West Coast - Surfrider Foundation

MESSAGE FROM THE
Jim Moriarty
CEO, Surfrider Foundation
http://www.surfrider.org/jims-blog
photo: Andrea Moriarty
News & Happenings
From Surfrider HQ
Since its launch in August 2010, Beachapedia, a tool that provides Surfrider Foundation
activists and coastal enthusiasts with a depth
of beach and coastal knowledge, has passed
the one million-page view mark.
The website, offers more than 500 articles on coastal science and management
including: water quality, shoreline erosion,
beach access, surf spot protection, plastic pollution and ocean ecosystems. “Beachapedia
captures decades of experience and knowledge gained by Surfrider Foundation activists, scientists and staff through hundreds of
environmental and educational campaigns
on our coasts,” said Mark Rauscher, Coastal
Preservation Manager. In addition to providing the public with expansive knowledge on
coastal environmental issues, Surfrider Chapter campaigns have benefited tremendously
Don’t be fooled by the short winter days. According to the American Cancer Society, “the
sun is responsible for most of the more than
one million cases of non-melanoma skin cancers diagnosed yearly in the United States.”
In a University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer
Center report, Lam Le writes that “It is easy to
forget about skin cancer as you bundle-up to
zip down the side of a mountain or take a crisp
winter hike, taking just a few minutes to apply
sunscreen before the fun begins is important.”
While protecting our skin is important, many
consumers wonder just how safe sunscreen
is for the environment. It is believed that the
UV absorbing chemicals
from the easily accessible information, which
includes links to websites, blogs and social
streams of the Foundation’s Global Chapter
Network, allowing them to effectively engage
with their communities. “We are sharing this
resource with the public and hope to provide
tools and information that will help citizens and
communities positively impact their beaches
and coastlines,” said Rauscher.
found in many popular sunscreens, such as
oxybenzone and octymethoxycinnamate, may
pose a danger to marine life, including corals.
That is why the Surfrider Foundation has partnered with ECO Skin Care Inc., as its exclusive sunscreen partner. Unlike many other
sunscreens, ECO Sunscreen uses only 100%
natural ingredients, and was given a 0-1 rating (Safest) by the Environmental Working
Group. What’s more, ECO Skin Care is donating a portion of proceeds to the Surfrider
Foundation to help fund ongoing educational
and activist efforts.
Presented By:
Not even the dark sky and rain could stop celebrity surfers from hitting the water on September 10th to raise funds and awareness
for the Surfrider Foundation at the 6th Annual Celebrity Expression Session presented
by Cali Bamboo. Celebrities Eric Avery, Eric
Balfour, David Chokachi, Tate Donovan, Brian Geraghty, Gregory Harrison, Chad Lowe,
John Slattery, Jesse Spencer, Ross Thomas
and Sam Trammell paddled, caught and rode
their fair share of waves at First Point in Malibu during the hour-long free surf session, raising $50,000 for the Foundation. Keeper of the
Coast honoree and celebrity supporter David
Chokachi sums up the day best, “Everyone
was stoked to be out in support of Surfrider.
While the surf was small, we stole as many
waves as we could to raise money for a good
cause.”
The Surfrider Foundation would like to thank
Cali Bamboo, the Malibu Surfing Association and Barefoot Wine for helping make this
year’s Celebrity Expression Session possible. The Foundation would also like to extend
a thank you to Spy Optic, O’Neill, Billabong,
Vans, Transworld SURF, Ecological Sunblock, Emergen-C, Matunas and Clif Bar for
their generous product donations.
For more photos visit the CES website.
logical skin care
Building For A
Greener Tomorrow
As a sponsor of the Surfrider Foundation’s 6th Annual Celebrity Expression Session, San Diego-based Cali
Bamboo, a premier manufacturer of
green building materials for residential and commercial projects made
primarily from bamboo, hosted the
National Greenscape Challenge to
promote eco-friendly landscape and
garden designs. This year’s grand
prize-winner, Steven Roeder from La
Jolla, won an all-expense paid weekend in Los Angeles, where he and
his guest received transportation,
accommodations, and a one-on-one
30-minute surf session with SyFy
“Haven” star and celebrity supporter
Eric Balfour following the Expression
Session.
“The challenge was a great way for
people across the United States to
showcase their landscape or garden
projects that were designed with conservation, permeability and retention
in mind,” says Jeff Goldberg, CEO
and President of Cali Bamboo.
Inspired by the Surfrider Foundation’s Ocean Friendly Gardens workshops, Steven Roeder transformed
his front yard into a network of dry
riverbeds known as swales in order
to maximize water retention. Roeder
also planted native, drought-tolerant
plants, and installed rain gutters to
divert water to a 300-gallon rain bar-
rel, which he uses to water his fruit trees.
