State Parks illegally opens 300 acres of Oceano Dunes snowy plover habitat to vehicles
California State Parks on Oct. 1 opened a 300-acre area of Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area that was fenced off to protect western snowy plovers and California least terns from humans and vehicles — a move that appears to be clear defiance of the law.
The large exclosure, which accounts for about 20% of the popular park in southern San Luis Obispo County, was previously in place only part of the year. Fences would go up in March and come down on Oct. 1 to protect the birds during nesting season.
But the California Coastal Commission on March 18 unanimously voted to modify the park’s coastal development permit to phase out vehicle use at the Oceano Dunes.
One new condition of the amended permit, effective immediately after the vote, is that the 300-acre exclosure is permanent and no longer seasonal in order to better protect the birds’ habitat.
Snowy plovers are considered threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act, while least terns are endangered.
By taking down the fencing surrounding the large exclosure, State Parks has allowed vehicles to access the area and drive over the sand dunes that are home to the small coastal birds. It also allows camping, equestrian use and hiking within the exclosure area.
This is a violation of the coastal development permit issued by the Coastal Commission for the park and therefore the California Coastal Act — the law the agency is charged to enforce.
State Parks apparently gave no notice to the Coastal Commission of its intentions and staff first learned of the fences’ removal on Monday, four days after the fences were taken down.
“We were surprised and dismayed to learn on Monday that State Parks reopened the area without coordinating with us,” Coastal Commission executive director Jack Ainsworth wrote in an email. “We are going to request they put the fencing back up immediately because this is not in compliance with the permit. Bottom line, we are taking all of this very seriously and are continuing our investigation.”
Videos shot by local residents and obtained by The Tribune show all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) driving over once-fenced-off dunes within the exclosure area with light vegetation growing on them.
On Tuesday evening, tire tracks and trash could be seen on the vegetated dunes, and recreational vehicle campers were settling in for the night on the beach in the same area.
On Thursday afternoon, vehicles were seen in the exclosure area at the southernmost edge of the Oceano Dunes near Oso Flaco Lake.
“As soon as those fences go down, all of the vegetation is being destroyed; those habitats are damaged,” said Jeff Miller, senior conservation advocate for the nonprofit environmental organization Center for Biological Diversity.
It’s unknown whether any snowy plovers or least terns have died due to vehicle traffic since the reopening of the exclosure area.
Gloria Sandoval, State Parks’ deputy director of public affairs, told The Tribune in a written statement that the department is working with the Coastal Commission on the coastal development permit at the Oceano Dunes.
“The exclosure fencing is an example of how some requirements of the coastal development permit will take time to implement effectively,” she wrote. “The southern exclosure fencing is seasonal and temporary fencing and not designed or constructed to be permanent.
“Installing permanent enclosure fencing will require an environmental review and time to design and build a permanent fence. Parks may also need to seek a budget appropriation. In the meantime, Parks was concerned that leaving the temporary fencing in place could result in failure and other maintenance and public health and safety issues.”
Sandoval added that State Parks “remains committed to protecting the natural and cultural resources found in Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area for future generations, and to ensure that ALL Californians have equal access to the park and its diverse recreational opportunities.”
State Parks may have violated Coastal Act with Oceano Dunes actions
The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit against State Parks in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court in October 2020 alleging the agency was causing the illegal killing, injuring and harassment of snowy plovers — a violation of the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
The lawsuit was filed after the Coastal Commission sent a cease-and-desist letter in June 2020 to State Parks in response to reports that the state agency was allegedly interfering with the nesting of snowy plovers and least terns, violating the Endangered Species Act.
Miller said State Parks’ actions this month may be incorporated into the Center for Biological Diversity’s ongoing lawsuit.
“We intend to pursue maximum financial penalties that we can get a court to impose on State Parks,” he said. “We can go back six years for any killings of the birds, and they can continue to be fined for any future killings.”
However, State Parks may have violated the Coastal Act at the Oceano Dunes beyond its removal of fencing surrounding the 300-acre snowy plover and least tern habitat exclosure.
The agency has allowed vehicles to drive below the mean high tide line at the park, conducted intense grading in areas of the beach down to the Pacific Ocean’s edge without a permit and allowed vehicles to cross Arroyo Grande Creek while it still flowed into the ocean.
All of those actions were prohibited by the Coastal Commission effectively immediately after its March vote.
Allowing vehicles to drive below the mean high tide line caused hundreds of Pismo clams to be crushed beneath vehicle tires in August, according to a video obtained by The Tribune.
“State Parks clearly has no intention of complying with the Coastal Commission’s order,” Miller said. “They have no interest in doing the right thing.”
Could State Parks face penalties for Coastal Act violations?
By violating the Coastal Act, State Parks could be subject to penalties from the Coastal Commission’s enforcement division.
However, the Coastal Commission is a resource-strapped state agency with a growing backlog of more than 2,600 open, unresolved enforcement cases, according to a Coastal Commission report.
The Coastal Act allows for what’s referred to as “citizens enforcement,” where anyone can bring legal action to enforce the law. In other words, anyone can file a civil lawsuit against a person or entity for violations of the Coastal Act.
One nonprofit group, Friends of Oceano Dunes, has filed lawsuits against the Coastal Commission regarding alleged violations of the Coastal Act by the agency for its March vote to modify the operations at Oceano Dunes.
Three lawsuits from the group currently await hearings in the San Luis Obispo County Superior Court.
This story was originally published October 7, 2021 at 2:30 PM.
