preserving wreck beach - naturist action committee · prolific naturist author and editor mark...
TRANSCRIPT
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www.naturistsociety.com www.naturistaction.org www.naturisteducation.org
Preserving Wreck BeachThreats on multiple fronts require vigilance ... and endurance
VANCOUVER, BC - Activist Judy
Williams will tell you that today's threat
to Wreck Beach from the shipping of jet
fuel through nearby waterways is similar
to a challenge she fended off successfully
in 1987. At once, you realize the extent of
the ongoing challenge to the beach and
the personal commitment Williams has
made to protect it.
Williams heads the Wreck Beach
Preservation Society, but she also chairs
the Fraser River Coalition, and she’s
associated with the Federation of Canadi-
an Naturists and a healthy handful of other activ-
ist organizations. Of course, Williams is a board
member of the Naturist Action Committee. Each
position complements the others, but the activist
mélange makes for long and eventful days.
Those who are familiar with Wreck Beach
will recognize some of the threats to the prized
but fragile clothing-optional site:
• cliff erosion
• threats to nearby Booming Ground Creek
• jet skis
• roads to the beach
• UBC and its various intrusive towers
• Point Grey Dump
• beach development (e.g. washrooms)
• cliff instability due to construction, de-
watering, traffic vibration
Point
Grey
Dump
Fraser River
North Arm
WRECK
BEACHUBC
VancouverTowers
South Arm
proposed JET-A
fuel terminal
Delta
YVRRichmond
existing JET-A
fuel terminal
CANADA
UNITED STATES See Wreck Beach on page 2.
Judy Williams.
2
Wreck Beach continued from page 1
TOWERS
As is the case for most clothing-optional beaches, the
threats to Wreck Beach are not orderly and well behaved.
Instead, they are clustered and overlapped. At the present
time, Judy Williams is dealing with plans by the Univers-
ity of British Columbia to build new towers on UBC
property that overlooks the beach. This has become a
recurring challenge.
The University seeks to build taller high rise structures
that loom above the beach, breaking the visual barrier that
has preserved the unique separateness of Wreck Beach. The
present threat is the Ponderosa Hub, a cluster of four new
towers. As the huge building are concentrated closer to the
edge of the cliff above the beach, the stability of the cliff face
is incrementally compromised, creating the ultimate
possibility of a collapse that would obliterate the beach
altogether.
POINT GREY DUMP SITE
Since 1938, ships have dumped waste material into the
Georgia Strait at a site that became known as the Point Grey
Dump Site. Located near the mouth of Burrard Inlet, just 10
kilometers (6.2 miles) off the coast of the mainland (and
Wreck Beach), the dumped materials are supposed to be
confined to an area of one nautical mile radius centered at
49°15.40´N, 123°21.90´W. However, studies have found
loads of dumped material more than 4 km outside the
defined site and a trail of refuse and a well defined trail of
debris leading to the site from Vancouver Harbour..
The dump is made up primarily of navigation channel
dredge spoils and waste from forest industry sites on the
Fraser River. The waste site’s proximity to Wreck Beach
has raised questions of its effect on those who bathe in the
water that laps at Wreck Beach.
Activists, including Williams, contend that the dump
site should have been decommissioned in the 1950’s. Re-
cent kills of millions of cockles and jelly fish off the outer
banks of Wreck Beach may be attributable to illegal dump-
ing at the offshore site.
JET FUEL UP THE FRASER
A consortium of commercial airlines at Vancouver Inter-
national Airport (YVR) have formed a nonprofit corporation,
Vancouver Airport Fuel Facilities Corporation (VAFFC), to
arrange a less expensive source of Jet Fuel-A. Existing
sources include a refinery and offloading dock on the Burrard
Inlet. Those are connected to VYR by a 40 km overland
pipeline. Additional jet fuel is brought in by as many as 35
trucks a day from a refinery in the U.S.
The airlines wish to have the option of buying huge
amounts fuel on the world market and having it shipped by
sea from places like Singapore. Some seagoing oil tankers
used for that purpose are given the designation, “Panamax.”
Those are enormous ships of the very largest size able to fit
through the locks of the Panama Canal. The VAFFC
proposal would have Panamax-class oilers sailing into the
vitally biodiverse Fraser River Estuary that comprises part of
Wreck Beach on the river’s North Arm and part of the Reifel
Wildlife Sanctuary on the South Arm.
