by Jason Stotts
Nude beaches in California have been under attack and many historically nude beaches have lost their designation. The state of California is now wasting taxpayer money patrolling these beaches and citing people for nudity. This is a travesty. As I wrote in my essay on nude beaches, being nude in nature, especially on the beach, makes more sense than being clothed. It is only our shame of our bodies that we get from our christian culture that prevents us from fully enjoying our humanity. If you’re in California and want to make a difference, see the below and help in the fight to bring nude beaches back to California.
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NATURIST ACTION COMMITTEE
ACTION ALERT
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Copyright 2013 by the Naturist Action Committee, which is responsible for its content. Permission is granted for the posting, forwarding or redistribution of this message, provided that it is reproduced in its entirety and without alteration.
DATE: April 28, 2013
SUBJECT: California
TO: Naturists and other concerned citizens
Dear Naturist,
This is an Action Alert from the Naturist Action Committee. NAC is asking for your immediate involvement to support an effort to have the State of California create officially designated areas for clothing-optional recreation in state parks.
ACTION SUMMARY
1. Attend a meeting of the California Park and Recreation Commission on May 17.
2. Contact the Commission in writing.
CALIFORNIA STATE PARK AND RECREATION COMMISSION
The California State Park and Recreation Commission is NOT the same as the State Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR). Under California law, the Commission has specific duties and authorizations, including:
- the approval of general plans for units of the State Park System,
- classifying units of the System,
- establishing general policies for the DPR Director,
- recommending to the Director a comprehensive recreation policy for the state.
In the wake of last year’s scandal involving the California Department of Parks and Recreation, NAC is looking for the appointed State Park bureaucracy to assert some leadership. The Commission has had the authority and the responsibility all along to establish general policy and to recommend policy to DPR, and that’s what NAC is seeking.
ACTION 1: ATTEND COMMISSION’S PUBLIC MEETING ON MAY 17
If you’re near the Monterey Bay area of California (or you can arrange to be there), NAC requests that you attend a public meeting of the State Park and Recreation Commission that is scheduled to be held in Santa Cruz on Friday, May 17, 2013.
DATE: Friday, May 17, 2013
TIME: 9:00 a.m.
LOCATION:
Forest Conference Center
Hilton Santa Cruz/Scotts Valley
6001 La Madrona Drive
Santa Cruz, California 95060
The official public notice for the meeting may be viewed at:
http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=27397
The Commission’s agenda for the meeting is available at: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=27398
The naturist issue is not on the agenda for the meeting. Regardless, we need to let the Commission know of our concerns and our expectations. Members of the public will have an opportunity to give brief statements during the public comment portion of the meeting. Whether you speak or not, your presence at the meeting is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT to lend support to the message of naturists. We seek the setting aside of areas for clothing-optional recreation in State Park units.
There are few items on the meeting agenda for May 17, and the meeting is likely to move quickly. Please plan to be at the Hilton Santa Cruz/Scotts Valley in Santa Cruz no later than a half hour before the start of the meeting. Those who wish to speak must sign up to do so before the meeting commences.
The Commission has met infrequently and irregularly for the past four years, but NAC has been at every single one of the Commission’s meetings during that period of time. With your help and participation, we’ll make a significant showing at this meeting, too.
If you’re planning to attend the meeting, please contact:
NAC board member Allen Baylis
(714) 962-0915
or NAC executive director Bob Morton
(512) 282-6621
ACTION 2: WRITE TO THE COMMISSION
If you’re unable to attend the meeting, you can still help. NAC asks that you write to the Commission. Send your comments by e-mail, fax or surface mail. Those who will be at the meeting on May 17 are also encouraged to write.
WHO SHOULD WRITE?
NAC is requesting ALL NATURISTS and other concerned individuals to contact California officials on this important matter, regardless of your place of residence. California understands the importance of out-of-state visitors who come to enjoy the state’s beaches, lakes and streams. The opportunity to provide diverse recreational opportunities applies to those visitors, as well as to California residents. While all are encouraged to make their voices heard, the participation of Californians is, of course, particularly important.
Send a letter, a fax or an e-mail. Phone calls will likely be ineffective in this specific context.
California State Park & Recreation Commission
PO Box 942896
Sacramento, CA 94296
FAX: (916) 654-6374
Louis Nastro, Assistant to the Commission
E-MAIL: LNastro@parks.ca.gov
Send a copy to:
California Department of Natural Resources
Natural Resources Agency
1416 Ninth Street, Suite 1311
Sacramento, CA 95814
FAX: (916) 653-8102
E-MAIL: secretary@resources.ca.gov
NAC encourages you to send copies of your faxes and paper mail to:
NAC, PO Box 132, Oshkosh, WI 54903.