Roeder’s landscape is the perfect example of how an Ocean Friendly Garden
can conserve and retain water in order to
keep run-off and pollutants from entering
the ocean.
“I was happy that Cali Bamboo sponsored the Greenscape Challenge to increase awareness for Surfrider Foundation’s Ocean Friendly Gardens program,”
said Roeder. “I had a blast spending the
weekend in Malibu, and surfing Third
Point with Eric Balfour.”
Melissa McCollum from Lawndale, Calif. won second place and received a
$500 Cali Bamboo gift certificate. Julie
Lawson from Washington, DC took third
place and received a $250 Cali Bamboo
gift certificate redeemable for a wide variety of green building products.
“The Greenscape Challenge was a fun
way for people to get involved and show
how they are creating eco-friendly landscapes to eliminate excessive watering
and runoff,” said Matt McClain, Surfrider
Foundation’s Director of Marketing and
Communications. “There were so many
fantastic landscapes and garden designs
that we had a hard time choosing a winner!”
--Rion Edwards
*Available November 25th
Share your love for our beaches and coastlines by giving that
ocean lover in your life a Surfrider Foundation Holiday membership.
•An annual membership to the Surfrider Foundation
•A limited-edition Surfrider changing mat that also stores wet and sandy items
•A bamboo wax comb
•A bar of Matunas 100% natural wax
•6 issues of the digital Making Waves
•2 membership stickers
•A 20% discount at
swell.com
$49.00
Order by December 15th to guarantee delivery by the holidays.
*Wetsuit Not Included
SHORELINE IMPACTS OF SEA LEVEL RISE
Part two of a three-part series: The effects of climate change on sea level rise and its impact on our coastlines
Many of us cheer on those swells generated by
big storms, whether they are from North Pacific
winters on the West Coast, hurricanes in the fall,
or nor’easters along the Atlantic seaboard. Of
course, our fun waves often come with a price
– eroding the shorelines and beaches that offer
a buffer between the powerful oceans and the
land that we live on. When too much erosion
happens quickly, our homes, streets and public
works systems can be threatened if they are
constructed too close to the waves. There is
a constant struggle in many places to keep the
sea at bay, whether by building concrete seawalls and other structures, or dredging up sand
from the seafloor to dump on beaches.
Increased Shoreline Erosion
Throughout history ocean levels have slowly
risen, chewing away at the land. Thanks to
climate change and warming ocean temperatures, the rise in water levels is predicted to continue and accelerate well into the next century.
During storms there are already many areas
that suffer from flooding and threats of erosion.
Imagine raising the water level an additional
2-4 feet and that flooding could be drastically
exacerbated. When there are massive storm
swells riding on top of higher water levels, damaging waves are more likely to
erode the shore more
quickly with devastating effects on shoreline
developments. In low-lying areas, like the barrier islands that form much of the East and Gulf
coasts, the damage can be particularly heavy,
as natural sand movements and replenishment
cannot keep pace with accelerated erosion.
Most developed coastlines and beaches have
buildings very close to the sea, leaving little
room for the ever-expanding ocean. Recent research by scientists at the University of Arizona
found that rising seas would have devastating
effects on major cities throughout the U.S., saying, “The Gulf and southern Atlantic coasts will
be particularly hard hit. Miami, New Orleans,
Tampa, and Virginia Beach could lose more
than 10 percent of their land area by 2100.”
In the face of eroding beaches, owners of beachfront property often try to use their political influence to demand that something be done. The
intelligent action would be to move the building
away from the ocean. Unfortunately, what happens more often than not is coastline armoring with rocks, concrete and steel. This does
not protect or maintain the beach - it only protects the buildings. When protective seawalls
are built, the beach in front of them will slowly
narrow in the face of sea level rise, eventually
leading to a complete loss of that beach.
Loss of Wetlands and Flooding
We saw during Hurricane Katrina the impacts
wetland loss played by not having a natural
“sponge” to absorb the higher water levels.
As sea levels continue to rise we are likely to
Sea Level Rise And Coastal Erosion
(A) Initial Condition
lose even more wetlands and marshes, making the impacts of storms on the coast even
worse. Wetlands provide habitat for many species, play a key role in nutrient uptake, serve
as the basis for many communities’ economic
livelihoods, provide recreational opportunities,
and protect local areas from flooding. They can
naturally migrate with changing conditions over
long periods of time. As the sea rises, the outer
boundary of these wetlands will erode, and new
wetlands will form inland as previously dry areas are flooded by the higher water levels. However, if things change too quickly these critical
habitats get squeezed out of the picture. This
leads to loss of natural protection from storms,
and important nursery areas for many types of
fish and animals.
