On March 19, 2024, the Cher-Ae Heights Indian Community of the Trinidad Rancheria (Trinidad
Rancheria) Tribal Council approved a resolution opposing offshore wind, expressing support for
the National Congress of American Indian’s (NCAI) resolution requesting a moratorium on
offshore wind energy development, and urging the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of
Ocean Energy Management to halt all scoping and permitting for offshore wind projects.
The Cher-Ae Heights Indian Community of the Trinidad Rancheria is a federally recognized
tribe located on the Pacific coast of Northern California in Humboldt County. The Trinidad
Rancheria has ancestral ties to the Yurok, Wiyot, Tolowa, Chetco, Karuk and Hupa peoples.
While they share similar cultural and historical traditions, each tribe has a distinct heritage. The
Rancheria is within the aboriginal territory of the Yurok peoples with an ancestral territory which
includes the Pacific coastline from Damnation Creek, south to Little River and is located in an
area of great cultural significance to the Trinidad Rancheria and other local tribes. The Trinidad
Rancheria is situated on a bluff overlooking the Trinidad Bay, an area of Special Biological
Significance and the Tribe has a longstanding commitment to the stewardship of its ancestral
coastal and marine environments. The Tribe is inextricably connected to the marine environment
and continues to be involved in several marine initiatives to foster responsible and sustainable
stewardship, healthy and diverse ecosystems, as well as preserve and protect tribal rights within
our marine waters.
The Trinidad Rancheria stands in solidarity with other local Tribes in opposition of offshore wind
projects until there is shared tribal jurisdictional authority over, and tribal management of,
offshore renewable energy activities. There is insufficient scientific research on the adverse
impacts associated with the floating wind turbines and platforms, the effects to marine life from
the subsea transmission cables and the overland transmission lines, and there has been minimal
effort to consult with Tribes on this project that would have massive impacts on our ancestral
lands and waters. We have significant concerns regarding the impact to view shed from sacred
cultural sites and the impacts to the cultural landscape overall. Additionally, this project is not
benefiting the local community and instead asks us yet again, to sacrifice our cultural and marine
resources for the benefit of communities far from home.
The Trinidad Rancheria Tribal Council strongly urges the Department of Interior and the Bureau
of Ocean Energy Management to halt all scoping and permitting for offshore wind projects until
completion of a comprehensive and transparent procedure adequately protecting Trinidad
Rancheria environmental and sovereign interests is developed and implemented.
Trinidad Rancheria Tribal Council Resolution TC-24-07 attached for reference.
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