Judge Says Off-Roading At Oceano Dunes Violates Endangered Species Act
Jarrod Zinn
OCEANO, Calif. (KEYT) – A U.S. district court judge in Los Angeles issued a ruling that adds another chapter to the battle over off-road vehicles at the Oceano Dunes.
Off-roading at Oceano Dunes goes back decades.
And some local businesses benefit from those riders, people like Anthony Malmo from Fresno.
“We can go four wheeling closer to our house,” he says. “There’s a place 45 minutes away that we drive trails in the mountains. But on the beach, it’s a lot more fun.”
In 1993, a shorebird called the Snowy plover was added to the endangered species list. Since then, environmentalists and nonprofits have been on a mission to reduce off-roading at Oceano Dunes, a natural habitat for the snowy plover and other shorebirds.
“Oceano Dunes started becoming an important breeding area and almost immediately, you know, conflicts,” says Jeff Miller, spokesperson for the Center For Biological Diversity. “Turns out off road vehicles and cryptically colored nesting shorebirds in the dunes don’t really mix that well.”
This month, a federal judge found California parks violated the Endangered Species Act by allowing off-roaders to stay on the dunes, and cited instances where some of the birds were killed.
But this spring a state appeals court ruled in favor of off-roaders, saying the coastal commission did not have the authority to ban off-road vehicles.
“There is places that are set up for the endangered species that, nobody bothers with and nobody messes with,” says Malmo. “And we’re still able to do our thing.”
The federal judge ruled that state parks and environmental groups must work together to find a solution.
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