Sign Surfrider Petition to Keep Public Access to San Onofre Beach

Surfrider has launched a petition directed toward decision makers to keep public access  to San Onofre State Beach.

Here’s their statement on the Petition.

California’s State Parks’ lease allowing public access to San Onofre State Beach expires in August 2024. Without a lease renewal or extension, we could lose public access to this valuable stretch of coastline and world-renowned surf breaks indefinitely!

Make your voice heard by these key leaders and decision-makers:

• • Director Armando Quintero, California State Parks
  • Honorable Meredith Berger, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations and Environment, U.S. Navy and Marine Corps
  • Secretary Wade Crowfoot, California Natural Resources Agency

Surfrider is working with the San Onofre Parks Foundation and local stakeholders on the long-term protection and resilience of San Onofre State Beach, including the public’s ability to access and enjoy this iconic shoreline.

We are asking California State Parks and the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Camp Pendleton to ensure that there will be uninterrupted access to San Onofre State Beach once the current lease expires. We further call for a long-term solution that permanently secures public access to this iconic stretch of coastline.

 San Onofre State Beach in north San Diego County is a treasured natural resource for millions of people from across Southern California and beyond. Home to the Acjachemen village of Panhe since time immemorial and an iconic surf destination and campground for wave riders and families from around the world for more than 80 years, San Onofre is today the fifth most visited state park in California.

By taking action today, you can make your voice heard by the decision-makers driving the San Onofre State Beach lease renewal process and help make certain that San Onofre State Beach is accessible to all for generations to come.

Thank you for taking a stand and protecting public access to San Onofre State Beach!

If you’d like to learn more about this issue, you can visit our Save San O campaign page.

Here’s the opening to a recent U-T / Orange County Register article:

The Surfrider Foundation has launched a petition calling on decisionmakers to come up with an agreement for the continued public use of San Onofre State Beach, an area made up of popular surf breaks considered the best on the mainland and open space used by hikers, bikers and campers.

The area, just south of San Clemente on military land, has been leased by the State Parks for more than 50 years and is the fifth most visited of 280 parks operated by the state.

The land was leased to the parks system in 1971 by then President Richard Nixon for $1, but that deal expired nearly three years ago. Since then, the state and Department of Navy have been negotiating the future of the area, with the lease extension expiring Aug. 31.

“The purpose is really to demonstrate to the state of California, and the Navy and the Marine Corps, how important access is to the public for what is now a state beach not just for surfers, but nature lovers and day trippers,” said the Surfrider Foundation’s senior environmental director, Zach Plopper.

Without a lease renewal or extension, the public could lose access to the “valuable stretch of coastline and world-renowned surf breaks indefinitely,” warns the petition, which by Tuesday had more than 2,700 signatures.

With the lease extension deadline quickly approaching, the Surfrider Foundation and the San Onofre Parks Foundation, which formed in 2008 and eight years ago created a “Lease Renewal Task Force,” want to send a message to decisionmakers about how important the land is to the public.

There are also two campgrounds, an expansive network of trails for hikers and bikers, and a string of other surf breaks, including Lower Trestles, where the world’s best surfers have battled for their championship title the last three years.