Treehuggers International

The Department of Commerce hearing regarding the proposed southern extension of the Foothill South 241 toll road at San Onofre State Beach and Trestles is Monday, September 22nd, from 10:30 am to 8:30 pm. The hearing will be held at the same place as the California Coastal Commission hearing in February: O’Brien Hall at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. Turnout is going to be EXTREMELY important, so please make time to attend.

If you would like to speak at the hearing, you must submit a written request via U.S. mail or a commercial carrier to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration by THIS FRIDAY, September 12th. Requests after this date will be disqualified, and requests submitted by fax, e-mail or voicemail will, for whatever reason, not be accepted.  Submit your written request NOW.

While crucial issues include retaining the integrity of California State Parks and keeping a six-lane freeway out of the backcountry of San Onofre State Beach and the intact San Mateo Creek watershed ~ which makes up the bulk of the San Onofre backcountry and empties onto Trestles Beach ~ the message is simple: SAVE TRESTLES.

Like Eddie Vedder says, “Save Trestles.”
(photo courtesy of Elizabeth Willes)

On September 22nd from 10:30 am to 8:30 pm at O’Brien Hall at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, the fight to save Trestles goes from being a state matter to a federal matter. The Orange County Transportation Corridor Agency has been appealing the state Coastal Commission’s denial of a permit to build the toll road through the park to the federal government., so this will be our only opportunity to tell the Commerce Department we want our state parks and intact watersheds to be left intact.

Send a brief, polite letter or postcard asking to speak at the Commerce Department public hearing at the Del Mar Fairgrounds on September 22nd. Be sure to indicate you are speaking only for YOURSELF, not an organization. Put a stamp on it and mail it to:

Mr. Thomas Street
NOAA Office of General Counsel for Ocean Services
1305 East-West Highway
Room 6111
Silver Spring, MD 20910

Even if you don’t want to speak at the hearing, take a vacation day or a personal day and come to the public hearing at O’Brien Hall at the Del Mar Fairgrounds on Monday, September 22nd, from 10:30 am to 8:30 pm.  Turnout is EXTREMELY important.

Rogue Wave supports the fight to Save Trestles.
(photo courtesy of Elizabeth Willes)

The proposed Foothill South 241 toll road through the San Onofre backcountry won’t just compromise the surfing quality, clean water, and wild character of Trestles, it will also throw into jeopardy long-protected burial and cultural sites of the Panhe Nation, close miles of backcountry trails, force the closure of the San Mateo Campground, further dissect wildlife habitat area and corridors into ever-smaller pockets, and set a terrible precedent for the disposability of parks and protected places.

Interestingly, according to the Orange County Register, toll road supporter Congressman Gary Miller of California’s 42nd District (Brea/Mission Viejo) has a financial stake in seeing the Foothill South 241 toll road built through San Onofre. Coincidence?

This rebuttal from the Transportation Corridor Agency in the North County Times seems to indicate whatever wild character the backcountry of San Onofre State Beach may still retain isn’t worthy of the protection it was originally granted because it’s not 100% wilderness; therefore it’s okay to build a six-lane toll road through it. Unfortunately, the original sin proposition of building a toll road through a state park in the first place is not addressed.

Click on the video below to see Clint Eastwood talk about why Trestles and San Onofre State Park need to be saved and preserved, as was the case when the park was set aside by Governor Reagan in 1971.

Interesting news story here. A piece in the San Diego Union-Tribune gives details on a top Army Corps of Engineers official who says proponents of the Foothills-South 241 toll road mischaracterized and even made “inaccurate statements” which “misrepresent” the Army Corps of Engineers’ own research regarding the validity of the proposed toll road and plan for reducing traffic congestion, going so far as to refer to the Corps’ neutral conclusions as  “unanimous recommendations,” all detailed in a letter from the Corps to the Secretary of Commerce and NOAA.  Ouch.  Read the entire Union-Tribune piece HERE.

Meanwhile, Lt. Governor and State Lands Commission member John Garamendi, Senate President pro Tem Don Perata, Senate Resources Committee Chairman Darrell Steinberg and Senator Christine Kehoe recently called on Washington D.C. to recognize California’s right to protect it’s own coastline, saying in a letter to Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez the federal government must let stand the California Coastal Commission’s rejection of the proposed toll road through the San Mateo Creek backcountry of San Onofre State Beach. Lt. Governor John Garamendi says, ”After careful deliberation and an open and transparent public review process, the Coastal Commission did precisely the job it was established to do: fully and properly carry out the intent of both the California Coastal Act and the Federal Coastal Zone Management Act.”

