Park Protection News: Bills Awaiting Governor's Signature and the State of State Parks

The past few weeks have been interesting for California State Parks. Two very important bills (that Surfrider actively supported during the legislative season) passed out of the Assembly and Senate and are now sitting on the Governor's desk waiting for his signature. He has until Oct 11 to sign. SB 679 (Wolk) protects Parks by setting a requirement that parklands used for “non-park purposes” must be replaced by other park lands that are of equal environmental, recreational, and fair market value.

SB 372 (Kehoe) simply requires the Legislature to make a final decision about allowing any non-park use in a state park system (i.e. the Legislature finally has a say in horrible projects like a toll road through a state park). Please take a minute and urge the Governor to sign the bills:

Finally, as you may have heard last week, the Governor released a statement saying the State would avoid permanently closing several state parks. In the statement, he also proposed major changes to the state park system in order to “close some of the budget gap”. While it’s fantastic news parks will not be permanently closed, some parks will be partially or seasonally closed. He also proposed major reductions in seasonal staff, reductions in hours of operation at most state parks, and reduced maintenance.

This all means having fewer lifeguards on state beaches, poorly maintained facilities (i.e. restrooms, kiosks, etc), that will inevitably impact the health and safety of our parks. Our friends at the California State Parks Foundation say it best:

“We all want to see our state parks open, and it’s been the efforts of advocates that have kept the Governor’s feet to the fire since late May. But California State Parks Foundation isn’t fully celebrating this news yet. While the Governor has found a clever way to get political cover on this issue, it’s not clear that this plan won’t actually leave Californians with just as limited access to their state parks as if they had been fully closed”.

Review their statement for more news on park closures.

Toll Road Update: Rancho Santa Margarita City Council STILL wants the Road!

Photo: RSM City. The Mayor who Hearts the Toll Road

Yep, you read it right. Rancho Santa Margarita still wants the road and the Mayor wishes the Park would go away....!



This week Surfirder had an interesting experience sitting through a City Council meeting where the Mayor and City Council of Rancho Santa Margarita doted over the toll road! They actually had an agenda item to: “discuss the status of the 241 and consider all means to ensure the project is moved forward in a timely manner”.

Surfirder was there to set the record straight in public testimony. We politely reminded them the project is inconsistent with both state and federal law and that the City should be considering some of the creative measures the Orange County Transportation Authority put forward in their Major Investment Study to relieve traffic.

Here is an article from the Orange County Register.

During the meeting, the Mayor flippantly said: “there is a high chance THAT Park will go away very soon” (meaning the Camp Pendleton will not renew the Park lease)….then, he continued to rant about the need for the road and essentially blamed “the Trestles and State Parks people” for making such a stink about the project and subsequently bringing undue public attention/scrutiny to the project .

So, congratulations to YOU, you “Trestles and Parks People” for raising awareness about the horrible impacts of this road and ultimately halting the project from going forward!! If you live in Rancho Santa Margarita, please take a moment to send a very polite, nicely worded, email to the Mayor reminding him that the road doesn’t stand up under state and federal law….AND that as a citizen of Rancho Santa Margarita you are disappointed they wasting City time talking about a dead project.

Here’s the City email list….

In other News….Come and Explore Maps of Marine Protected Areas with the Surfrider Foundation!

After a year of ‘map-making’ and planning, the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) process is in the home stretch. Local stakeholders are putting final touches on the maps and will come up with three different proposals. The three proposals will ultimately be forwarded to the Fish and Game Commission where they will vote on one map they think will work best for southern California.

This is one of your last chances to give meaningful input on where marine protected areas should be located! Please join Surfrider to learn more about the Marine Life Protection Act and to discuss the proposed maps. After the community forums, Surfrider will compile all constructive comments into a letter that will be sent to decision makers before the final vote. We need to hear from you!

Agenda:

• 7:00-7:10—Welcome and brief overview.
• 7:10-7:20—Summary of Surfrider’s outreach efforts over the past year and what we learned from local communities and Surfrider supporters.
• 7:20-7:40—Overview and discussion of each map.
• 7:40-8:00—Questions & Answers.

Community Forum Information:

WHEN: Four different forums will be held in the following areas: Orange County, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and San Diego. All forums will be from 7-8pm.

WHERE:

Sept 23. San Clemente Senior Center: 242 Avenida Del Mar. San Clemente, CA 92672.

Sept 24. Watershed Resource Center: 2981 Cliff Drive. Santa Barbara, CA 93109

Sept 29. Santa Monica Library--Ocean Park Branch: 2601 Main St. Santa Monica, CA 90405

Sept 30. Encinitas Community Center: 1140 Oakcrest Park Drive. Encinitas, CA 92024

About the Marine Life Protection Act

The MLPA is a law that requires the state to establish a “network” of marine protected areas from Oregon to the Mexican border. The goals of the MLPA are to: ‘set aside’ areas of the ocean to increase fish populations, enhance marine habitat, and to improve recreational and educational opportunities. Over the past year, Surfrider has been working with diverse groups of people including recreationalists, fishermen, environmentalists, and Chapter activists to ensure the law is effectively implemented. To learn more go here: http://mlpasurfrider.blogspot.com/ or email Ssekich@surfrider.org