Surfrider Foundation: MAKING WAVES, 4/98, Surfrider Chapter News


	Surfrider Chapter News By Ed Mazzarella MAKING WAVES, April 1998

SAN CLEMENTE CHAPTER
The future of one of Southern Calfornia's last remaining-and one of the most beautiful-geological features is being debated-again. San Clemente Chapter members have been attending meetings regarding the proposed development of the Dana Point headlands. The proposed luxury hotel and extensive development complex by the Chandis Securities Company (owner of the Los Angeles Times) and M. H. Sherman Company (handling the affairs of the families that own the L.A. Times) had recently filed a lawsuit against the city of Dana Point.
    This happening after the Dana Point City Council approved plans for the development of the headlands and a public referendum torpedoed the proposal. The case made its way to the state Supreme Court, which than ordered the city to come up with a plan for the Headlands that either allows for some type of development or to compensate the property owners. This could all probably been avoided if the elected public officials of Dana Point had listen to will of the people and not approved the development in the first place.
    Since then, the Dana Point Planning Commission has held a series of public workshops, trying to gather public opinion on what citizens, public interest groups, and the owners want to do with the land. One proposal from the Sierra Club and others involves the construction of a Nature Park, which would include an interpretative ecological center. One proposal from the Chandis Securities Co. contains a curious provision which allows them to "relocate", or literally, trap and move endangered animals and plants to another location.
    Surfrider Foundation's San Clemente Chapter is concerned with all the ecological issues, as well as coastal access issues with the proposals. Surfrider Foundation activist are working with the planning commission on ideas of how to improve access in the Dana Strands area (north of the headlands) and keeping Cove Road open. Please contact the San Clemente Chapter for more information at (714) 492-8248

MALIBU CHAPTER
Some 31 representatives from various government agencies and environmental organizations were in attendance at the last Malibu Chapter's Malibu Lagoon Task Force Meeting. A city of Malibu Public Works Engineer, gave an update on the city's septic tank study. They are still trying to get voluntary cooperation from residential and commercial owners, but if not, they may have to issues warrants on private property.
    Preliminary ground water samples from test wells had enterococcus and fecal coliform levels of 1600 mpn hits. This shows evidence of septic tank leakage of sewage into the ground water. Ground water should have a test level of 0 mpn for enterococcus and fecal coliform levels. Prem Saint from Cal State Fullerton is planning to do surface water sampling in the creek, from above Tapia down to the Lagoon, as well as ground water.
    The Resource Conservation District (RCD) gave an update on the sandbar naturally breached at the Malibu Lagoon. The RCD performed three post-breached surveys on birds, sampled water quality and seined for fish. Hundreds of top smelt were stranded in the lagoon and hundreds of jack knife clams died during and after the breach event. RCD members will present preliminary results from their study at the next meeting.
    UCLA officials have been conducting hydroical evaluation, which involves doing cross selections across the Lagoon and doing flow meters. They are also conducting biological and water quality evaluation, and biological resources and vegetation mapping.
    Surfrider Foundation's Malibu Chapter announced that the chapter had started a technical advisory committee to make recommendations where to allocate funds for designated water quality studies. If you are interested in attending the next Malibu Chapter Task Force meeting please contact them at (310) 317-0777. Look for additional updates on the state of Malibu Lagoon in the next Making Waves.

OREGON CHAPTER
A federal magistrate in Eugene Oregon recently dismissed criminal charges against two surfers who refused to pay a $3.00 recreational access fee at the entrance to the Oregon Dunes last summer.
    Magistrate Thomas Coffin sided with the two individuals, who with the grassroots & financial support of the Oregon Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation felt that the fee was unjustified. Magistrate Coffin stated that the U.S. Forest Service had no legal right to collect a fee from people who are merely traveling through the Siluslaw National Forest to get somewhere else. He said such a charge amounts to a toll on a public road rather than a fee to recreate in a national forest. "As the defendants in this case did not engage in a recreational use of any Forest Service facilities or property, they were not subject to the fee in question, " Coffin said in his six page ruling.
    Coffin did rule that the Forest Service has the right to collect fees from people who use national forest recreational facilities, such as hiking trails and the dunes. Nevertheless, this ruling should force the Forest Service to take a hard look at its three-year "fee demonstration" program launched last summer.
    "This will set a tremendous precedent nationwide", Eugene attorney Dan Stotter stated. "This is the first case in which recreation fee have faced a court challenge."
    The Forest Service said it would review the ruling but would stop charging an access fee at the South Jetty Road entrance to the Oregon Dunes. However, the Forest Service spokespeople said the agency would continue to charge access fees at trailheads, parking lots, overlooks, boat ramps, and other sites. The Forest Service launched 47 recreation "fee demo" projects last summer and plan to add another 32 this year.
    The Oregon Chapter was very pleased with the ruling and will continue to stay on top of this and environmental issues that threaten our coastline.

NEW CHAPTERS
The Surfrider Foundation is stoked to announce the formation of three new grassroots chapters to protect and preserve your coastlines in the states of Florida, Montana and Maine.
    The St. Augstine Chapter will join the Palm Beach County, South Florida and Sebastine Inlet Chapters in tackling water quality issues, coastal development and educating the local community on environmental issues.
    Surfrider Foundation's Portland Maine Chapter will begin implementing the Beachscape Coastal Mapping Program, as well as building community support for their local chapter.
    Bozeman Montana might seem unlikely location for a Surfrider Foundation Chapter, but is it really? Surfrider Foundation has been developing programs that deal with water quality which the chapter will implement along streams, rivers and lakes. They will also educate locals on the relationship begin the mountain watersheds and coastal water quality through the hydrologic cycle.
    These new Surfrider Foundation Chapters will implement all our environmental programs and community based campaigns. If your interested in organizing a local chapter please call the national office.

Surfrider Foundation USA:
122 S. El Camino Real #67
San Clemente, CA 92672
tel. (949) 492-8170
fax (949) 492-8142

Email addresses:
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