Newsom-Backed Deal Transfers Iconic California Beach to Indigenous-Led Nonprofit
The 136-acre property, encompassing Blues Beach and surrounding coastal bluffs, will be transferred to Kai Poma, an NGO representing 3 tribes.
Thanks to a commission backed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, the state is transferring 136 acres of premium state-owned coastline to…indigenous peoples.
A beloved stretch of California’s rugged coastline is headed back to Indigenous stewardship after a Gavin Newsom-backed state commission approved the transfer of a popular Mendocino County beach to three Indigenous tribes.
The 136-acre property, encompassing Blues Beach and the dramatic coastal bluffs just south of the community of Westport, will be transferred to Kai Poma, a nonprofit representing the Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians, Round Valley Indian Tribes and Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians.
The California Transportation Commission gave the deal its final regulatory approval on June 26, making it the first time land managed by the California Department of Transportation has been returned to Indigenous tribes.
The state originally acquired the windswept shoreline and rocky cliffs in the 1960s to support the expansion of Highway 1 and establish a scenic overlook for motorists, according to a California Coastal Commission report.
The arrangement reportedly bars commercial activity on the property and requires continued public access.
Supporters say the transfer will protect one of the region’s most scenic stretches of coast while returning sacred land to the descendants of the people who historically stewarded it.
“This is beyond huge,” Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians Chair J. Carlos Rivera told the Los Angeles Times. “It’s enormous from our tribal perspective that we are basically obtaining the land that our people once lived on before colonization.”
With the commission’s approval complete, Caltrans staff are expected to record the deed transferring the property from the state to Kai Poma.
The deal goes back to 2021, after Newsom signed Senate Bill 231, which specifically granted Caltrans authority to transfer the Blues Beach property to a nonprofit organized by the three local tribes.
Five years later, the transfer is underway with Kai Poma, a nonprofit organized by tribes with ancestral ties to the region — Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians, Round Valley Indian Tribes, and Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians, according to Caltrans.
During the transfer, Caltrans said they will close Blues Beach to vehicles, in cooperation with Kai Poma and the California Coastal Commission. Pedestrian access will still be available.
Caltrans said once the transfer is complete, Kai Poma will own and maintain the 136-acre site, protecting “sensitive natural resources and Native American cultural resources.”
NGO Kai Poma finances in a snapshot. https://t.co/ZD7PzwgLHx pic.twitter.com/HJsWqIcSIT
— Leslie Eastman ☥ (@Mutnodjmet) July 6, 2026
As an NGO, Kai Poma is categorized in nonprofit records under “Environmental Quality, Protection and Beautification / Natural Resources Conservation and Protection,” with tax‑deductible status as a charitable organization.
Gavin Newsom probably should stay away from “non-profits.”
“The 136-acre property, encompassing Blues Beach and the dramatic coastal bluffs just south of the community of Westport, will be transferred to Kai Poma, a nonprofit representing the Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo…
— Matt Quan (@matthewrquan) July 6, 2026
In classic Sacramento fashion, a feel‑good land transfer wrapped in environmental virtue and historical justice still warrants scrutiny, especially when an NGO sits at the center of the deal and political fingerprints are all over its origin.
Tax‑advantaged nonprofits, allied policymakers, and regulatory agencies can form a tidy ecosystem in which oversight grows hazy and accountability becomes optional unless the public pays close attention.
And if “guaranteed access” quietly erodes over time, Californians may discover too late that what was promised as stewardship ends up looking a lot more like exclusion.
The developments related to this deal are likely to be part of the 2028 political landscape as well. Americans in other states generally don’t like large swaths of land given away, especially to NGOs.
Democrats turn on Newsom as stunning poll reveals numbers who back probe into him and his wife https://t.co/ucD4IQQDVY pic.twitter.com/DiWNxNBTXz
— New York Post (@nypost) July 6, 2026
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
Insane on so many levels
If it’s closed to vehicular traffic, does that mean the PCH is closed through there? Or is the PCH outside the “donated” area?
Seems to me if it affects the PCH, that would be a huge issue both with traffic and just with people who want to drive the road.
