SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 7 (Santa Rosa News Online) — California will transfer 136 acres of Blues Beach and surrounding coastal bluffs in Mendocino County to Kai Poma, a nonprofit formed by representatives of the Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians, Round Valley Indian Tribes and Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians, after state transportation officials gave the plan final approval June 26.
The property sits just south of Westport on the Mendocino Coast and is managed by Caltrans. The Los Angeles Times reported that it is the first time Caltrans-managed land has been returned to Indigenous tribes.
The transfer was authorized by SB 231, a bill sponsored by state Sen. Mike McGuire and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2021, according to a California Senate release. The measure allows Caltrans to move the land to the nonprofit and requires it to remain open to public access while barring commercial activity and limiting use to habitat protection and Native American cultural resources.
McGuire said in the Senate release that he began working with local tribes and community members on the property in 2019. In a March 31, 2025 letter to the California Coastal Commission, he backed permit application 1-24-0662 for the transfer and said the law allows the property to be conveyed at no cost under those conditions.
McGuire told the Los Angeles Times that the agreement gives the three tribes “the rightful opportunity to reclaim sacred lands and cultural traditions” and said, “it’s about damn time.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, Caltrans staff will next record the deed, formally transferring title from the state to Kai Poma.
