OFF-ROADING TO BE NIXED AT OCEANO DUNES
The California Coastal Commission has voted to end off-highway vehicle use at Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area within three years, a decision that follows decades of debate over environmental and cultural impacts.
The 10-0 vote Thursday calls for the prohibition to take effect by 2024 at Oceano Dunes, the only California state park that allows recreational driving on the beach and in dunes.
The California Department of Parks and Recreation said it was disappointed by the decision.
“At this time, the park will continue to operate under current operational guidelines while State Parks reviews the new conditions,” it said in a statement that also asserted a commitment to protecting natural and cultural resources and ensuring all Californians have access to the park and its diverse recreational opportunities.
The central coast park covers 3,500 acres along 8 miles of shoreline and inland for about 2 miles near the communities of Oceano and Grover Beach in southern San Luis Obispo County.
Users primarily come to drive cars, trucks and offhighway vehicles on the beach and in the dunes, although some visitors come for beach day use, birdwatching, horseback riding, fishing and hiking, according to the commission.
The vote followed commission findings that driving degraded dune habitats, harmed native species, caused air quality and public health issues and made other uses such as swimming and walking difficult.
The decision was long overdue, said Jeff Miller, a conservation advocate at the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity, which sued the California Department of Parks and Recreation over off-roading harm to snowy plovers, a tiny shorebird that nests in depressions in sand.
“This reprieve for endangered wildlife and coastal dunes habitat will allow the non-motorized public to enjoy our beach and dunes as well as reduce greenhouse gases and dust pollution,” Miller said in a statement.
The vote was a blow to offroading, which is a lifestyle, industry and part of the economy. The Tribune of San Luis Obispo reported that owners of all-terrain vehicle rental shops said their business will not survive the closure of the dunes to off-highway vehicles.