Friends of Oceano Dunes

Friends of Oceano Dunes desperately needs donations to fund upcoming legal battles pertaining to the possible closure of Pismo Dunes (Oceano Dunes SVRA)  Our letter from last night had over 300,000 views, and WE NEED YOUR HELP to fight the legal battles to keep Oceano Dunes OPEN!!!!

If you would like to donate on a regular basis or feel more comfortable donating directly to the non-profit group fighting against the closures (currently funding several lawsuits), you can donate directly to Friends of Oceano Dunes via PayPal on their website at https://www.oceanodunes.org.


It is with great sadness that I am writing this email tonight, The California Costal Commission has announced that they will be meeting on July 11th, 2019 at 9am in SLO (meeting info to follow) to discuss implementing a complete closure of the Oceano Dunes SVRA (Pismo Dunes) by Oct-Dec 2019.  This means that we may only have 4-6 months left of riding and camping at Pismo before a complete closure of the park.   I realize that most people will say, “They have been trying to close the park for years” however this time it is actually about to happen, and happen very soon.  The thought process that this is a 5-10 year “down the road” possibility is completely inaccurate, its likely this complete closure will happen before the end of THIS YEAR.

This email is an extremely important call to action. I wanted to reach out to all our customers, vendors, friends, and family to try and gather as much support as possible to voice our opinions on the closure of this park!   This park belongs to the people of the state of California, and if we do not make our voices heard, it will be too late!   The worst of the immediate recommendations of the CCC staff is to immediately ban night riding (you may not be allowed to drive at night starting July 12, 2019) and to ban creek crossing, no mater the level of flow.   This means that even with Arroyo Grande creek at a trickle, the riding and camping areas will be shut down (complete winter closure).  They are also suggesting immediately limiting the number of available day use & camping passes- meaning that the already sold-out summer weekends will now be close to impossible to purchase a camping pass.   These are just some of the immediate recommendations, and the final end goal of the CCC is a complete park closure to OHV before the end of this year. 

I am asking that you please consider immediately writing, calling, & emailing key decision makers in this process (contact info to follow) and if at all possible consider attending the July 11th meeting at 9am in SLO to voice your opinion publicly during public comment.   This is a real and immediate threat to the Dunes, and has very real consequences for so many of us who love recreating in the dunes.   I, myself, grew up visiting the dunes since I was a child with my Dad.  My wife and I took our 2 week old son to the dunes for his first trip right after he was born.  The dunes mean a whole lot to not only my business, but also to me personally and my family. I also assume the area means a a lot to you and your family as well.    Orchard City RV has been a partner with Friends of Oceano Dunes for quite some time now, and have donated a great deal of time and money to the cause of keeping the dunes open with access for all, and now we need your help as well.
 
If you are able, Friends of Oceano Dunes is a registered non-profit and works off donations from the general public and businesses who truly care about keeping Oceano Dunes open for all.

If you are unable to donate, taking action by writing, calling, and emailing the contacts below is also of immense help!  

I have great optimism that if we can all band together and stand our ground this is a fight that we can still possibly win! I hope that this email finds you and your family happy and healthy!



Here’s how you can get involved:


1) Attend the Coastal Commission and speak up. 

Date: Thursday, July 11th

Time: 9 am (show up early)

Location: Embassy Suites Hotel 

333 Madonna Road, San Luis Obispo, CA 93405
 

2) Email your comments to the Commission at [email redacted].gov because you know they’d LOVE to hear from you. In addition to your thoughts tell them they need to protect your rights for camping AND OHV use via the Coastal Act.
 

3) Give ‘em a ring at (831) [phone redacted]
 

4) Even send a fax (831) [phone redacted]


STATE PARKS CONTACT INFO:

Let State Parks know what you think too! It's time Parks stops rolling over and stands their ground. You can email Parks here:

[email redacted].gov

[email redacted].gov

[email redacted].gov

[email redacted].gov

[email redacted]

 

Call:

Lisa Mangat, Director, California State Parks, at [phone redacted]

Dan Canfield, Acting Director CA State Parks OHV Division, at [phone redacted]

Wade Crowfoot, Secretary of Resources , at [phone redacted]