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 Enjoying clean ocean water... |
Clean Water, Open Access, No Sprawl
MAKING WAVES, August/September 1999 |
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Oregon Surfrider Foundation and Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition staged a Beach Rally at Nye Beach in Newport on May 22nd. People who enjoy ocean sports and recreation and all those who love Oregon's wild ocean shores gathered to show their support for new laws and policies to protect water quality, public access and undeveloped beaches. There was a "paddle out" and other activities with signs and other props, calling attention to the need for public policies to ensure future generations' ability to enjoy Oregon's legacy of clean, open and natural coastal shores. Surfers and other ocean recreational users, including swimmers, kayakers, and windsurfers, are the "canaries in the coal mine", contracting a wide range of diseases including gastroenteritis, dysentery, hepatitis, ear, nose and throat problems, and respiratory problems, from pollution flows into ocean waters Additionally, the number of people seeking access to Oregon's ocean shore is constantly increasing as special interest groups, development and funding shortages threaten to reduce the number of access sites available to them. Surfrider supports policies that will protect existing public access and programs to create and acquire new sites. The beach is the final threshold for sprawl, causing visual blight, blocking access and forcing attempts to armor the shoreline with rip rap and seawalls. The cost is the destruction of an irreplaceable public treasure often simply for the benefit of someone's view. Surfrider opposes efforts to allow development in hazardous bluffs and dunes, sensitive habitats and scenic oceanfront areas. |
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Surfrider Foundation USA: 122 S. El Camino Real #67 San Clemente, CA 92672 tel. (949) 492-8170 fax (949) 492-8142  |
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