For the first time in almost two decades, Surf Beach will remain open throughout the next Western snowy plover breeding season, regardless of the number of trespass violations recorded.
The city of Lompoc released a statement on Oct. 3 announcing that Vandenberg Air Force Base and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have agreed to end a policy that was designed to protect the threatened Western snowy plover, but resulted in the beach fully closing in six of the previous seven years.
“Vandenberg Air Force Base and the California Coastal Commission are listening to the community, recognizing Surf Beach’s history and importance to Lompoc, and improving the beach and local access to it, all while protecting the Western snowy plover,” Lompoc Mayor Jenelle Osborne said in the statement.
Since 2000, Vandenberg Air Force Base officials have blocked off sections of Surf Beach to protect the Western snowy plover during its breeding season, which takes place from March through September. Every time a person enters these blocked-off sections, a violation is recorded. Until now, if 50 violations were recorded in one year, the entire beach would close until the end of the season.
These measures have helped the bird’s population recover since the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed it as threatened in 1993. However, the restrictions have also spurred the city of Lompoc and some of its residents to raise concerns about the lack of public access at the city’s nearest beach.
Earlier this year, Vandenberg submitted a beach management plan to the California Coastal Commission outlining the continuation of these beach restrictions through 2023. The commission was set to vote on the plan at a meeting in May, but it delayed the decision after Osborne arrived at the meeting with a letter from the city stating how the current plan negatively affects the city and its residents.
In the letter, the city stated that limited beach access and full-beach closures cause local businesses to miss out on potential revenue from visitors traveling to the beach.
“That loss of revenue to private businesses also negatively [affects] the city’s already financially challenged general fund, due to the loss of sales and hotel tax revenue,” the letter states.
Commission staff and Vandenberg officials decided to postpone the vote until December to leave time to work with the city to find a plan that addresses their concerns. A stakeholder meeting—consisting of local, state, and federal officials—took place at the beach in July to discuss possible changes to improve public access.
Larry Simon, federal consistency coordinator with the Coastal Commission’s Energy, Ocean Resources, and Federal Consistency Division, said this new policy doesn’t change how Vandenberg will monitor the beach’s plover populations. Vandenberg officials will also continue recording the number of trespass violations that occur each year. As long as there is no significant spike in violations or human-related damages to plover nesting areas, this new policy should continue, Simon said.
“This assumes that beach visitors will continue to respect the closed areas and not view this decision as a green light to carry on with illegal activities,” Simon said. “[Vandenberg] still has the ability to close the beach if necessary.”
Simon said the commission still plans to review Vandenberg’s beach management plan in December, at which time staff will inform the commission of Vandenberg’s new policy.
This article appears in Oct 10-17, 2019.