Large lagoons and sounds back many barrier
islands. The water levels here also rise, threatening to flood the islands not just from the ocean
side but also from all points surrounding. This
“inundation” can swamp homes, streets and
sewer infrastructure causing permanent land
loss and incredible pollution problems. There
is also the risk of saltwater tainting water supplies by intruding into the groundwater.
(B) Inundation
Rising Sea Level
Previous Sea Level
(C) Subsequent Erosion
Rising Sea Level
Previous Sea Level
Conclusion
It is critical that community planners make informed decisions when deciding how to react to
rising sea levels. The wrong choices could lead
down a path where beaches disappear, coastal
tourism and fisheries suffer or where billions of
dollars are lost to storm-damaged and flooded
properties. Luckily, several states have adopted policies to ensure that beaches, dunes, or
wetlands are able to migrate inland as sea level
rises. Much more needs to be done, and it is
up to us to push decision-makers to plan wisely
and make the right choices for the future of our
coastlines. - Mark Rauscher
University of Arizona scientists analyzed land elevations to determine the
amount of space that lies within the expected rise in seas, creating a highresolution map that can be used by communities to help their future planning in light of their risks. Take a look at what might happen where you live.
Figure: This map shows coastal areas in the Southeast that are threatened by
different amounts of sea level rise. Go here to find your own state or town on
this interactive map to see how your community might fare with predicted
sea level rise.
*Click image to view
By: Ed Mazzarella
The Fourth Annual Shore to Shore
Paddle Race from Brighton Beach in Bolinas to
The
Siuslaw the lifeguard tower in
Chapter
recently Stinson Beach came off
wrapped up the annual like a well-oiled ma-
West Coast
Foam Fest fundraiser,
raising awareness and
funds for the Chapter’s upcoming cleanup
events. This year, event
coordinator
Brittany
Getz solidified partnerships and sponsorships
from a variety of companies including Be More
Pacific, DJ Sean Sisson,
Ninkasi Brewing, Wakonda Brewing, and Bay
Street Grille. Slick tunes,
raffle and a push-up contest kept people entertained long into the night.
chine thanks to the efforts of the Live Water
Surf Shop, the Marin
County Chapter, the
National Parks Service
and scores of local volunteers. Eighty-one paddlers braved the cold water, stiff south wind and
choppy conditions to
complete either the 2.75
or seven-mile courses,
which supports the Junior Lifeguard Program
at Stinson Beach and
benefits the Surfrider Foundation Marin
County Chapter. Race
divisions were broken
down by gender, age
and type of craft: surfboards, paddleboards,
standups, kayaks, outriggers or anything else
that floated. All entrants
received a t-shirt, a delicious lunch provided
by the Parkside Café,
barbeque oysters from
Drakes Bay and cooked
by Surfrider Foundation
volunteers, and other
goodies. Every year this
event grows and with
the popularity of standup
boards this year’s race
had twenty more contestants than last year.
This summer, the
San Francisco Chapter
won an important victory in its beach preservation fight when the
California Coastal Commission
unanimously
denied the City of San
Francisco’s request to
permit illegal coastal armoring and build additional armoring at Sloat
Blvd. on Ocean Beach.
Chapter volunteer Bill
McLaughlin and Central California Regional Manager Sarah
Damron were both pres-
ent at the Coastal Commission meeting to see
the issue through. The
process to “Save Sloat”
was a collaborative effort with Chapter members and friends writing over 500 letters, and
many other environmental groups including Save
the Waves endorsing our
position and pitching
in to help. This is the
first time that the San
Francisco Department
of Water and Power has
had permission denied to
armor Sloat, as the Commission specifically rejected future revetmentstyle armoring in the
area. The Chapter will
continue working within
the SPUR Ocean Beach
Master Plan, advocating
for Managed Retreat.
The SPUR Master Plan
is now putting together a
draft, which will be presented at a public workshop in October. Visit the
SPUR website for more
information, and follow the Chapter’s progress on the campaign on
the Sloat Erosion Blog.
Portland Bans The Bag
It all started four years
ago in a room off East
Burnside in Portland Oregon when seven people
got really motivated to
Rise Above Plastics.
The campaign lasted
through two and a half
executive council terms,
transitioned seven core
chapter organizers into
a group of 20, and increased activist and supporter engagement to
over 10,000. Even with
a one-year delay, the issue of banning singleuse plastic bags went
statewide, and legislators
drafted a bill that started
making the rounds. After a tough session and
strong opposition by the
plastics industry and lobbyists, SB 536 failed.
Even with this setback,
the Portland Chapter
stayed focused on their
original goal and banned
the bag in the span of one
week in the City of Portland on July 21, when
Mayor Sam Adams and
Commissioners unanimously voted to ban plastic check out bags within
city limits.
