Great news

http://www.santamariatimes.com/news/local/article_30bb7402-b88c-11de-be32-001cc4c03286.html

The California Department of Parks and Recreation is moving forward with a controversial proposal to purchase more than
500 acres of county-owned land in the Oceano Dunes.
State Parks wants to buy what is known as the La Grande Beach Tract - a 584-acre parcel in the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area. The land comprises about one-third of the motorized riding and camping areas in the dunes.
The state first attempted to buy the property in 2008 but failed and has since been negotiating with the county behind closed doors since.
Earlier this month, State Parks filed a notice of intent to prepare a full environmental impact report for the proposed purchase of the La Grande Tract and plans to hold a public meeting in Grover Beach.
The meeting will be held from
6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22, at the Ramona Garden Park Center, 993 Ramona Ave., to solicit public comment on the scope and content of the planned environmental review.
Calls to State Parks Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division officials in Sacramento about the proposed purchase of the dunes land and now-planned environmental review of the project weren't returned before press time.
According to the Notice of Preparation, the environmental impact report will evaluate the potential environmental impacts resulting from a purchase of land the state currently leases.
A 25-year lease the state had with the county for operation and maintenance of the La Grande Tract expired in June 2008. The agreement wasn't renewed, and the state now leases the property on a month-to-month agreement with the county.
The proposed project assumes there will be no change in the current use of the property without subsequent environmental review and that State Parks has no plans to change the use if the parcel is acquired, according to the Notice of Preparation.
Areas now open to off-road
vehicles and camping would remain open, all pre-existing camping and vehicle limits would remain unchanged and any special events that occur now on the land would still occur if State Parks acquires the property.
Additionally, State Parks plans to monitor and manage the southern area of the La Grande Tract that's fenced off annually during the Western snowy plover breeding season to protect the endangered birds, according to the Notice of Preparation.
The environmental review of the proposed purchase also will examine a "reasonable range" of project alternatives, including no project.
October 14, 2009

Right on !!

thats good news. nice

Update article....

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/story/888472.html

Meeting offers public the chance to weigh in on possible parcel sale to the state
By Bob Cuddy | bcuddy@thetribunenews.com

The sale of a 584-acre portion of the Oceano Dunes by the county to the state is creeping back into the arena, as the state seeks public comment on the proposal, which was sidelined for months.

A so-called “scoping meeting” seeking the public’s point of view will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Ramona Garden Park Center, 993 Ramona Ave. in Grover Beach.

The meeting, called by the state Department of Parks and Recreation Off Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division, caught the county off-guard. The county had been negotiating to sell its portion of the beach, but those negotiations have been on a back burner in recent months, county officials said.

The Board of Supervisors scrambled Friday to add the would-be sale to their agenda for a closed-door session Tuesday.

The parcel, used as part of the state’s Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area, has been contentious, as off-roaders seek to fend off any move that might close it to motorized vehicles.

Environmentalists and those who consider vehicles an inappropriate use of beach land have been in an ongoing struggle with the off-roaders for years over the land.

The state leases the land from the county for $1 a year. The lease has been running month-to-month since 2008. State Parks plans to allow continued use of the parcel by off-highway vehicles and wants to resolve the issue by purchasing the land for $4.8 million.

The local chapter of the Sierra Club has filed suit, alleging that State Parks illegally allows off-highway vehicles to ride on 584 acres within the park that is owned by the county but leased to the state.

The Sierra Club maintains that coastal planning documents designate the land as a buffer zone between riding areas and ecological preserves within the park. State Parks, though, says the park’s General Plan allows for off-highway vehicle riding in the county’s 584-acre La Grande Tract.

The suit seeks to force the removal of off-highway vehicles from the county land.

State Parks officials and off-road enthusiasts argue that the county parcel has been used for riding for decades, and the park is one of the last places in the state where people can drive on the beach.

Arguments also have been made that off-roaders bring in tens of millions of dollars a year to the local economy. However, there is disagreement over those numbers, and nobody has conducted a formal survey to see whether some or all of that money could be retained with a different use of the Dunes.

The Thursday meeting is in anticipation of the state conducting an environmental impact study that would measure the effect of its buying the land.

Meeting thursday

When: 6-8 p.m.

Where: Ramona Garden Park Center, 993 Ramona Ave., Grover Beach

i wish i could make this meeting. but work will not allow it. i'd make the 300 mile drive, but like i said can't get the time off. i do hope some local duners do make the meeting to show our support. also please remember to be polite and respectful to all involved to show we dune users aren't as bad a our opponents make us out to be. do voice your points and opinions but with a kind but firm voice. i'm sure that ol' nell will be present. let her do all the rambling, which she is good at. and please tell her i said hello. please let us know how it goes K. thanks,E.

Good news guys...YES...and of course there is always a BUT!!!

We can't let our defenses down...as the La Grande Tract is one of the "MANY" issues we are fighting and face...

The creek is still an ongoing battle
They are trying to make the seasonal closure from 8 to 6 permanent
There is a new "thistle" that has been discovered

The list goes on and on....