Back in February you helped the California Coastal Commission take the advice of its staff and vote 8-2 against the proposed toll road through San Onofre State Beach. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the end of the story, as the Orange County Transportation Corridor Agency quickly filed fresh papers to appeal the decision with the U.S. Department of Commerce, and successfully pressured Governor Schwarzenegger to remove actor Clint Eastwood and Schwarzenegger’s brother-in-law Bobby Shriver from the Calfornia State Park and Recreation Commission, which has long opposed the proposed freeway project through San Onofre State Beach. Stay tuned, the fight isn’t over yet to keep the Foothill-South 241 toll road out of the backcountry of San Onofre and the Trestles-fed San Mateo Creek.

You achieved a monumental, benchmark success in the fight to keep San Onofre State Beach and Trestles wild and clean at the Del Mar Fairgrounds on February 3rd, helping the California Coastal Commission take the advice of its staff and vote 8-2 against the proposed toll road through San Onofre State Beach. However, despite the victory, it’s the only the end of a chapter, and Arnold’s follow-up move, likely made at the behest of developers, was an ominous surprise.Shortly after the California Coastal Commission rendered their decision, the Orange County Transportation Corridor Agency quickly filed papers to appeal with the U.S. Department of Commerce, and successfully pressured Governor Schwarzenegger to remove actor Clint Eastwood and Schwarzenegger’s brother-in-law Bobby Shriver from the Calfornia State Park and Recreation Commission, which has long opposed the project through San Onofre State Beach. Stay tuned, the fight isn’t over to keep the Foothill-South 241 toll road out of the backcountry of San Onofre and the Trestles-fed San Mateo Creek.

Meanwhile, Micah Mitrosky from the Sierra Club’s Smart Energy Solutions campaign is reminding the hundreds of people interested in stopping the controversial Sunrise Powerlink line to attend upcoming Volunteer Mobilization Meetings to learn about simple things everyone can do to help protect local communities, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, and the Cleveland National Forest from the Sunrise Powerlink.

Many thanks to Robin Rierdan, Michele Sawaya, and Cindy Collins of Lakeside’s River Park Conservancy for a tour of the conservancy’s trails, and for linking Treehuggers International on the conservancy’s website.

Former San Diego fire chief Jeff Bowman and the California Chaparral Institute’s Rick Halsey have been in the news lately as the San Diego Regional Fire Safety Forum issued its list of recommendations regarding the 2007 Wildfires.

Also, Kama Dean and Pro Peninsula scored front-page real estate in the January 19th edition of the San Diego Union-Tribune.  Read the article HERE.

The U.S. Forest Service is once again being manipulated by administration shill Mark Rey to make life difficult for states choosing to leave roadless areas roadless, like, to pick a purely random example, California. Read on for more wastes of your tax dollars in transparent attempts by insiders working for the feds to appease timber and mining industry interests (i.e., their buddies), and undo a 30-year legacy of honorable environmental legislation for short-term gain.

Revised! New location: California Coastal Commission hearing at Wyland Hall at the Del Mar Fairgrounds February 6th, 2007 at 9:00 am. This is open to the public!

Governor Schwarzenegger has opted to side with the Orange County Transportation Corridor Agency for the construction of the Foothill-South 241 toll road through the backcountry of San Onofre State Park and Beach, site of Trestles world-famous surf break. Issuing a letter in favor of the project, the Governor calls the toll road “essential,” even though few if anyone will be using this toll road. Even the California Coastal Commission’s own staff determined this to be a bad deal for the environmental health of Southern California, not to mention setting a dangerous precedent about the disposability of state parks.

“It’s difficult to imagine a more environmentally damaging location.”  -  California Coastal Commission

The watershed of San Mateo Creek, which runs through the backcountry of San Onofre State Park and Beach, is one of the last intact watersheds in all of Southern California, and is responsible for the unique surf break at Trestles. Do we really need a freeway going through here?

SAVE TRESTLES! Join us Wednesday, February 6th at 9:00 am at Wyland Hall at the Del Mar Fairgrounds for the California Coastal Commission’s official hearing on the application to construct the Foothill-South toll road through San Onofre State Park by the Orange County Transportation Corridor Agency. WE NEED YOUR HELP!

If you’d like to read the Governor’s letter to the chairman of the California Coastal Commission, click HERE.

For additional information and to hear Surfrider’s Stefanie Sekich speaking about the need to save Trestles on the November 25th edition of Treehuggers International, go to the Treehuggers International page at the FM 94/9 website by clicking HERE. A new all-Trestles edition of Treehuggers International, featuring Stefanie Sekich, surfer and biologist Pat Zabrocki, and concerned area citizens and surfers, will air on FM 94/9 Sunday morning February 3rd at 5:30 am, and will be on-line for streaming shortly thereafter on FM 94/9’s webpage.

Eventually I’ll be getting my FM 94/9 Treehuggers International shows backed up here as MP3 files, so keep checking back, and in the meantime you can hear all the San Diego shows HERE. SAVE TRESTLES!