The proposed new offloading terminal would be located
on the South Arm of the Fraser and connected to YVR by a
15 km pipeline. An 80,000 liter storage facility would be
constructed at the site on the north bank of the Fraser’s
South Arm. Consisting of “six to eight” 6-storey tanks, the
tank farm would have containment large enough to hold a
spill for just a single tank.
That’s the type of planning that worries Williams. But
if the VAFFC cannot make the barge off-loading facility and
tank farm happen on the South Arm because of the outraged
opposition to it, they will try again for the North Arm
which runs beside Wreck Beach. In 1987, the plan was to
barge a million liters a week past Wreck Beach into sensi-
tive estuarine habitat. Says Williams: “We went Federal
with our opposition and stopped them! We must stop them
again!”
Judy Williams is not alone, of course. Few activists
are. She is a driving force for the causes she holds dear, but
she deflects accolades.
Says Williams: “I have indeed had many helping hands
over the years. My value has been in the multitude of con-
nections I have made with community groups, community
leaders, politicians, academics, bureaucrats and most impor-
tantly of all, those with the thousands of naturist friends who
have been the wind beneath my wings.
“The continuity of being able to remember (living his-
tory book!) what most of these just “wet behind the ears”
bureaucrats have only heard about, allows me to pick up the
phone and be on a first-name basis with whomever might be
able to help us on the opposite end of that phone line! I just
stopped by the Canadian Coast Guard hovercraft base the
other day to chat about their emergency response strategies
in case of jet fuel spills. Normally, one would have to have
an appointment before they would buzz you through those
gates, but I have had a 30-year love affair with the wonderful
commanders and crew of the base, and I was buzzed right in
when I just decided to drop by and quiz them last week. It’s
all about the knee bone being connected to the hip bone and
the hip bone being connected to the back bone. Everything
is connected. The connections one makes in life really can
and do make a difference when one is fighting to save what
one loves...as in my case... Wreck Beach!”
3Please Give to NAC(to the tune of “The Drinking Man’s Diet”) www.youtube.com/allansherman
NAC, NAC, please give to NAC.They keep the laws of this land on track.Their work takes some moneyTo stay in the sunGive to NAC, NAC, NAC.
I like to talk with Bob Morton.He knows how to legislate fun.He’ll use the right forumTo take on SantorumAnd soon, we’ve won!
NAC, NAC, please give to NAC.They keep the laws of this land on track.It’s all of our duty.To stay in the nudeGive to NAC, NAC, NAC.
Right-wingers sure make me crazy.They think being naked is bad.They have no ideaWe’re just being freeAnd it makes us glad.NAC, NAC, please give to NAC.
They keep the laws of this land on track.Dig deep in your walletAnd give it your all.Give to NAC, NAC, NAC.
Please Give to NAC!
In the course of any given day, I may receive hundreds of
NAC and NEF-related e-mails. Some are informational, some
are offers of help, and some are pleas for help. Some of my
favorites come from Kath Rooney, who is a benefactor
of NAC and NEF, a former board member and secretary
of both organizations, and a current NAC Area Rep. Al-
though Kath lives in Michigan with her husband, Phil
Curtiss, her e-mails often seem to come from a different
place, both figuratively and literally. In May, she wrote:
Greetings from a plane between Detroit and
LaGuardia. This song is to the Allan Sherman song
"Drinking Man's Diet." He did parodies. Anyway, here
are the lyrics for this incantation.
Kath included the lyrics that appear here, to the
left, and then she continued her e-mail.
In my eternal quest for approval, I hope you like
this, or, at least that this isn't
too awful. I'd hate to lose the
love of this group of addressees!
Gee, maybe I shouldn't send it.
Maybe I should stop listening to
the voices in my head. Just try
it. WILL YOU SHUT UP!
Nyah, nyah, nyah.
Excuse me, I have an alter
ego to toss out the window. See
you all soon.
Love,
Kath
I chuckled and saved the e-
mail on my computer. I knew
that Kath and Phil would be at
the Eastern Naturist Gathering
the following month in Penn-
sylvania. I immediately
responded, writing flippantly,
“That's too funny, Kath! You'll
be at the Gathering to lead the
singing?”
But Kath is not an individual to be taken lightly or
provoked with an idle challenge.
