Surfrider finished 2012 with a bang!  We had one of the most successful years EVER—exceeding many of our personal goals.  Typically within a year, we secure roughly 28 victories that protect our oceans, waves and beaches; in 2012 we obtained over 40 coastal victories. Spare 10 minutes to watch this video featuring our CEO going over Surfrider victories (many of them occurring in California).

Wild Blue Yonder

Surfrider Foundation Chapters in northern California are celebrating the Obama Administration's plans to expand the Gulf of Farollones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries to protect the coast from offshore drilling.  Under the proposal, the sanctuaries would be enlarged by nearly 2,800 square miles, more than doubling their size. The new boundaries would extend 50 miles north up the coast to include Sonoma County and much of Mendocino County.   Read more here.

Historical Milestone

California became the first state in the nation to establish a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).  On Dec 19^th, the final set of MPAs went into effect—completing a 10 years process under state legislation called the Marine Life Protection Act.    Surfrider was proud to be involved with the MLPA process and we share our account of this historical milestone here.

State Treasure Launches Investigation of Toll Road Agency.

Die-hard Surfrider supporters probably remember when we became involved with the Save Trestles campaign (over 10 years ago) to stop a toll road from ruining San Onofre State Beach.  We won the battle, but unfortunately, the toll road agency is still making missteps—this time, with their finances.  Here is a recent blog about the investigation.  Be sure to regularly visit our Save Trestles website.  As you may recall, the toll road agency is proposing to build their road in “segments”.  Surfrider and our Save San Onofre coalition partners are monitoring the agencey to ensure they do not build the road in small, chunks.

Seismic Testing Blasted Down

On November 14, 2012, Surfrider witnessed and participated in one of the biggest coastal victories of the year.  On this monumental day, the Coastal Commission unanimously voted down a proposal to conduct seismic testing off the coast near Diablo Canyon Power Plant to map fault lines.  Surfrider Foundation rigorously fought the proposal because we questioned the overall value of the project given that the testing will have devastating effects on marine life, threatens the health of ocean users (fishers, surfers, swimmers and divers) and the testing would not answer key questions regarding seismic risk.  All of the Coastal Commissioners expressed concerns that the risks were too great. Read more about it in the LA Times.