The Santa Ynez Chumash Environmental Office was created in 1998 to provide support to the Tribal Government in providing a safe and healthy community for its residents and visitors. This is accomplished by developing specialized programs to protect human health and the environment.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency has played a large role in establishing a tribal environmental office on the Chumash Reservation. The following list shows the program areas developed to manage tribal lands occupied by the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.

Tribal Environmental Resource Management Programs:

• Emergency Management
  The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians coordinates emergency management programs with the following agencies and organizations: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Santa Barbara County Fire / Office of Emergency Services, Intertribal Council of California, and The American Red Cross.

• Natural Resource Protection
  Biological studies, natural resource inventories, and habitat protection measures are conducted as needed for tribal projects on the Chumash Reservation properties.

• Solid Waste Management
  Non-operational vehicle abatement, open dump cleanup, inventory of solid waste generated, and waste reduction/recycling community education projects are all a part of solid waste program tasks of the environmental office.

• Tribal Land Use Enforcement
  The Tribe handles enforcement of tribal land use regulations, utility connections and setbacks, and residential building inspections and reporting.

• Water Resource Protection
  The Tribe is currently implementing a Water Resource Protection Program for surface water quality monitoring, groundwater protection, wastewater treatment plant operational support data, and community environmental education.

Willie Wyatt, the Tribal Environmental Manager, can be reached at (805) 688-7997 extension 13 between the hours of 8:30am – 12:00pm and 12:30pm 5:00pm. or by e-mail at wwyatt@santaynezchumash.org