Showing
tremendous leadership
on this issue and staying
true to his and the Coun-
cil’s resolution from
April, the Mayor declared this the first small
step in joining with cities
across the nation to promote reusable bags and
reduce our consumption
of single-use plastics.
On the heels
of Portland’s victory,
the Newport Chapter
launched their Ban The
Bag Campaign in July.
Partnering with the Oregon League of Conservation Voters, the Chapter hosted a screening of
“Bag It” to help generate needed community
dialogue around the issue. Chapter members
and leaders Matt and
Beth Hawkyard have
also testified in front of
the city council and held
the City to their commitment from last year to
address this issue locally
if Oregon failed to pass
a statewide ban. In August, the process to discuss a draft policy began
through a joint public
work session between
the City of Newport and
the Newport Chapter.
We expect good things to
come as cities throughout Oregon Rise Above
Plastics and begin to pass
ordinances and bans.
Santa
Cruz
Chapter kicked off
summer with an International Surfing Day
celebration at Capitola
Beach. The day began
with a beach cleanup
followed by free surf
lessons, and wrapped up
with an awesome evening event at the Harbor
Café featuring live music by Loggy and Radical Something.
For the 16th
consecutive summer,
pledges a nickel to the
Santa Cruz Chapter for
every case of Budweiser
and Bud Light sold in
Santa Cruz County between Memorial Day
and Labor Day).
In other news, the
Santa Cruz Chapter will
hold elections during
the annual December
“Swellabration” party.
Date and time are still to
be determined, but stay
updated by visiting the
Chapter’s website.
Couch
Distributing
has committed to help
raise $10,000 in support of the Santa Cruz
Chapter’s projects and
campaigns through the
annual Save Our Surf
Program.
Started in
1996 by the local distributor of AnheuserBusch beers and other
beverages, the Save Our
Surf program has raised
more than $150,000
for the Chapter (Couch
Recently,
the
Santa Barbara and
Isla Vista Chapters
launched their Ocean
Friendly Gardens Program “Basics Class,”
teaching
participants
how to apply CPR to
their landscapes in an
effort to improve ocean
water quality by eliminating property runoff.
For the series, Surfrider
is partnering with the
City of Santa Barbara
and other local water
agencies, and receiving grant funding from
the California Coastal
Commission’s Whale
Tail License Plate program. Get involved and
learn more by checking
out this recent Coastal
Blog post or by emailing the Santa Barbara
Chapter.
In other Santa
Barbara news, artist and
activist Reeve Woolpert
gave Surfrider Foundation’s Board of Directors and a writer from
the Santa Barbara Independent a discreet tour
of the Naples property
so everyone could see
first-hand the various
stages of development
along the Gaviota coastline. The fight to preserve this pristine stretch
of coast is far from over
and the Chapter is encouraging people to
help by signing the Petition To Preserve The
Gaviota Coast.
On July 14, the
City of Ventura held a ribbon cutting ceremony for
The Surfer’s Point Managed Shoreline Retreat
project. While this was a
day of celebration, there
is still a lot of work that
needs to be completed,
including construction
and vegetation of dunes,
swales, completion of
parking lots, bathrooms
and showers. Additionally, the Ventura Chapter
would like to thank the
new Ventura Surf Brewery for their support –
3% of sales will go back
to help with the Surfer’s
Point project. Check out
photos and video from
the ceremony and learn
more about The Surfer’s
Point project by visiting
the Ventura River Ecosystem blog.
Down in Long
Beach, the feasibility study (aka the “Long
Beach Breakwater (East
San Pedro Bay) Ecosystem Restoration Study”)
to be completed by the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is at a standstill
due to funding shortages. This study needs
to be completed in order for the Long Beach
Chapter to “Sink The
Breakwater,” a building
project that was considered one of the ten worst
decisions in Long Beach
history according to the
Long Beach Post.
The Huntington
Beach’s Fourth of July
parade is known across
the country as the largest parade on the West
Coast, and this year the
Huntington/Seal Beach
Chapter’s “Tidal Wave
of Trash” float went
home with first place
“Best in Show” honors at
the 107th Annual event.
As a newcomer to the
parade, Surfrider made
a splash with a massive
tidal wave sculpture
constructed out of 580
pounds of trash (plastic
bottles, caps and bags,
Styrofoam cups and
plates and other debris)
that volunteer Andre
Faubert picked up along
the Huntington Beach
shoreline. The Chapter calls this the “30/30
Experiment
Project”
because Faubert gathHB/SB Chapter Activists in front of their winning float on
ered the trash for 30 days
July 4th. Credit: Huntington/Seal Beach Chapter
and 30 hours. Farmers & Merchants Bank
sponsored the float, and
The Fabulous Nomads
provided music. Check
out the article written
by Sonja Magdaug and
Patti Kishel that takes
an in-depth look at how
the float was made, and
the inspiration for the
wave.
