NAC Action Alert - California Parks
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NATURIST ACTION COMMITTEE
ACTION ALERT
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http://www.naturistaction.org
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Copyright 2012 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 : August 31, 2012
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 in 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 September 28.
2. Contact the Commission in writing.
CALIFORNIA STATE PARK AND RECREATION COMMISSION
The California State Park and Recreation Commission is NOT the same thing as the State Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR). The Commission has specific authorities and responsibilities which are defined in California law. Those include the approval of general plans for units of the State Park System, classifying units of the System, establishing general policies for the guidance of the Director of State Parks in the administration, protection and development of the System, and recommending to the Director a comprehensive recreation policy for the state.
In the wake of the recent 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 the authority and the responsibility 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 SEPTEMBER 28
If you’re in the southern California area, NAC requests that you attend a public meeting of the State Park and Recreation Commission that is scheduled to be held in Santa Monica on Friday, September 28, 2012.
DATE: Friday, September 28, 2012
TIME: 9:00 a.m.
LOCATION:
Annenberg Community Beach House
Garden Terrace Room
415 Pacific Coast Highway
Santa Monica, California 90402
The Commission’s agenda and public notice of the meeting are available at: http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=936
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 September 28, and the meeting is likely to move quickly. Please plan to be at the Annenberg Community Beach House in Santa Monica 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.
NOTE: The Commission has not met since January 27, 2012. NAC was there for that meeting, and with your help and participation, we’ll make a significant showing at this meeting, too. However, at this rate, your next chance to address the Park and Rec Commission may be in late May of 2013. Don’t miss your opportunity to make a difference in September!
If you’re planning to attend the meeting, please contact:
NAC board member Allen Baylis
rab@baylislaw.com
(714) 962-0915
or NAC executive director Bob Morton
execdir@naturistaction.org
(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 September 28 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 September 28, 2012.
Additional talking / writing points:
1) This is NOT just about San Onofre State Beach. Although that beach 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 is exactly what the Commission is responsible for creating, but the present lack of a comprehensive statewide policy threatens ALL clothing-optional areas in California State Park units. Consider the implications for Black’s (Torrey Pines), Gaviota, Bonny Doon and many others.
2) 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: http://www.naturisteducation.org/nef.ca.poll.2009/
3) Former officials of the Parks Department attempted to justify their vendetta against clothing-optional recreation by saying they were “doing the will of the people.” That was clearly no more true than many of the other deceptions for which those same officials were responsible.
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) Officials of the Parks and Rec Department have pointed to lewd behavior as a reason for prohibiting nudity. In doing so, they have confused simple nudity with lewd behavior. Rangers presently have the authority and responsibility to stop lewd activity, and naturists encourage them to exercise that responsibility appropriately. However, that specific authority is separate and different from the legal authority the Parks Department has to establish areas for clothing-optional recreation.
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.
http://www.naturistaction.org
Select "Alerts" and find this NAC Action Alert under Current Alerts.
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 September 28 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: http://www.naturistaction.org/donate/
Thank you for choosing to make a difference!
Naturally,
Allen Baylis
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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