VOLUME 12 / NUMBER 3 / AUTUMN 1996

t about this time last year, we celebrated the opening of Cowell Ranch Beach, one of the few new beaches added to the State Park system in 15 years. That should tell us something. Since 1976, when the Coastal Plan was submitted to the state legislature, California's population has grown from 21.7 million to 32.2 million. In the next 20 years, it's projected to grow to 46.2 million--more than doubling since 1976. Yet it took five years--five years--after the construction of the parking lot, restrooms, trail, and bluff stairway to the beach before the State Parks Department was able to accept title and open this beach south of Half Moon Bay. Why? Lack of funds, lack of staff to manage and maintain that small new park, which residents had begun to call the "secret beach." Our most popular coastal recreation areas are heavily used. Packed is the word State Parks professionals use for places like San Simeon, Doheny, Carlsbad, Silver Strand, Pfeiffer, and Steep Ravine. Just try to get reservations to camp there, or try to tour Ano Nuevo when the elephant seals are there. In Santa Monica, so many people come to exercise by running up and down the bluffside stairway that local streets are jammed with double-parked cars. Californians come to the coast for scuba diving, camping, hiking, kayaking, long-distance bicycling, hang-gliding, birdwatching, swimming, mountain biking, whalewatching, sun-bathing, photographing, boating, fishing, and just simply to watch the waves break and the tides change. Not only Californians. This past summer an informal survey by the Department of Boating and Waterways found a surprising percentage of beachgoers--the majority, on some beaches--came from outside the state, thereby making a major contribution to our state's economic health. Recognizing the importance of coastal recreation, State Parks has attempted to accommodate increased demand at most state beaches; as its capital funds dwindle, it has given major priority to replacing worn-out facilities. It has continued to acquire coastal lands, within the limits of its resources: Spring Ranch, Point Sal, Latigo Shores, Limekiln Creek, and Wilcox Ranch within the past five years, soon to be followed, we hope, by Grey Whale Ranch and Sand City. Nonetheless, we are not keeping up with the demand for coastal recreation. Local opposition to the opening of new accessways between Highway 1 and the beach has increased, something one would not have thought possible 20 years ago, in the year of the Coastal Act. Why? The pent-up demand is so great in some areas that such accessways as do exist are overwhelmed.

RICHARD NICHOLS

Photo: Michael Fischer with Coastwalkers

Controversy over beach use has raged in Los Angeles and Sonoma Counties and, though the issues are somewhat different, the basic cause is the same: who pays? In Los Angeles, the debate has been about who is to manage the beaches, the state or the county. The county now manages them. In Sonoma, "Free the Sonoma Beaches" bumper stickers referred to State Park's short-lived attempt to charge for access to beaches that had always been free. While park facilities deteriorate for lack of maintenance money, State Parks has been directed to reduce its dependence on the General Fund, so where can the Department turn but to cost-cutting, user fees, corporate sponsorship, or new commercial development in the parks? Is this what we want for our parks and beaches? Certainly not. One bright spot is the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which reaches more than 50 miles along the Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo coast, and was created in 1972, the same year the Coastal Initiative passed. The old Crissy Field airfield will soon be redeveloped to provide backup space for windsurfers, a major run for urban dogs and their human partners, jogging paths, kite-flying greens, and a small restored tidal marsh. Congress passed the Presidio Trust legislation last month, opening the way for more progress in this grand national park. As the governor crafts his budget for next year, "California Competes" is being used as a slogan to indicate a strategic direction. I submit that a key aspect in that competition is the ability to meet the demand of our exploding population and the growing number of out-of-state visitors for coastal recreation opportunities. To compete well, it is time--past time--to draft and pass a "California Invests" initiative. We need a new bond issue to acquire, restore, and develop coastal habitat and recreation areas if our tourism industry is to remain competitive and the beauties of our coast are to be protected for future generations. Within the lifetime of most Californians the state's population will have doubled. We must act now to protect coastal lands our grandchildren will need for recreation and spiritual well-being, or lose their respect. New Jersey voters just approved a $350 million park and open space bond, as they have done every three years for the last twenty. We can keep up with New Jersey! Michael L. Fischer is the executive officer of the Coastal Conservancy.