects, the tribe must contact the lead agency
in writing.
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The lead agency then formally notifies the tribe within 14 days of undertaking a
project or determining a project application is complete.
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The tribe has 30 days to respond to the agency whether it wants to consult on
the project.
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Then, the lead agency has 30 days to begin consultation on the project.
Consultation ends when either the lead agency agrees to incorporate the mitigation
requested by the tribe into the CEQA document (if a significant effect exists), or the tribe or
the lead agency conclude that agreement cannot be reached. If no agreement is reached,
the lead agency must still consider feasible mitigation to TCRs. In addition, if the tribe
does not choose to consult, the lead agency must still consider ways to mitigate impacts
to these resources. Once these conditions are met, then the lead agency may release the
environmental document for public review.
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California State Parks, Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Commission