We have partnered with the Palumbi Lab at Stanford University’s Hopkins Marine Station, the Northern Chumash Tribal Council, and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to develop eDNA-enhanced approaches to characterising, understanding and monitoring spatial and temporal biodiversity changes in the California kelp forest ecosystems, in concomitance with the establishment of the first ever tribally-nominated National Marine Sanctuary, in the ancestral land of the Chumash People. We blend novel DNA tools with traditional indigenous knowledge to devise a blueprint for biodiversity assessment and stewardship in marine protected areas of cultural importance.