California has approved $5 million towards the purchase of 357 coastal acres in Cayucos that once housed the largest abalone farm in the US.
asserted
that → approve → US
The yak titʸu titʸu yak tiłhini Northern Chumash Tribe is seeking to buy the property for $18 million and restore parts of the land and its former aquaculture operation.
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Tribe → seek → land
According to The Tribune, the property, known as Alexander Ranch, has about one mile of coastline.
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property → accord → coastline
It includes a eucalyptus grove that provides monarch butterfly habitat, a seasonal creek flowing into the Estero Bluffs and hills covered with grasses, sage and willow trees.
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that → include → grasses
The tribe's nonprofit organisation entered into a purchase agreement with the estate of engineer John Alexander in 2024.
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organisation → enter → 2024
The fundraising deadline is October 15, when the escrow period ends.
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period → end → ?
As of June 2026, the organisation had raised almost $8.2 million, including a $7 million grant from California's Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program.
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organisation → raise → Program
According to Becca Lucas Thomas, executive director of the ytt Northern Chumash Nonprofit, the land has a long connection with her people.
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land → accord → people
Before Alexander used the property for aquaculture, it was home to an Indigenous village called tsitxala.
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it → use → village
The tribe had harvested abalone from the coast for thousands of years.
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tribe → harvest → years
It holds a lot of history.
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It → hold → history
To have the opportunity to bring this place back to our families today is really remarkable," Thomas says, as quoted by The Tribune.
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Thomas → bring → Tribune
Tribe plans restoration work
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Tribe → plan → work
If the purchase goes through, the tribe plans to manage the property using indigenous stewardship practices.
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tribe → go → practices
The proposed restoration work includes repairing habitats in the Villa Creek watershed, with the aim of supporting the return of steelhead trout.
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work → propose → trout
The project is called yatspasini wa yaktspu Conservancy, meaning 'Ocean to land conservancy'.
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project → call → conservancy
Lucas Thomas saysthe landscape had been actively managed by indigenous people before colonists forcibly removed them.
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colonists → manage → them
The tribe historically transplanted selected plant species, maintained waterways and used intentional burning to manage the landscape.
“While we look at this beautiful coastline, remember that it looks this way intentionally.
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it → transplant → coastline
It was created by our ancestors,” Thomas says.
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Thomas → create → ancestors
The property also offers a place for the tribe to reconnect with its ancestral land.
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tribe → offer → land
Thomas says members could eventually gather and camp there without having to seek permission from another landowner or rent a campsite.
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members → say → campsite
The former abalone farm, closed in 2020, is part of the $18 million Alexander Ranch sought by the Northern Chumash Tribe.
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farm → close → Tribe
Former abalone farm could reopen
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farm → reopen → ?
The property also contains the remains of an abalone farm built during the 1960s.
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property → contain → 1960s
At its peak, the farm raised about 1 million abalone each year for meat.
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farm → raise → meat
The facility closed in 2020.
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facility → close → 2020
About 900 concrete aquaculture tanks have remained unused since then.
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tanks → remain → ?
The Harmony Coast Aquaculture Institute currently leases the facility and wants to work with the tribe on bringing the farm back into operation.
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Institute → lease → operation
Ben Ruttenberg, co-founder of the Harmony Coast Aquaculture Institute and director of Cal Poly's Center for Coastal Marine Sciences, said of ytt Tribe, "They are the perfect partner.
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They → say → Tribe
The institute also holds a state permit for the farm's seawater intake pipe.
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institute → hold → pipe
According to Ruttenberg, the pipe can bring in about 7,000 gallons of seawater per minute.
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pipe → accord → minute
He said such permits are very difficult to obtain and are important for an aquaculture operation.
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permits → say → operation
The proposed system would use algae as part of the water treatment process.
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system → propose → process
Seawater would first be pumped into an algae tank, where the algae would absorb nutrients.
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algae → pump → nutrients
This would lower the water's carbon content and acidity before it reaches the abalone tanks.
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it → lower → tanks
That is important because abalone build their calcium carbonate shells more effectively in less acidic water.
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abalone → build → water
The farm could also use the algae as food for the abalone.
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farm → use → abalone
The animals need large amounts of food and can take about five years to reach market size.
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animals → need → size
After passing through the abalone tanks, the water would have higher carbon content and acidity because of the animals' waste.
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water → pass → waste
It would therefore pass through another algae tank before being released back into the ocean.
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It → pass → ocean
…and 19 more, not listed.
The Aporia
