Surfrider Foundation: Surfrider Chapter News, Making Waves, June/July 1999

Surfrider Chapter News
May/June 1999

MAKING WAVES, June/July 1999

For more info contact: Ed Mazzarella at (949) 492-8170, emazzarella@surfrider.org

Jersey Closed
     Surfrider's Jersey Shore Chapter has long been one of the most vocal voices for surfers and ocean users' rights. Even though the Jersey Shore Chapter has been highly successful in opening access to beaches in Montoloking, Deal and Dover, they still face many access challenges.
     Surfers on the Jersey Shore saw their worst fears come true when beach managers in Ablsecon, Brigantine, Atlantic City, Ocean City, Cape May and Pt. Pleasant Beach closed their beaches to swimming and surfing just as a hurricane swell was approaching.
     The beach managers were unanimous in their eagerness to close the beaches because of a recent incident where the City of Cape May was sued by a body surfer who broke his neck while surfing during Hurricane Emily. The case is currently in the New Jersey Supreme Court and a decision is expected shortly. The chapter is participating as a friend of the court and has helped draft the Ocean Liability Act to protect townships from people who voluntarily enter the ocean during large swells and injure themselves.
     Think about this folks... #1. You aren't permitted to surf during the summer. There are numerous surfing restrictions placed at your beach during the summer. #2. Hurricane surf is forecasted (it's not exactly Waimea big) and the beaches are closed. All you can do is sit and watch the best swell of the summer pass you by. To top it off imagine this scenario: You are female, the surf is up and you and several friends grab your boards and hit the beach. The swell is pumping and you begin to paddle out only to be told by a lifeguard that the waves today are too big for women. Can't happen? It already has.
     Whether you surf or just care about the state of the coastal environment, there are more than enough reasons to get active in the Jersey Shore Chapter or any Surfrider Foundation Chapter.

Outer Banks Says No to PWC
On April 29, 1999, the National Parks Services (NPS) announced that it will prohibit personal water crafts (jet skis, Sea-Doos, waverunners, etcŠ) from the Cape Hatteras National Seashore boundaries in North Carolina. The ban will begin May 17, 1999.
     The decision comes after NPS received more than 1,000 comments during its eight-week comment period on personal water craft (PWC) management policies. According to Park Superintendent Bob Reynolds, citizen remarks supported the ban by a margin of more than ten to one.
     Activists fought for over a year to convince the NPS at Cape Hatteras that personal water crafts inflict lasting damage to the air and water quality, wildlife, natural quiet and visitor safety and enjoyment. All of these factors violate the Park Service's mandate to leave park resources unimpaired. The next step will be to implement the same requirements to all the park units in North Carolina, not just a select few.
     The pollution impacts of personal water crafts, according to the California Air Resources Board, are that a 100 hp jet ski operated for one hour emits the same amount of pollution as driving a modern passenger vehicle for a year. The Environmental Protection Agency reports that a single jet ski emits between 25% and 30% of its gas and oil directly into park waters. That's up to three gallons of fuel per hour. "The Parks Service wouldn't allow a park visitor to dump three gallons of gas and oil into park waters, so why would they allow a jet ski operator to do so?"

More No to PWC
     The Palm Beach County Chapter has been actively working with the Beaches and Shores Council to develop a proposed ordinance to regulate personal water craft in Palm Beach County. Surfrider Foundation's Palm Beach County Chapter member's met with stiff opposition from the national attorneys representing the Personal Watercraft Association at a recent meeting.
     Although the Chapter and its representatives did their best, the Beaches and Shores Council choose to "take no action at this time" on the jet ski issue. One personal water craft user got up and said the chapter's efforts were "territorial" and that surfers were increasingly using assault tactics against each other, fighting in parking lots and using knives and guns on each other. Another PWC user even let out a sarcastic "surf's up" while the chapter was making its presentation to the council
     This meeting was the third in a series of meetings the chapter has held with the Beaches and Shores Council and although it was not as successful as the first two, the chapter will continue to try and get the ordinance adopted. One County Commissioner has encouraged the chapter to continue their efforts on this issue as have other local representatives.

Santa Barbara Chapter
     It was January of 1992 when Surfrider Foundation's Santa Barbara Chapter held their first meeting in an Isla Vista coffee shop. With the help of a network of determined volunteers the chapter has waged a number of battles on behalf of the coastal ecosystem.
     Along with the many accomplishments and victories have come some losses. But, one thing has always remained a constant in the Santa Barbara Chapter, that in order to save the coastline they would have to make sure that it wasn't first raped and pillaged by development.
     In a first step towards victory, Congresswoman Lois Capps received enthusiastic support from the Santa Barbara Board of Supervisors for a feasibility study for the creation of a National Seashore on Santa Barbara's Gaviota Coast. Capps' legislation would authorize the expenditure of $75,000 for the Park Service to investigate whether 45 miles along the coast, from Coal Oil Point to Point Arguello, including all the land between the beach and the mountain peaks, could qualify as a national seashore.
     Capps told the board that the Park Service already had designated Gaviota as one of its top priority projects. There is only one national seashore on the West Coast, at Point Reyes, north of San Francisco. By contrast, there are seven national seashores on the east coast. To qualify for a national seashore designation, the Gaviota Coast has to be determined by the Park Service to offer superlative opportunities for recreation, to be largely unspoiled and to possess "exceptional value or illustrate the natural or cultural themes of our nation's heritage".
     Recent development proposals for the Gaviota Coast have included a golf course and a guest ranch with 45 cottages and a restaurant which were actively opposed by the Santa Barbara Chapter.
     Although success is far from assured in saving this pristine coastal region, it demonstrates that a committed group of volunteers can accomplish what many thought was impossible seven years ago.

An Escort Service for Tug Boats?
     The Washington State Chapter has been educating its members on the importance of tug boat escorts for oil tankers. Chapter members feel it is critical to the health of the Washington coastline to have additional safe guards to protect this beautiful region against oil spills.
     Senate Bill SB 5288 which would have required tug boat escorts for oil tankers recently died in committee without going to a vote. Lobbied intensely by oil companies and the US Coast Guard, lawmakers chose to continue business as usual and to rely on future risk and cost-benefit studies. According to Washington State Chapter member Kevin Ranker, a companion tug escort bill, HB 2012, died without a vote earlier this month in the House Agriculture and Ecology Committee.
     It now it up to Washington State Governor Locke to get tugs as part of his oil import barrel tax funding bill. The oil companies have been working hard on Substitute HB 2247 to get themselves a $2 million tax break on the barrel tax. Surfrider Foundation's Washington State Chapter feels if they want a tax break, the governor should be getting year-round tug escorts in exchange.
     Ten years after the Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of oil in Prince William Sound and after years and years of oil spills off many different coastlines, government officials still refuse to protect our coastal resources. If you are concerned about this issue please contact the Washington State Chapter. They are preparing a statewide campaign to raise the level of awareness of Surfrider Foundation's mission and increase active participation.

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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

Email addresses:
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