The 2011 Eastern Gathering was one of the most
enjoyable TNS events in which I’ve participated. Even
so, I was unable to escape from the various naturist
crises of the moment. When the time came for the Star
Search talent show, I was still working on an urgent
response to a proposed anti-nudity ordinance in
Madison, Wisconsin.
Kath was at the talent show. She was in the talent
show, leading the singing. I hadn’t known she’d be on
the program. She sang Please Give to NAC - and I
missed it. My penance is to make sure you don’t miss
it.
Kath Rooney
by Bob Morton
Executive Director
Naturist Action Committee
4
Prolific naturist author and editor Mark Storey has compiled an extensive naturist
bibliography, and he has shared it with the public on the Web site of The Naturist
Society, where TNS Webmaster Carmen Hamm has carefully placed it for easy use.
Here is a powerful alternative for any naturist who has ever felt compelled to shrug
helplessly and say, “Well, it’s just my opinion.” The bibliography includes the
opinions of others, as well as carefully researched psychological, sociological,
philosophical and historical data.
In presenting the resource, Storey has not limited the list to naturist-friendly
propaganda, though such volumes are surely included. Also featured in the
bibliography are critically unfavorable publications, the very titles of which may make
a naturist cringe. Those are important, too.
For those who may be daunted by a compilation of hundreds of book titles, Storey
has thoughtfully created his own “Top Ten” list of nonfiction works from “early”
nudism, as well as his “Top Twenty” nonfiction titles from “later” research.
Understanding that few have a comprehensive naturist library at their fingertips, Storey
even suggests affordable sources for some of the more readily available works.
Naturist Education Foundation Executive Director Bob Morton comments: “As
with any bibliography that deals with a dynamic topic, the list is still growing. I
strongly encourage naturists to take advantage of this valuable and impressive resource.
I suspect you’ll feel encouraged that such a bibliography exists, you’ll be delighted
that someone is doing this sort of work on behalf of naturists, and you won’t be
surprised that The Naturist Society is behind it all.”
The Naturist Society
A naturist bibliography
Mark Storey at work in his favorite writing uniform.
www.naturistsociety.com/tns/resources/TNSBibliography.html
A snippet from the comprehensive Naturist
Bibliography on the Web site of The Naturist Society.
TNS Webmaster Carmen Hamm also
handles advertising for The Naturist
Society – when she’s not at the beach.
THIS URL IS CASE SENSITIVE
5
California ticketing continues, expandsSAN DIEGO, California – Citations for nudity contin-
ue to be issued at San Onofre State Beach, despite the fact
that the Naturist Action Committee has, to this point, won a
dismissal for each ticket that has been contested. The
California Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) has
shifted its tactic, attempting to issue nudity citations as
infractions, instead of misdemeanors, as required by law.
An infraction carries no potential for jail time, which is
attractive for those who wish to plead guilty. However, the
maximum fine per incident can be the same as for a misde-
meanor. Significantly, charging nudity as an infraction
deprives a ticketed individual of the right to a trial by jury.
When a nudity charge is heard only by a judge, conviction is
more of a certainty.
DPR has also begun issuing tickets for nudity at other
traditional clothing-optional sites in state parks. Recently,
citations were distributed at Garrapata State Park. Regulars
at Gaviota State Park have reported that park rangers there
NAC Updates
On the cliff above the beach at Camp Pendleton, California Parks Department Ranger Carmen Zone directs the operation on July 17.
Military Police, one with a police dog, are accompanied by a ranger from the California Department of Parks and Recreation as they
roust a sunbather on the beach of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. Neither NAC nor the local naturist group, Friends of San Onofre
Beach, has ever encouraged or endorsed trespass on the military base.
have told beachgoers in a traditionally clothing-optional area
to get dressed. The Naturist Action Committee is not
surprised. For thirty years, DPR managed nudity in state
parks under the Cahill Policy. But Allen Baylis, a Cali-fornia
attorney and member of the NAC board, points out that when
DPR rescinded the Cahill Policy at San Onofre State Beach
in 2008, the Department demonstrated its ability – and
willingness – to terminate clothing-optional recreation at any
state park unit.
The statewide ticketing and warnings are completely at
odds with what DPR officials have led a nationwide nudist
association to believe.
Meanwhile, naked refugees from the citations of the
park rangers at San Onofre have been skinny-dipping and
sunning themselves beyond the southern border of the park.
