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| [Photos: Jeff Miller] |
The MCAS Board of Directors unanimously voted to support the CA Coastal Commission’s staff recommendations to phase-out off-highway vehicle (OHV) activity at the Oceano Dunes over a 5-year phase out period.
Now it is your turn – to tell the Coastal Commission how you feel!
Tell the Coastal Commission we have waited long enough for CA State Parks to produce an environmentally acceptable management plan for the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area (ODSVRA).
The Oceano Dunes, part of the larger Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Complex, is the largest such intact coastal dunes system in the world and a federally designated Natural Landmark.
OHV are not compatible with the protection of a fragile coastal dunes complex, threatened species, and environmentally sensitive habitat areas (ESHA). For these reasons, and more, OHV must be phased out at the Oceano Dunes in favor of low-impact recreational uses.
For the Coastal Commission March 18, 2021 meeting, State Parks has produced a draft management plan that “doubles down” on OHV expansion.
At the March 18th hearing, the Coastal Commission will consider requiring a phase-out of off-roading at the dunes, and can amend the management plan to favor different types of recreational use – like car-camping on the beach in less sensitive areas, and hike-in/bike-in low impact camping. Off-road enthusiasts will continue to be able to ride at 8 other State Parks that allow vehicular recreation, as well at nearly 70 other public OHV areas in CA.
This Coastal Commission staff recommendation will not close Oceano Dunes to public use.
TAKE ACTION NOW!
Send your message to the Coastal Commission urging them to implement the recommendations of their staff to ensure sustainable management at the Oceano Dunes. Send your email to: OceanoDunesReview@coastal.ca.gov
(For additional information on the Oceano Dunes see the Coastal Commission’s Oceano Dunes webpage at: http://www.coastal.ca.gov/oceano-dunes/
Here is an example email to send, (feel free to use and add your own personalized message).
Subject: Protect the Oceano Dunes
Dear Chairman Padilla and Commissioners,
Please support and implement your staff’s recommendations for the Oceano Dunes, and amend the State Park’s Coastal Development Permit to bar night riding and driving across Arroyo Grande Creek, close the Pier Ave. vehicle access, preserve the snowy plover exclosures, and leave the Oso Flaco Lake area as it is. Above all, start the clock on the phase-out of OHV activity.
The Oceano Dunes will continue to offer unique experiences such as car camping on the beach, along with walking, birding, fishing, horseback riding, and hiking the dunes; the kind of activities that characterize the healthy economies of every other beachfront community in California - with the exception of Oceano.
Please dispense with the fears and economic arguments against doing this, which were rebutted during the park’s closure to vehicles from March to October of last year. Tourism continued, and supported the local economy, as it does the length of California’s coast.
The residents of Oceano who try to walk on their own beach, with OHV activity, do so with great risk. And they are watching the coastal dunes complex – their defense against rising sea levels – being eroded away.
The unhealthy air, from foredunes denuded of vegetation by off-road vehicle activity, continues to stretch from Nipomo to Guadalupe.
All of this is an environmental injustice. You know this, and you know State Parks is not fixing the problem and has not heeded your directive to come up with a plan to adequately protect the environmentally sensitive habitat. It is past time to hold them accountable now.
Sincerely,
And, tell CA State Parks how you feel about their “improvement” plan for the Oso Flaco Natural Area.
Let State Parks know that this is no improvement plan at all. It would be a disaster for Oso Flaco, as it would bring in up to 200 RV campsites, 100 drive-in tent campsites, an off-road riding trail adjacent to the north end of the lake, and much, much more development.
The proposal could cause least terns to abandon use of Oso Flaco for foraging, and may drive many other bird and wildlife species away from the lake and surrounding area. It would completely alter what is now the top birding spot in SLO County.
The State Park proposal for Oso Flaco Lake is contrary to the CA Coastal Act and Local Coastal Programs – which protect prime agricultural land, and environmentally sensitive habitat areas (ESHA).
TAKE ACTION NOW!
Submit your comments now by email to: OceanoDunes.PWP.EIR@parks.ca.gov
