A Photo-Collection of Laguna Beach
& Surfrider Foundation News
Photos by Mary Sands

Help Protect Baja's Surf: Take action today and help put a stop to FONATUR's Escalera Nautica Project to develop marinas on wave-rich, fragile coastline along the Baja California peninsula. Surfrider and other groups are making progress (Cabo Colonett and Punto Canoas have recently been taken off the "hit" list) in pressuring FONATUR against Escalera Nautica, but we need to keep the pressure on and you can help. While the region is in clear need of economic development, Escalera Nautica, in its current state, will clearly do the region more harm than good, both environmentally and economically. We urge a halt to development plans at the following sites: Bahia de los Angeles, San Luis Gonzaga, Santa Rosaliita, Bahia Tortugas, Punta Abreojos, San Juanico, Puerto San Carlos, and Puerto Loreto. These areas stand out among the proposed sites as particularly fragile in both environmental and socio-economic terms. You can take action at: http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/escalera.

Help Protect Washington's Coastal Wilderness: The Olympic National Park occupies 65 miles of wilderness coastline on the outer coast of the Olympic peninsula. As part of the its current General Management Plan revision process, the Park is considering establishment of coastal marine protected areas through implementation of a network of intertidal reserves that limit harvest and promote marine education and research. On our special Action Alert Web page, you can write to the Park Superintendent and tell him you support greater protection of Washington's wild Olympic Coast. This is a proactive way for us to protect our coast so that when our grandchildren go surfing, kayaking and diving at our favorite spot, they will be able to enjoy its wild beauty. Please go to http://surfrider.org/specialplaces/washington.

Final Push to Protect Channel Islands: Surfrider Foundation and numerous other environmental organizations have worked very hard for the past three years to create marine reserves in the Channel Islands. The "final" vote by the California Fish and Game Commission to designate these areas was taken last October, and an appropriate network of reserves was approved by the Commission at that time. Unfortunately, opponents of reserves are now trying to overturn that decision before the reserves are even in place. The California Fish and Game Commission (appointed by the Governor) has put the Channel Islands marine reserves back on their agenda for possible reconsideration on February 6th in Sacramento. We need to remind the Governor that this is a landmark decision that should be protected, not over turned. The debate about the need for reserves in the Channel Islands is over! It's time to make them work! Take action at http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/channel_islands2.

Pew Oceans Report: Marine Reserves Key to Preserving Ocean Ecosystems: A new Pew Oceans Commission report has been released, "Marine Reserves: A Tool for Ecosystem Management and Conservation." The report describes how coastal habitat loss, pollution, commercial fishing, recreational fishing, and tourism have degraded marine ecosystems and how marine reserves can help those degraded marine ecosystems recover and then stay healthy. The report states unequivocally that, "fully protected marine reserves are an effective tool for restoring and maintaining coastal and marine habitats." Read the Pew Oceans Commission report at http://www.pewoceans.org/articles/2003/01/13/pr_31404.asp.

Court Rules CA Coastal Commission Is Unconstitutional: Wow! A three judge panel on the 3rd District Court of Appeals ruled that the California Coastal Commission, according to the judges' interpretation of the California State Constitution, should not have the authority to regulate development and preservation along the California coast because too many commission members are chosen by the State Legislature when the commission itself is under the executive branch. The court has given the State of California until January 30th to fix the commission or else face possible elimination of the commission. A special California legislative session has been called to pass legislation that would hopefully be accepted by the courts as making the Coastal Commission constitutional. Peter Douglas, director of the California Coastal Commission, said, "This is the biggest crisis to face our existence since we were created. There is a very real danger that one of the best coastal protection programs in the world could die, and there is very real opportunity that it could be strengthened." More info at http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0122/p03s01-usgn.html.