(map courtesy of the Orange County Register)

Save our state parks!

RED ALERT! Governor Schwarzenegger’s new budget proposal seeks to close 48 California State Parks and reduce lifeguard staffing at every single California State Beach along the San Diego and Orange County coastlines! Some of the parks slated for closure include Topanga State Park and Will Rogers State Historic Park in Los Angeles, Montaña de Oro State Park near San Luis Obispo, Del Norte Redwoods State Park near Crescent City, Mt. San Jacinto State Park near Idyllwild, and Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park, birthplace of modern California. To see the entire list of parks set to be closed and read the California State Parks Foundation statement on the emergency, click HERE.

CONTACT Governor Schwarzenegger HERE and tell him not to close the parks! California State Parks are the envy of the nation and must not be boarded up, barricaded, mothballed and kept from people of California! We will accept higher entrance fees if it means the parks will remain open! Quit playing politics! Don’t deny us our state parks!

Tell the Governor to leave the parks open! (click HERE to read the Governor’s 2008-09 budget proposal)

Tell your representative in the state legislature to keep the parks open! (click HERE to find your state senator or assemblyman)

Montaña de Oro State Park - draining California’s budget coffers?

Outstanding! The new Treehuggers International logo has arrived, and we’re now on-line with the new FM 94/9 Treehuggers International page. We move forward!

Many thanks to Nick McPherson at San Diego’s 6-1-9 Graphic Design for designing this new logo for me. The original Treehuggers International homepage is in the midst of a major facelift, but will soon have all the San Diego and Seattle shows on-line and in one place, plus new blog entries and guest backgrounds. It will definitely be a more comprehensive website when it’s back up to spped, but in the meantime we’re now on-line with the Treehuggers International page at FM 94/9’s website, which is great news, so give it a look and a listen!

Recent guests include Stefanie Sekich, Surfrider’s point person on all things relating to Trestles and the preservation of San Onofre State Beach, San Diego State University geology professor Dr. Pat Abbott discussing seismic hazards in San Diego (including the nearby Rose Canyon and Elsinore Faults), and ex-San Diego Fire Chief Jeff Bowman talking about the October Wildfires in San Diego County, and his recommendations to the city of San Diego and ultimate resignation as Fire Chief in 2006.

Interesting, informative, and enlightening, with plenty of new episodes on the air and going on-line. Treehuggers International, Sunday mornings at 5:30 on FM 94/9.

Treehuggers International makes it’s big return to the airwaves this Sunday morning on the one, the only, FM 94/9 in San Diego!

After a two-month layoff and a literal change of venue from The End in Seattle back to FM 94/9 in San Diego, Tommy Hough and Treehuggers International begin a brand-new Southern California focus this weekend with a conversation with Outdoor Outreach founder Chris Rutgers, outdoor guide Juan Herrera, and fundraiser Todd Smith. Outdoor Outreach is a San Diego-based community organization arranging opportunities for kids from broken homes or neighborhoods with limited resources to experience wilderness and find self-worth and confidence in outdoor activities. Tune in and learn more about some really conscientious, active guys with big hearts, as well as their upcoming fundraiser at Joshua Tree National Park September 22nd and 23rd.

Next Sunday (September 16), we catch up with environmental geologist Jacques Lord with Secor International, about attitudes toward conservation, recycling, “green building,” and as was the case with our green building series in Seattle, the rise in popularity (and cost-effectiveness) of planned communities which leave a minimal “footprint.” We also discuss Jacques’ personal experiences as a field geologist for oil companies in the Middle East, his day-to-day work as an environmental geologist, and hope for a greater embracement of conservation practices.

Tommy Hough returns to San Diego and brings Treehuggers International with him, now on FM 94/9, Sunday mornings at 5:30, or on-line 24 hours a day with streamed episodes at FM 94/9’s website. We’re back, “from the beaches, to the mountains, to the desert.”

Seattle Episode 11 - July 23, 2007

In the second part of our two-part series on sustainable design and so-called “green” architecture, we catch up with area architect Nora Daley-Peng, a Project Associate and Sustainable Design Consultant with Seattle-based O’Brien and Company. Nora discusses her company’s role in green-style residential consulting, commercial and institutional building, and O’Brien and Company’s education arm (including a sustainable building course at Seattle Community College).

Recently returned from a visit to China, Nora also discusses the haphazard growth of cities in a rushed economic explosion and the need to export good sense environmental leadership, and closer to home, the Built Green program in King and Snohomish Counties, and area Environmental Home Centers, where builders can purchase renewable bamboo for wood materials along with local stone and brick. Nora also talks about the building of her award-winning green Beacon Hill townhouse, and work with public staircase and greenbelt preservation in Beacon Hill, to better enhance “community connectivity.”

Originally broadcast July 23, 2007 on KNDD 107.7 The End.

Click HERE to hear it.