“Strandsgate”
continues
with
the
South Orange County
Chapter as they fight for
beach access and removal of the unlawful gates
erected at Strands Beach
in Dana Point. In late
July, several community
members spoke out at cil meeting, reminding Judge Lewis’ ruling, by the City to date. The
which has been ignored ordinance states that the
Dana Point’s city coun- councilmembers about
city acted “arbitrarily
and capriciously” when
it enacted an emergency ordinance used as a
guise to help Strands developer put up gates and
issue “bankers hours”
of use. The Chapter’s
online petition gathered
over 2,000 signatures
in less than one week,
but they want more.
Sign the petition, and
also make sure to “like”
the Chapter’s Strandsgate Facebook page.
On June 29th,
San Diego Chapter volunteers participated in
Rise Above Plastics Day
at the Patagonia store in
Cardiff and the Farmers
Market in Ocean Beach.
The concept behind the
day was to educate citizens about the adverse
effects single use plastics have on our marine
and coastal environments. Volunteers were
on site handing out reusable produce bags to
those who signed the
petition in support of
SB 568, which seeks to
ban polystyrene take-out
containers in California.
Elsewhere in San
Diego, nearly 400 volunteers from the Chapter,
San Diego Coastkeeper
and I Love A Clean San
Diego joined forces to
clean the beaches after
RAP Day Slideshow.
Credit: Haley Haggerstone
MAM Slideshow.
Credit: Haley Haggerstone
OFG Slideshow. Credit: Haley Haggerstone
the Fourth of July weekend. Called the “Morning After Mess,” the annual cleanup removed
over 2,000 pounds of
garbage, including 480
pounds of recycling and
6,956 cigarette butts.
The San Diego
Chapter also organized
their first-ever lawn patrol in Imperial Beach.
The patrol started at the
Tijuana River Estuary
Visitor Center, which
has a landscape that is
the model for an Ocean
Friendly Garden. The
group of over 20 volunteers then set out to
tour gardens within the
community and to learn
about what it means
for a landscape to be
truly ocean friendly.
The San Diego
Chapter is also fighting
sea walls in Solana Beach
in response to the City’s
latest Local Coastal Program. As outlined in The
Coast News, “Some key
changes in the current
LCP include a provision that permits for new
sea walls will be valid
for 20 years rather than
75 years, or until 2081,
as was the requirement
in the 2009 version.”
Visit The Coast News’
website to read the entire story and see how
the Chapter responded.
Gulf Coast
Surfrider Foundation South Texas Chapter Chairman Rob Nixon recently shot video
at Isla Blanca Park that
shows trash scattered
on the sand and along
the shore. The Chapter has long worked to
keep South Padre Island beaches clean and
educate people that the
beach is not a dump. Local members know that
having a dirty beach is
bad for business as well
– who wants to come to
a beach covered in trash?
According to Rob, the
beach at the end of the
East Coast
The Maine Chapter continues fighting
for beach access along
the state’s 3,500 miles of
tidal coastline. Unfortunately, only 30 miles
of that (less than 1%)
is made up of publicly
owned beaches. By comparison, Cape Cod has
60 public beaches along
560 miles of coastline,
including Cape Cod National Seashore, which
has 40 miles of publicly owned sand beach.
The
Surfrider
Foundation’s State of
day is a landfill, and unfortunately it is a sight
that is becoming too familiar on South Padre Island. Check out the profile of Rob and the video
he shot at Isla Blanca
Park which was highlighted in a recent article
by the Valley Central.
In 2009, in the
wake of 2008’s Hurrican Ike, the Texas Legislature mandated that
all coastal communities
submit an Erosion Response Plan to the Texas
General Land Office to
reduce the amount of
public expenditure (tax
dollars) on damages to
coastal properties. The
plans were to include
provisions for establishing a building setback,
protecting public beach
access and the public
beach easement, and procedures for preserving,
restoring, and enhancing
critical sand dunes that
are necessary to protect
public and private property from storms and
erosion. They wanted
larger building setback
but stopped just short
of mandating that. Unfortunately,
Cameron
County submitted a plan
that actually moves development closer to the
water under the guise of
a “conservation zone”
with an “erosion protection dune.” The net
result is a construction
line that starts 180 feet
from mean low tide line
instead of the current
state minimum of 400
feet. Essentially Cameron County has traded in
120 extra feet of dunes
and beach for a 75 footwide engineered dune
that needs to be built
and is currently unfunded. This plan does not
even currently meet state
minimums.
Surfrider
Foundation’s South Texas Chapter is currently
in the process of fighting this plan. A full explanation can be read
on Rob Nixon’s blog.
the Beach Report states
that lack of coastal access is a serious problem
in Maine. “The amount
of private ownership
along the coast and the
fact that property owners
may maintain ownership
to the mean low water
mark makes this a difficult problem to address.”