Bush Cancels Clinton-Era Plan to Fight Polluted Runoff: The Bush Administration will abandon a polluted-runoff-reducing program introduced by the Clinton Administration. As a first step, the program would have required states to set "Total Maximum Daily Loads' (TMDLs) of pollutants that could enter into waterways without violating federal water quality standards. After the TMDLs had been ascertained, states would have had to not only establish detailed runoff-reduction plans, but also take subsequent action to reduce polluted runoff so as to meet water quality standards. Reducing polluted runoff, the main source of beach water pollution, is a core goal of the Surfrider Foundation. More info, free registration required, at the NY Times article at http://nytimes.com/2002/12/21/politics/21WATE.html.

EPA to Implement Water Pollution Trading Program for Polluters: The Environmental Protection Agency intends to implement a plan through which water pollution credits can be bought and sold within individual watersheds by industry, cities and farmers. The new water pollution trading plan will enable large polluters to buy "pollution credits" from others who have reduced their own water pollution by more than the minimum amount required by law. Critics of the plan contend that, instead of criminalizing the act of polluting our waterways, the EPA has monetized it, thereby rewarding polluters by granting them "pollution credits" to buy and sell on an open market. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) immediately called the plan illegal, with Nancy Stoner of the NRDC saying, "Under this policy, our waterways are for sale. Only corporate polluters will benefit." More info at http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/19408/story.htm.

Molokai Locals Sue Over Introduction of Cruise Ships: A local Molokai group, Hui Ho'opakele 'Aina that is being represented by Earthjustice, has sued 2 Hawaiian state agencies that gave permission to cruise ships to stop in Molokai starting December 28, 2002. The state agencies have not complied with state laws requiring a public process of evaluating the environmental and cultural impacts of the cruise ship visits. The cruise ships would overwhelm pristine Molokai, whose total population is only 7,000 people. As we know, cruise ships are notorious for polluting local waters and air while overburdening the infrastructure of small communities with the sudden influx of large numbers of cruise ship tourists. More info at http://www.earthjustice.org/urgent/display.html?ID=115.

EPA Promises to Clean up Vieques, Puerto Rico, After U.S. Military Leaves: EPA Administrator Christie Whitman, on a recent visit to Puerto Rico, has promised that the Navy bombing ranges on the beautiful island of Vieques will be thoroughly cleaned up after the U.S. leaves the island. "We are going to make sure that it is safe. We're going to do it right, and we're going to do it as fast as we can," said Administrator Whitman in Puerto Rico. The U.S. Navy has officially set May 1, 2003 as the last day of military training on the island. Meanwhile, on the other side of Puerto Rico on the NW coast at Rincon, Surfrider continues to work for the establishment of a nature and marine reserve. More info on Vieques at http://enn.com/news/wire-stories/2002/12/12132002/ap_49179.asp and http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2003/2003-01-13-09.asp#anchor2 and also see our special Surfrider Rincon web section at http://surfrider.org/rincon.

EPA Sued Over Inaction on Global Warming: The Sierra Club, Greenpeace, and the International Center for Technology Assessment (CTA) have filed suit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for not taking action against global warming emissions, as required by the Clean Air Act. "The EPA's stalling tactics are doing real damage in the fight against global warming," said Joseph Mendelson of the CTA. "It's time for the Bush administration to get its head out of the sand." Global warming has already had devastating effects on our beloved coral reefs. More info at http://ens-news.com/ens/dec2002/2002-12-05-09.asp#anchor2.

New Factory Farm Waste Regulations Inadequate: The good news is that our federal government has finally started to regulate animal waste at large, polluting, factory farms. The bad news is that the new regulations fall way short of adequately protecting our waterways from runoff polluted with animal wastes. Among other loopholes, the new regulations will still allow farms to store waste in massive, open-air, lagoons that are prone to enormous spills during heavy rains. Melanie Shepherdson, an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council's Clean Water Project, said, "The Bush EPA gave agribusiness increased protection from liability for polluting our waterways. It's a sweet deal for factory farm polluters, but it stinks for the rest of us." More info at http://ens-news.com/ens/dec2002/2002-12-16-06.asp.