Send copies of your e-mails to: CA@naturistaction.org
WHAT SHOULD YOU SAY?
When you write:
a) Be polite.
b) Be known. Give your name and address. If you are a California resident or a frequent visitor to California, be sure to point that out. Anonymous letters have very little impact.
c) Be focused. Keep your correspondence brief and on target.
d) Be positive. Remember that we’re trying to ENCOURAGE the Parks Department to do something. Please do not take a scolding tone.
e) Be clear. Say that you SUPPORT the designation of clothing-optional areas in units of the State Park System.
f) Be sure to make a request that your correspondence (letter, fax, e-mail) be included in the permanent public record of the California Park and Recreation Commission meeting of May 17, 2013.
Additional talking / writing points:
1) On March 25, 2013, a state oversight agency, the Little Hoover Commission, issued a comprehensive review of the California State Park system. Among other conclusions, the report says that DPR lacks the flexibility to be responsive to the diversity of its users and supporters. We must encourage the Commission to respond positively to the deficiencies identified by the report.
2) Our focus is not exclusively on San Onofre State Beach or any other individual park. Although San Onofre was the first State Park unit at which DPR killed its policy for managing clothing-optional recreation, it has not been the last. Ticketing for mere nudity in State Park units has spread throughout the entire state of California. A unified policy that manages FOR a significant group of park users is exactly what the Commission is responsible for creating, but it has not done so for clothing-optional users. The present lack of a comprehensive statewide policy threatens ALL clothing-optional areas in California State Park units.
3) Clothing-optional recreation is a diverse use that’s well supported by the public, yet Parks Department policy against clothing-optional recreation is completely out of sync with public sentiment and the expressed preferences of California residents. A public opinion survey on this topic was commissioned in 2009 by the Naturist Education Foundation and was conducted by the prestigious polling firm of Zogby International. In that statewide poll:
79 percent of Californians believe people should be allowed to enjoy nude sunbathing on a beach or other location that is designated for that purpose.
60 percent of Californians say that they are not offended by the nonsexual nudity of others.
62 percent of Californians agree that the California Department of Parks and Recreation should exercise the legal authority it presently has to designate clothing-optional areas in state parks.
View details of the 2009 NEF California Poll:
www.naturisteducation.org/nef.ca.poll.2009/
4) For thirty years, the Department’s Cahill Policy allowed a means to manage for clothing-optional recreation in units of the State Park system. The nullification of the Cahill Policy has left the department with no statewide policy to address a form of recreation that’s obviously popular with the public. It’s the duty of the Commission to address matters of policy.
5) Some Park and Rec Commission members have suggested that a positive response for those who seek clothing-optional recreation in state parks somehow requires a new legislative solution. That view is incorrect. Title 14, Section 4322 of California Code of Regulations already gives DPR the power and authority to set aside areas for clothing-optional use. What the Department needs NOW is policy guidance from the Commission to do what the Department is already allowed to do TODAY.
MORE INFORMATION AND RESOURCES
Additional information and links are available, along with this NAC Action Alert on the web site of the Naturist Action Committee.
Select “Alerts” and find this NAC Action Alert under Current Alerts, or use this convenient shortcut: www.naturistaction.org/caparks Among the material on the NAC site, you’ll find the complete text of the Little Hoover Report.
PLEASE HELP NAC TO CONTINUE HELPING NATURISTS!
The Naturist Action Committee is the volunteer nonprofit political adjunct to The Naturist Society. NAC exists to advance and protect the rights and interests of naturists throughout North America. Fighting for the clothing-optional recreational use of public land is expensive. To do its job, NAC relies entirely on the voluntary generosity of supporters like you.
After you’ve made your plans to attend the Commission meeting on May 17 and/or contacted the officials at the Commission and the Natural Resources Agency, please take a moment to send a donation to:
NAC
PO Box 132
Oshkosh, WI 54903
Or call toll free (800) 886-7230 to donate by phone using your MasterCard, Visa or Discover Card. Or use your credit card to make a convenient online donation: www.naturistaction.org/donate/
Thank you for choosing to make a difference!
Naturally,
Bob Morton
Executive Director
Naturist Action Committee
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Naturist Action Committee (NAC) – PO Box 132, Oshkosh, WI 54903
Executive Dir. Bob Morton – execdir@naturistaction.org
Board Member Allen Baylis – rab@baylislaw.com
Board Member Charles Harris – carlopianoforte@gmail.com
Online Rep. Dennis Kirkpatrick – naturist@sunclad.com
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