“The lack of public access is extremely
concerning,” says Director of Chapters Ed Mazzarella after a trip in July
where he toured beaches
and met with both open
access supporters and
concerned
homeown-
ers. “We will continue
supporting the Chapter
100% in their efforts.”
Beach access in
Maine is also piquing
media interest. In July,
the Kennebec Journal
featured Chapter Chair
Janice Parente talking
about the Foundation’s
position on public access. “We strongly believe that the public has
a right to recreate at the
ocean,” she said in the
paper. “We’re not in
the 1600s anymore.”
Visit the Kennebec Journal’s website for the full story.
In other New
England News, Massachusetts
Chapter
Chair Tuck Welsh testified before a Committee of the Massachusetts
Legislature in support
of updating the state’s
bottle deposit law. This
continues a long campaign by a large coalition of environmental
groups hoping to expand
the five-cent deposit to
include plastic water
bottles and other noncarbonated beverages.
photo: GeoffGlenn.com
In New York, Eastern
Long Island Chapter
Co-Chair Claire Pertalion testified in support
of a plastic bag ban in
Southampton, an effort
led by locals and other
environmental groups.
Claire and Co-Chair
Gene Gentile then
passed the torch to new
Co-Chairs Joe Carrello and Chris Clapp
who wasted no time in
representing the Chapter
on this and other issues,
including beach parking
restrictions in Noyac and
hard shoreline structures
like sewalls as Southampton town trustees
consider such legislation.
As residents wait
for new projects to be
built in the neighborhood
near National’s Park, DC
Chapter activists are
teaming up with a local
developer to transform
a construction site into a
runoff-reducing rain garden. The Land Into Rain
Garden sprung from an
idea condo resident Michael Mills had when he
noticed the vacant lots
throughout his area were
not getting developed.
He began working with
a group of DC Chapter
volunteers, including Julie Lawson who helped
get a grant from REI for
funding, to transform a
swath of land slated for
office buildings into a
rain garden that absorbs
water so it doesn’t run
off the properties. Eric
Siegel, Vice President
for the developer Cohen
Companies, saw a great
educational benefit to
this 5,000 square-foot
The Long Beach, NY surfing
community lost a great leader
when Danny Bobis drowned
while surfing in Indonesia.
Danny helped the Central
Long Island Chapter with
many campaigns over the
years, was a founding member
of the Long Beach Surfing Association, led the high school
surf club, and brought kids
out for regular beach cleanups. Our condolences go out
to Danny’s family and friends.
rain garden at the corner
of Half and L Street SE.
“I saw it [the rain garden] as an opportunity to
teach residents so we can
limit the amount of rain
water and storm water
that runs into the Anacostia.” For updates on the
project, visit the Chapter’s Facebook page.
On July 24th, the
New York City Chapter
and Patagonia brought
the 2010 documentary
“Gasland” to the Ace
Hotel for a screening attended by more than 100
people. The Chapter’s
recent victories against
offshore LNG facilities
gave rise to concerns
that such import facilities would one day be
used to export natural
gas. “Gasland” shows
us just how scary hy-
draulic fracturing to
extract natural gas can
be. Thank you to Patagonia, the “Gasland”
crew, Chapter activist Blaire Babcock and
the Ace Hotel for making everything possible.
The South Jersey Chapter went big, or
should we say high for
an event at Immersion
Spa, located on the 17th
floor of the Water Club
at the Borgatta Casino
in Atlantic City. The art
auction featuring 20 different artists drew in 85
people who viewed and
purchased items to help
the chapter fund campaigns, including a bag
ban in a nearby town.
Thanks to Beth Reynolds for organizing the
event and Jack Plackter
who made it all possible.
Hawaii
Maui community
groups represented by
Earthjustice sent Maui
County a formal notice
of their intent to sue the
county for alleged violations of the Clean Water Act at the Lahaina
Wastewater Reclamation
Facility
(LWRF).The
groups include the Hawaii Wildlife Fund, West
Maui Preservation Association, Surfrider Foundation Maui Chapter
and Sierra Club-Maui
Group. The Maui Chapter says the county facility in Honokowai injects millions of gallons
of wastewater every
day into the groundwater via injection wells.
Although the water is
treated at the facility,
it still contains bacteria, chemicals and other
pollutants when it is
pumped into the ground.
“The county has
known for many years,
and scientific studies have shown, that
this wastewater flows
through the groundwater into Maui’s nearshore
waters, where it degrades the water quality,
presents health risks and
promotes algae blooms,”
says the coalition in a
statement. The coalition
will ask the court to require the county to obtain
a water pollution control
permit to limit the discharges of pollutants.
