Red Abalone Gardens: Cultural Keystone Species and Implications for Marine Conservation and Restoration

Red abalone (Haliotis rufescens) is a cultural keystone species vital to the cultural identify and lifeways of local and neighboring California Indigenous communities for millennia. Now critically endangered, red abalone populations face threats from climate change, habitat loss, and other impacts. Indigenous abalone gardens in southern Humboldt County, CA give insights into long-term socio-ecological relationships between the Ancestral Nek'anní (Bear River) and their marine environments. Archaeological and ecological research suggests that these gardens have increased the abundance and biodiversity of intertidal organisms and have enhanced microhabitats crucial for successful red abalone reproduction. This research has the potential to inform red abalone restoration efforts, providing a blueprint for community-based conservation strategies and innovative solutions for protecting important marine ecosystems for future generations. This work is in support of and supported by the Bear River Band of Rohnerville Rancheria who aim to revitalize their cultural heritage and traditional practices within their homelands.