Control of Beaches

* Re “L.A. County Wants Beaches Back From State,” Sept. 10:

It is very disturbing that the California Department of Parks and Recreation, whose mission is to protect in perpetuity the natural and cultural resources of California while providing recreational opportunities, has a spokesperson who is so uninformed about the beaches of Southern California and their importance to the citizens of this state.

Patricia Megason, deputy director for the California Department of Parks and Recreation, believes that the eight beaches the department is attempting to transfer to Los Angeles County do not have “statewide significance.” Does she realize these eight beaches are a one-hour drive from over 20 million Californians and have an annual visitation exceeding 8 million?

These beaches include some of the last remaining coastal wetlands in California and are located where Native American villages thrived and Spanish ships anchored during their exploration and settlement of the California coastline. Additionally, the billion-dollar tourist and film industries in California were built around these coastal strips, their natural beauty and the recreational areas they provide.

SHERYAL SHAMY

Aliso Viejo

* As boat owners who have paid Los Angeles County storage fees for the past 10 years to dock a catamaran at Topanga South Beach, we believe the county should be more concerned with proper maintenance, security and safety measures than with its political quest to take back permanent title of the shoreline, while teetering on financial insolvency. In the past decade, there have been no improvements nor adequate maintenance of the storage area, despite annual fees paid by each boat owner.

Whether the state or the county retains control of the beaches, both should prioritize public welfare and safety first, while preserving the natural beauty of our beaches.

BRAD HIRSCH

RANDI FEILICH-HIRSCH

Calabasas

* Re “Blocking the Public’s Path to the Beach,” Sept. 3:

As your article correctly observed, California has over 1,000 trails along the coast that are currently unopened and underutilized by the public. These public access trails were required by the Coastal Act in order to offset and mitigate against the loss of public beach from the thousands of oceanside development projects approved in the last 20 years. The fact that the developments are long-ago constructed and the public still cannot enjoy beach access is a political and legislative tragedy of unparalleled proportions.

Many of these coastal paths and trails will expire within 10 years and be lost forever unless the public becomes involved now. Coastal advocates, millions who believe the coast was saved with passage of the Coastal Act in 1972, must now rally around these access opportunities and work together and through nonprofit organizations to take over the maintenance and operation of trails statewide.

Sierra Club has taken the lead in this effort and is currently organizing volunteer committees and management groups in every county in the state. If you are a Sierra Club member or just interested in participating in opening public beach access ways in California, please contact your local Sierra Club Chapter or group, or contact the Sierra Club Coastal Program at (415) 665-7008.

Huge tracts of land in Bodega Bay, Monterey, Santa Barbara and Marina del Rey have already been lost to development this year! Other, similarly destructive projects will soon be considered for Marina del Rey, Huntington Beach and San Diego.

MARK A. MASSARA, Director

Sierra Club Coastal Program

San Francisco