“Maui County has
been able to evade applying for a permit at the
Lahaina facility for the
past 30 years, and it’s the
public that has had to deal
with the consequences,”
said Stuart Coleman,
Surfrider Foundation’s
Hawaii
coordinator.
Elsewhere
in
Maui, Chapter had 100
volunteers show up at
Kanaha Beach Park for
International
Surfing
Day to remove 2,820
pounds of rubbish, metals, tires, recycling, etc.,
3,300 cigarette butts,
two televisions, large appliances, and over 100 C
and D batteries. A big
thank you goes out to
the partnering organiza-
tions: +H20 and Community Work Day; sponsors: Flatbread Pizza,
Kahului
Community
Yoga Center, Anthony’s
Coffee, 102.9 Maui FM;
organizations who set
up booths: Sierra Club,
Maui Tomorrow, Maui
Nui Marine Resources,
NOAA, Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale
National Marine Sanctuary, Trilogy Excursions
Blue’aina, Makai Watch,
Coral Reef Alliance, Hawaii Wildlife Fund; and
OM Photography for
covering the event, making a short video and
taking tons of photos.
Twenty-five volunteers recently attended
the Kaua`i Chapter’s
beach cleanup at Keoneloa (Shipwreck’s) and
collected 12 large burlap
bags of trash and other
assorted marine debris.
The event was supported by the Grand Hyatt
Po`ipu and the Point at
Po`ipu, and received media coverage. Thanks to
everyone, the beach was
left in a much healthier
state, and the Chapter
got to educate volunteers about the Surfrider
Foundation and what
we do in Kaua’i. The
Chapter would like to
thank: The Grand Hyatt
at Po`ipu for the gift certificate, The Hyatt and
The Point At Po`ipu for
the wonderful refreshments, the outreach to
their workers and guests,
and for their enthusiastic
crews of beach cleaners. Thanks also to AV
Kaua`i for the pop up
tent, Home Depot for the
new gloves and buckets, and to Kaua`i Coffee for the burlap bags.
The Oahu Chapter held a beach cleanup
at Diamond Head beach
with
approximately
120 volunteers collecting over 800 pounds of
trash. After the cleanup
volunteers were treated to a great party at
Tiki’s Bar and Grill organized by Barefooter
Brendan Lynch and
featuring free food and
wine courtesy of Barefoot Wine and Bubbly.
The Hilo Chapter
hosted their International
Surfing Day event in conjunction with the Pacific
Voyagers event. All day
volunteers distributed information, signed up 17
new members, and collected 40 pounds of trash.
THE SURFRIDER FOUNDATION OPERATES THROUGH A NETWORK OF GRASSROOTS CHAPTERS
WHO TAKE VOLUNTEER ACTION TO PROTECT OUR OCEANS, WAVES AND BEACHES THROUGH
CAMPAIGN, PROGRAM AND EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVES IN THEIR COMMUNITIES.
ARGENTINA • AUSTRALIA • BRAZIL • CANADA • EUROPE • JAPAN •MORROCO
ALASKA
•
CALIFORNIA
•
CONNECTICUT
•
DELAWARE
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA • FLORIDA • GEORGIA • HAWAII • ILLINOIS
MAINE • MARYLAND • MASSACHUSETTS • MICHIGAN • MINNESOTA
NEW JERSEY • NEW HAMPSHIRE • NEW YORK • NORTH CAROLINA •
OREGON • PUERTO RICO • RHODE ISLAND • SOUTH CAROLINA • TEXAS
VIRGINIA • WASHINGTON
CONNECT WITH A
CHAPTER NEAR YOU !!!
‘ Tis The Season
With summer over and the holidays upon us, now is the ideal time to consider an investment
in the Surfrider Foundation. A year-end charitable donation is like giving and receiving a gift at
the same time…you’re giving to the Surfrider Foundation, and receiving continued enjoyment
from our oceans, waves and beaches that give you so much happiness throughout the year.
If you make a gift to the Surfrider Foundation before December 31, 2011 and itemize your deduction on your tax return, you may be able to significantly reduce your income taxes for the
year. Many states also allow income tax deductions for charitable gifts, so often the tax savings are even higher than those generated by the federal income tax deduction alone.
There are numerous ways to make a gift to the Surfrider Foundation – from outright cash donations, to gifts of stock or property, to planned gifts such as bequests. Visit our website to learn
more, or contact our Director of Development at (949) 492-8170.
Remember, every gift helps, no matter the amount, and we greatly appreciate it.
Happy holidays and best wishes for a wonderful New Year!
1 x 2 = More
Double Your Gift To Surfrider Using FREE Money
Many employers sponsor matching gift programs and will match any charitable contributions
made by their employees. Most companies match dollar for dollar, while others double or triple
match their employee’s gift. Some corporations even set aside millions of dollars annually for
matching gifts, and only a small portion of these funds are ever used.
