California State Parks has proposed a new southern dune buggy entrance to the off-highway recreational vehicle area at Oso Flaco Lake. This is a disastrous idea! It undermines multi-decade efforts of many people and groups, including the Nature Conservancy, the Land Conservancy of SLO County, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Dedicated volunteers helped create the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Preserve, which protects thousands of acres of rare dunes hosting a multitude of flora and fauna.
Oso Flaco Lake is an integral part of that habitat, and the California State Parks’ proposal would not only damage the region’s ecosystem, it would seriously detract from the fishing and hiking experience and convert 120 acres of agricultural land to uses including an off-highway vehicle staging area for increased motorized access. Outdoor recreation that is destructive to natural resources and habitats is the opposite of what California State Parks stands for:
“The mission of California State Parks is to provide for the health, inspiration, and education of the people of California by helping to preserve the state’s extraordinary biological diversity, protecting its most valued natural and cultural resources, and creating opportunities for high-quality outdoor recreation.”
Heather Nelson
Avila Beach
This article appears in Mar 14-24, 2019.
