Sage Walker and the Northern Chumash Tribal Council are in the midst of purchasing the famous Dos Pueblos Ranch, along with its assets, for $62 million. They just began fundraising, as they must raise $45 million of the total price by January 2026.
"If people can enjoy something, they will want to protect it," Violet Sage Walker, chair of the Northern Chumash Tribal Council, told the Santa Barbara Independent.
Sage Walker hopes that combining the purchase of the property with public education and scientific research will encourage more people to join conservation efforts. She believes that inviting people onto the land to learn and play will help them see why conserving it is so vital.
Roger Himovitz and partners have owned the ranch since 2022, a $40 million purchase that included the ranch, an abalone farm, equipment, and more. During his ownership, Himovitz established the Dos Pueblos Institute, which aimed to reintroduce Chumash ceremonies and outdoor agriculture classes to the land.
When Himovitz decided to sell the property, he reached out to the Northern Chumash, as he had noticed the tribal council's success in its other conservation efforts, like its decade-long pursuit to establish a marine sanctuary in Morro Bay.
Additionally, Dos Pueblos Ranch sits on land once belonging to the Chumash, land that was once the home of what the Santa Barbara Independent reported Sage Walker called "the Chumash capital cities" of Kuyamu and Mikiw.
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Sage Walker and the council have several ideas to revitalize and conserve the land, including having the abalone farm — created in 1989 and one of the largest in the U.S. — supplement their efforts.
Just a few of the intended plans include the reestablishment of a coastal estuary, removing concrete walls from the creek, urchin diving, and growing reeds that can later be used in basket-weaving.
Of course, the council will have to raise the $45 million required first, but as Himovitz told the Santa Barbara Independent via email, "We are delighted to be under contract with the group and excited and hopeful that we will be able to return this sacred land to the descendants of its original owners."
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