If your company offers gift matching, take advantage of it and make a donation to the Surfrider
Foundation for the continued protection of our coastlines. Not sure if your company offers
gift matching? Find out by contacting your human resources department or by emailing us at
membership@surfrider.org.
Do more than shop
this Holiday Season
Save the world’s oceans, waves, and
beaches with every
purchase you make.
photo: Snyder
Learn more about supporting the
Surfrider foundation with a Visa Platinum credit card
ON BEHALF OF THE WORLD’S OCEANS, WAVES AND BEACHES THE SURFRIDER FOUNDATION
WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS, FOUNDATIONS AND CORPORATIONS FOR
THEIR GENEROUS SUPPORT RECEIVED DURING JULY THROUGH AUGUST 2011.
$100,000+
Wells Fargo Foundation
$50,000-$99,999
Barefoot Wine
KROQ -FM
$20,000-$49,999
Alacer Corporation
The Offield Family Foundation
Regional Marine Conservation Project
Dillon Henry Memorial Fund
Wright Holman Memorial Fund
Michael Infantolino Memorial Fund
Andy Irons Memorial Fund
Michael Leonard Koss Memorial Fund
Helen Frances McNamara Memorial Fund
Tom Muchowski Memorial Fund
David Papesh Memorial Fund
Cooper Plaxco Memorial Fund
John Sawaya Memorial Fund
Diane Shapiro Memorial Fund
Richard Smith Memorial Fund
William Joseph “Joe” Stapp Memorial Fund
$5,000-$19,999
Donations in Honor of
Aveda Southwest
Constellation Energy
Ecotrust Mammoth Mountain Ski Area
Stina Augustsson & Jason Rubin
Matthew Brooks’ birthday
Michael Vincent Coll & Jennifer Langley Bunn
Etsy customer Annie
Etsy customer Christine
Etsy customer Sara
Beth Kilpatrick
John Bernard Lee, Jr.
Nate & Cristin’s wedding
Amanda O’Hara & David Jacobs
Liz Pallia’s birthday
Bo Peavey
The Peters Family
Jesse Daniel Rodriguez
Lew Schneider
Erik, Pamela & Kaylee Smith
The wedding of Christopher Smith
The wedding of Frank & Laura Staiano
Wendy Tribbey & Abraham Wallin
Ken Wagner
Dr. Nathan Weber for the care at eBay
The guests at the wedding of Garrett Wilson
Scott Wilson & Melissa Cueto
$1000-$4999
Aveda Corporation
Banana Republic
California Coastal Commission
California Department of Fish and Game
Coconuts Creative Group
De Falco Family Foundation
Jeff Eisenstadt
David Graham
Laura C. Hall
Jason Latos
LCI Holdings, Inc.
Stuart McElhaney
National Philanthropic Trust
NOAA
Carl Rieger
SWELL
Zachary Taylor
Peggy Zask
Donations in Memory
Lee Alexander Memorial Fund
Joyce Beall Memorial Fund
David Beeler Memorial Fund
Michael Carroll Memorial Fund
Nancy Stone DiCarlo Memorial Fund
Chrissy Donaghy Memorial Fund
Robert John Hallner Memorial Fund
Michael A. Halsey Memorial Fund
Membership Partners
Surfing Magazine
SWELL
Western Federal Credit Union
Transworld Surf
Protect Our Winters
THE SURFRIDER FOUNDATION IS DEDICATED TO THE
PROTECTION & ENJOYMENT OF THE WORLD’S OCEANS, WAVES
& BEACHES THROUGH A POWERFUL ACTIVIST NETWORK.
173 victories since 1/06. The Surfrider Foundation’s goal was
to win 150 environmental campaigns by the end of 2010.
For a list of these victories please visit our website.
2011 Board Of Directors
Chair – Michael Marckx
Vice Chair – Steve Shipsey
Secretary – Sean Ahlum
Meg Caldwell
Laura Cantral
Mike Harmon
Leanne Fremar
Wing Lam
Anthony Radaich
Brooke Simler Smith
Shaun Tomson
Walter Wilhelm
David Wilmot
Making Waves Staff:
Editor In Chief – Alexis Henry
Layout/Design – Ian Swanson
Contributors – Steve Blank, Rion Edwards,
Ed Mazzarella, Mark Rauscher
Contributing Photographers:
Geoff Glenn
Jessica Snyder
Cover Photo: istock.com
A Publication of The Surfrider Foundation
A Non-Profit Environmental Organization
P.O. Box 6010 San Clemente, CA 92674-6010
Phone: (949) 492-8170 / (800) 743-SURF (7873)
Web: www.surfrider.org
Email: info@surfrider.org
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