Article taken from the Santa Barbara News Press 
Published with permission

Gaviota coast needs federal protection

Send a Letter to the Editor

6/9/03

California's Gaviota coast is nationally significant and worthy of national park status, but a recent ruling by the National Park Service thwarted that possibility.

In a recently released feasibility study, the Park Service chose not to include an option to designate Gaviota coast a national park, citing "strong opposition from study area landowners."

After years of scientific study and public meetings amidst a growing population and related development pressures, it's more than disappointing to see Park Service back off of protecting an area so rich in plant, animal and marine species that only three other places in the world can even compare.

Everyone loses with this decision, including those area residents who championed such a choice. Numerous protection strategies were discarded, including the proposal to set up a national reserve, which would provide federal protection and expertise to the area and ensure local representatives retained control over management of any lands included in the reserve.

A real down side to rejecting federal protection is the financial resources to protect the Gaviota coast will be limited. The coast can't afford to have viable options for its protection eliminated, and California shouldn't have to lose precious lands and remnants of their cultural heritage when federal protection could benefit everyone involved. Everyone that values protecting some of the last remaining stretches of undeveloped coast line in California should Write to the Park Service and let them know the Gaviota coast needs federal protection to prevent the loss of this irreplaceable national treasure.

Michelle Jesperson, Associate regional director, Pacific region, National Parks Conservation, Association, Oakland

 

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