Public Comment Period Ends on Offshore Space Launch Plans Amid Indigenous Heritage Concerns

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management closed a 30-day comment window on proposals to build space launch and recovery facilities on the Outer Continental Shelf, sparking criticism from Native groups over weakened archaeological safeguards.

The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management opened a 30-day public comment period, ending on August 7, to gather input on potential space launch and recovery sites along the Outer Continental Shelf, a marine area extending 200 nautical miles from the U.S. coast. Since March 2025, Congress has eliminated the requirement for archaeological surveys of proposed projects, leaving Native cultural resources vulnerable.

Indigenous advocates such as Katrina Thompson-Upton of the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation and the Northwest American Indian Coalition say the policy threatens sacred sites on the submerged coast of Northern California and southern Oregon. On July 17, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation proposed sweeping changes to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act that would reduce tribal input, according to one outlet Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers.

Tribal nations like the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde plan to invoke treaty rights to protect their lands, while groups without formal recognition rely on community activism. Experts warn that without mandatory surveys, developers could proceed without assessing or preserving underwater cultural heritage.