California Transfers 136 Acres of Mendocino Coastline to Indigenous Tribes in Historic First

California has completed the first-ever state land transfer from Caltrans to a tribal nonprofit, conveying 136 acres of Mendocino County coastline — including Blues Beach south of Westport — to Kai Poma, a group established by three Native American tribes with ancestral ties to the region. Caltrans granted final regulatory approval June 26, closing a transfer that required years of negotiation and a change in state law.

The Transfer: Parties, Property, and Chain of Custody

The 136-acre parcel of beach and coastal bluffs moves from the California Department of Transportation to Kai Poma, a nonprofit founded by representatives of the Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians, Round Valley Indian Tribes, and Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians. Caltrans District 1 described the deal as the first time state-managed Caltrans property has been conveyed to a tribal nonprofit in California history. Deed recording by Caltrans staff is the remaining procedural step before title formally passes to Kai Poma.

The state originally acquired the windswept shoreline and rocky bluffs in the 1960s, tied to Highway 1 expansion plans and a scenic motorist overlook. In recent years, unregulated summer crowds had camped on the beach, driven through sensitive zones, damaged cultural resources, and left significant trash — conditions that accelerated tribal and state interest in structured stewardship.

The Legislative Chain That Made It Possible

Until 2021, Caltrans lacked statutory authority to transfer state-owned land to tribal governments. That barrier fell when Gov. Newsom signed legislation sponsored by state Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, explicitly permitting such conveyances. The law attaches two binding conditions to any transfer: a prohibition on commercial activity and a mandate for continued public access.

McGuire called the completed deal "the first of its kind in California," framing it as an opportunity for the three tribes to reclaim sacred lands and cultural traditions. The California Coastal Commission, which worked with Kai Poma on the public access plan, was also a party to the multi-year approval process.

Access Rules and Stewardship Plan

Under the terms approved by the Coastal Commission, Kai Poma will keep the property open to the public from sunrise to sunset. The nonprofit is expected to conduct cultural, archaeological, and environmental surveys before finalizing a long-term resource management plan for the site. Tribal leaders have identified the coastal waters as grounds for traditional gathering practices, including seaweed and abalone collection, and the shore has hosted indigenous youth cultural camps.

Tribal Significance

Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians Chair J. Carlos Rivera told the Los Angeles Times the transfer was "beyond huge" from a tribal perspective, describing it as the recovery of land the tribes' ancestors occupied before colonization. The coastal acreage carries both spiritual and practical weight for the three groups, whose ancestral connections to Mendocino County predate state ownership by generations. Kai Poma's stewardship model is designed to balance that cultural mission against continued public enjoyment of one of the region's most scenic stretches of shoreline.