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EXAMINING SURFRIDER'S SO-CALLED FIGHT FOR TRESTLES
Coast News Group
March 31, 2006
By Lacy Ottenson
It's not that often that a surfer would side against the Surfrider Foundation. In fact, the Surfrider Foundation has had it pretty easy with little protest against its many causes, but this is one that I can't let go.
Not because I don't care about the environment or don't surf, I do, but because this organization is beginning to get out of hand on this issue.
As you might have already heard or read about in one of my more recent columns, the Transportation Corridor Agency has proposed to build a toll road extension along the San Mateo Creek in an effort to curb the future boom of commute lengths and burgeoning population. Now while that seems like a feasible plan, the Surfrider Foundation and others have been adamantly against this proposal citing problems in the TCA's assessment of its environmental impact survey.
Recently, the Surfrider Foundation, with the help of various Surfrider-friendly media outlets, organized a protest to coincide with an appearance by Congressman Ken Calvert, who supports the toll road extension, at the San Clemente Community Center. Bombarded by the unyielding protestors, Congressman Calvert held his ground and answered questions from those opposed to toll road 241 for as long as 20 minutes.
Of course, none of his answers would prove to be sufficient for such an inept crowd, and finally, they turned to the many cameras ready to hear their slew of rhetoric and "facts." The best example of their inane argument was in a comment made by the Surfrider Foundation's Executive Director Jim Moriarty when he said, "This project will certainly cause significant degradation to the water quality at Trestles, and will likely impact the actual break itself should we see changes to the hydrology of the San Mateo Creek."
The key words to focus in on in this statement are "likely" and "should." "Should we see changes," is like "should I inherit a million dollars, I'll likely be a millionaire." Of course, the likelihood of such an event is just as rare and unfounded as the statement made by Mr. Moriarty. Of course, that doesn't really matter to people of protest, especially in front of cameras.
Now to address the facts of the issue. When the Surfrider Foundation says that the toll road extension will degrade the water condition at Trestles, I wonder how. How, when the TCA has proposed to implement a series of water retaining basins, which would catch any harmful run-off? How, when as of now, Trestles has no such protection from harmful run-off? In fact, with the installation of the basins, you would actually be improving the water quality by eliminating much of this run-off. So again, the Surfrider Foundation's "facts" are unfounded and baseless.
Want another example? During the onslaught of protestors attempting to chide Congressman Calvert, a report by engineering consultants Smart Mobility was cited for its findings that a simple widening of Interstate 5 would be cheaper and more effective than extending the toll road. The problem with this is that this option has already been studied and the results of the study showed that widening I-5 would result in many losses of homes through Eminent Domain. Of course, compromising the homes and lives of human beings who would be undoubtedly undersold for their property value is of little concern to the environmentalists who would rather see the environment put first before people.
To that point, Surfrider Foundation's South Orange Country Chapter Chairman Ed Schlegal said, "Today's protest is just the beginning. Every one of our elected officials, from the San Clemente City Council to the governor, needs to know that our community is not going to stand for this project compromising our state parks and threatening our coastal environments."
Again, not much concern for compromising and threatening the many homes of the folks who live close to I-5 and would lose their homes, should the Surfrider Foundation have its way.
No surfer in their right mind would want to see Trestles go down the drain. Having been there countless times myself to enjoy the surf, I also know the problem we as a society face today with the woes of a swelling population. I don't know about you, but I'm already sick of how many people are congesting the small roads and highways in coastal San Diego County. And it's only going to get worse.
Some people see the problem and attempt to fix it. Others will always stand against them to find some problem with their solution, instead of working together to find a compromise that will work for everyone and not just the abandoned wetlands that surround valuable space along our coastline.
The Surfrider Foundation has enjoyed many years of successful protests and have done a lot of good in trying to preserve a shrinking environment. However, this time, it is become so involved in trying to save a break that won't be affected and water that will be safer to surf in, that it has completely ignored the facts and chosen to avoid a reality that will have to be dealt with one way or another. But instead of trying to work with the TCA and other agencies to find a happy, most environmentally friendly solution to the problem, it acts as a bully, organizing protests and intimidating those who dare oppose its view.
Unfortunately, the Surfrider Foundation is beginning to turn into its own monster, ringing in much like the ACLU, another organization that is now only a shadow of the body of good it once stood for.
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