Gianna Patchen, Author at Santa Maria Sun

Trump is coming for California’s coast

Our coastline is in jeopardy of losing protections under a new federal review singling out the Coastal Management Plan

by Gianna Patchen and Andrew Christie August 26, 2026August 27, 2026

The same administration that is slashing funding for climate research and the Environmental Protection Agency, propping up the coal industry, gutting the Endangered Species Act and planning to open the entire California coast to offshore oil drilling is now taking aim at the California Coastal Commission. In 2016, Donald Trump began a decade-long fight with […]

Opinion

Oceano and endangered species deserve a peaceful safe beach

by Gianna Patchen and Andrew Christie June 4, 2026June 3, 2026

It doesn’t happen often, but it happened recently: The Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area (ODSVRA) south of Arroyo Grande Creek was closed to off-highway vehicles and became a safe place for pedestrians. But the closure was temporary. The Oceano Dunes re-opened May 21 to off-road vehicles. Why was the Oceano Dunes closed to vehicles? […]

Opinion

Why are we still running over plovers?

by Gianna Patchen and Andrew Christie January 15, 2026January 14, 2026

On March 18, 2021, the California Coastal Commission made the historic decision that off-road vehicles must be removed from Oceano Dunes because off-road vehicle use jeopardizes one of the world’s rarest coastal ecosystems and endangered wildlife (not to mention harming local public health and air quality). Four years later, the court struck down the Coastal […]

Opinion

A fabricated “emergency” aims to reduce environmental protections

by Gianna Patchen and Andrew Christie August 28, 2025August 31, 2025

Do you know about the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule? It prioritizes the health and resilience of ecosystems on public lands. The rule, legally binding on the actions and decisions of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), requires them to “protect intact landscapes, restore degraded habitat, and make informed management decisions based on science and […]

Opinion

This administration threatens our land, sea, and air

by Gianna Patchen and Andrew Christie July 3, 2025July 9, 2025

It is all too clear that California’s communities and environment are not immune to the Trump administration—and that state and local leaders’ pushback is powerful and necessary. Having already moved to open public lands to mining and drilling, the Trump administration is now making its presence known off the Central Coast. On April 30, the […]

Opinion

Now is the time to defend our public lands

by Gianna Patchen and Andrew Christie June 5, 2025June 13, 2025

“Action is the best antidote to despair.” –Joan Baez Public lands and waters are our country’s most popular areas for exploring nature while conserving landscapes, cultural areas, clean water, and wildlife, including the Central Coast’s very own Carrizo Plain National Monument, Los Padres National Forest, and Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary. But legislation introduced in […]