The rules say no commercial use and that they have to protect the environment…so what is the land good for? There’s something here they’re not telling us.
Here’s a guess (not a prediction): Won’t be long before a casino goes up there. They’ll call it “recreational use” rather than commercial.
Casino is commercial use and appears to be prohibited. But they could try to apply for change of use approval after few years when their are new people in charge in Sac. Recreational use would be camp sites with picnic tables.
They will be granted a waiver on that faster than you can say “sacred land”.
I’m guessing from incomplete info that the site is difficult to develop. Half the acres are under water part of the time. Steep hillside. No hook up to local sewer utilities and nobody going to let them flush into the ocean. Yeah sure they can put man on moon, so those engineering challenges can be overcome. But it would be daunting.
But hold on to your hat. In other related news, newscum is talking about putting 7.5 million acres under “stewardship” of native american tribes. The only hang up is about the meaning of “stewardship”.
Grab Big Dog a blanket
Angel of my heart
Things may get a whole lot worse
Before suddenly falling apart
Give your roommate Yvonne a ring
Cause if she still wants in I gotta pull some strings
On Blues Beach
I’m dying
Freezin’ in the merciful rays
And it’s the long sad Sunday
Of the early resigned
–STEELY DAN
There’s a Chumash NGO. That tribe once inhabited Pacific Palisades and Malibu. Gee, I wonder what’s next. At least there aren’t any houses in most of Pacific Palisades to make eminent domain more expensive.
Malibu? Give back the land where the Malibu “colony “ is located.
I wonder if they saw the titles, deeds canceled checks that prove the indians really owned the land.
Never been to Blues Beach, but have camped at nearby Usal.
FWIW. California State Park Rangers at Usal were aggressive and rude. One ranger parked and watched us (from the cliff via binoculars) go about our breakfast preparations (I glassed him back) He then drove down and harassed our camping group. We had already paid camping fees (didn’t arrive until 10pm) and our camp site was neat and orderly. Half the crew were asleep (I’m an early bird and was up making breakfast for 12. He blustered and stamped his feet and disturbed those still asleep. A friend had warned me that the Usal rangers were notorious.
Tribal police can be capricious jerks, but there’s no way they’re worse than Cal Rangers.
Mark well that it’s not going to any actual “native Americans” but rather to a faceless entity, a “charitable organization.”
I laughed when I saw “guaranteed access”. Once it’s in tribal hands, the state has no say in how access is granted.
A beachfront casino will be awesome!
I’m torn, honestly. Transferring CA public land to a private entity, even a Native American supposed nonprofit… There has to be some backflow of cash into Democrat hands, but I don’t see it on the surface, and I don’t think (but could be wrong) that a nonprofit could mishandle a public area as badly as California. We’ll see.
It’s a nonprofit NGO because all their profits get laundered back to Newsom and his cronies.
Who was the owner when the land was acquired by eminent domain (or the threat of eminent domain).
136 acres divided by 3 tribes? Not much to work with but nice views.
I live in California. These “native Americans” will honor the “public access” about ten minutes. If that.
Does ANYONE think California will enforce that provision? No chance.
On the flip side, the Great White Father has been diligent in honoring tribally-mandated public access.
Thermopolis, WY has natural sulfur hot springs. The local tribe ceded the springs to the town on the condition that all people be entitled to make use of them at no charge. So next door to the water park, where one can pay for a “heightened” hot-spring experience, there is an institutional-looking building where you can enter, change, and spend an hour a day (max) in the “health spring” (whose sulfur resembles the filaments in egg-drop soup) absolutely for free.
Props to the white devils for keeping their word.
This institution has one of the funniest government signs I have seen in my life, outside the shower room where you are supposed to pre-shower before entering the spring:
USE NO SOAP! THIS IS A HEALTH FACILITY!
This stretch of beach is about 15 miles north of Fort Bragg away from civilization, no real commercial value. Cal Trans/ State of Calie just spent a bunch of $$$ stablizing a nearby hill that Hwy 1 traverses and also added a sizeable amount of quarry rock at the base of the hill for erosion control, all on taxpayer dime. The state has been improving this area for atleast 4 years now, nice payback to Newscum supporters. Laundrying $$$$$