Court Reaffirms Ruling Against Off-Roading At Oceano Dunes Threatened Species Habitats
Jarrod Zinn
OCEANO, Calif. (KEYT) – Off-roading at the Oceano Dunes is prohibited for now, after a federal court ruled those vehicles violated the Endangered Species Act.
The beach will be closed to vehicles starting next week.
“There’s a new aspect to the ruling,” says Zeynep Graves, senior attorney at the Center For Biological Diversity. “And that’s the court’s injunction. The court’s injunction will ensure that harm to these imperiled birds stops unless and until state parks complies with federal law.”
A permanent injunction was issued against future permits for off-road vehicles on the beach south of Arroyo Grande Creek without proper certification known as an incidental “take” permit.
“‘Take’ under the Endangered Species Act is very broadly defined as anything that will harass, harm or kill, amongst other things, or any attempt to engage in such conduct,” says Graves.
Starting April 14th, the beach will be temporarily closed to vehicles until May 22nd, while State Parks completes the Habitat Conservation Plan and obtains the Incidental Take Permit from Fish And Wildlife.
“If State Parks is correct and they get through all this and get the incidental take permit by the end of May, then the park will reopen,” says Jim Suty, spokesman for Friends of Oceano Dunes.
Off-roading in some capacity would then be allowed to return.
“The problem with that is that if they then open it up to vehicles after two months, there’s going to be nests out there,” says Charles Varni, Surfrider Foundation’s SLO Chapter president.
Friends Of Oceano Dunes spokesman Jim Suty says conservation efforts from State Parks and OHV users have been successful in reducing incidents in the last decade.
“There is no program in the entire state that matches what goes on at Oceano Dunes,” says Suty. “See, that’s the part that these environmentalists forget. You close the park, you lose the OHV dollars.”
California State Parks issued the following statement:
California State Parks disagrees with the court ruling to suspend off-highway vehicle recreation at Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area (SVRA). State Parks operates one of the most successful western snowy plover conservation programs on the West Coast at Oceano Dunes SVRA. This lawsuit does nothing to improve the program and will result in thousands of families losing their camping reservations and coastal recreational access, while cutting operational revenue that funds environmental conservation. We are reviewing our options to continue to effectively maintain both important environmental protections and coastal access for all Californians.
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