Nudity on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is not a new
development. Though it has never been condoned by NAC or
Friends of San Onofre Beach, it has been going on for
decades. On July 17, 2011, military police were accompan-
ied by park rangers on a sweep of the Pendleton portion of
the beach. Neither arrests nor citations resulted.
The Naturist Action Committee continues its effort for
official designation of clothing-optional sites at DPR units
across the state. NAC has submitted a petition to DPR and to
the State Park and Recreation Commission, asking for
designation. Responding to a NAC Action Alert, hundreds of
naturists contacted members of the commission in support of
the petition. At the meeting of the Commission in Sacra-
mento on July 8, the Commission was reluctant to proceed on
the matter, citing perceived costs at a time of extreme budget
austerity.
6
BLM – CA Desert District
NAC Updates Dallas Co, Iowa
WASHINGTON, DC – Kudos to AANR!
When the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) pub-
lished its Interim Final Supplementary Rules for its Cali-
fornia Desert District on June 25, 2010, naturists were
dismayed that the proposed rules prohibited public nudity
“at all developed sites and areas and all [Off Road Vehicle
(ORV)] open areas.”
According to Dave Graber, the recently resigned Gov-
ernment Affairs Chair of the American Association for
Nude Recreation, AANR and its regional affiliate, AANR-
West, sent letters of concern to BLM and encouraged their
members to do likewise. AANR, AANR-West and their
members deserve the appreciation of naturists for their
straightforward and productive involvement
But the Naturist Action Committee was not sitting
idle. NAC retained legal representation in Washington
DC to address the BLM matter on behalf of NAC and
naturists. NAC’s counsel in Washington is a former high
ranking official of the Department of Interior. DOI is the
cabinet-level agency that manages eight “technical
bureaus,” including BLM.
NAC pushed and AANR pulled.
The result was not perfect, but it afforded some
clarification. In its FINAL Supplementary Rules, BLM
wrote: “The intent of the Interim Final Supplementary
Rules and the Final Supplementary Rules is to allow
lands with a lower concentration of visitors, such as
wilderness areas, to be clothing-optional.
“The Interim Final Supplementary Rules prohibited
public nudity ‘at all developed sites and areas and all
ORV open areas,’ and included the definition of
‘developed sites and areas’ that is codified at 43 CFR
8360.0-5(c). In the Final Supplementary Rules, the BLM
has modified the prohibition against public nudity so that
compliance will be possible without referring to the
definition of ‘developed sites and areas.’ Instead, the areas
where public nudity is prohibited are listed in the
prohibition itself: (1) Developed camping and picnicking
areas containing items such as a table or toilet facility, (2)
visitor centers, and (3) all ORV open areas.
“The BLM has determined that this rule, as
modified, provides sufficient clarity. Although the term
‘developed sites and areas’ no longer appears in the
prohibition against public nudity, it appears in other Final
Supplementary Rules and is therefore included in these
Final Supplementary Rules.”
DALLAS COUNTY, Iowa – In rural Dallas County
Iowa, people have enjoyed being nude along the Raccoon
River for as long as anyone can remember. In fact, those
who wish to avoid the anti-nudity ordinances of the nearby
towns of Adel or West Des Moines seek out the unincor-
porated parts of the county, where there are no such
ordinances, and the right to skinny-dip and sunbathe nude
has not be taken from them. In other words, they’re
playing by the established rules.
Of course, some feel the need to complain about
nudity wherever they encounter it, even when nudity is not
illegal. Dallas County Sheriff Chad Leonard has been
quoted as saying, “It’s not a high volume of complaints,
but it just would be nice to have a tool to use, because we
do get criticized.”
So, limiting personal freedoms becomes justified if it
provides a “tool” that can mitigate criticism of a law
enforcement agency. As ghastly as that seems, the “tool”
argument has been at the center of many attempts at anti-
nudity laws (cf. City of Huntington Beach, California, City
of Overland Park, Kansas, City of Madison, Wisconsin).
Iowa state law criminalizes nudity only when it can
be proved that the intent of the nudity was the sexual
gratification of any person. County Attorney Wayne
Reisetter has concluded that the exposure of skin on the
river cannot be prosecuted under state law. According to
the Des Moines Register, Reisetter has said, “These are
just people who are running around naked. In other words,
what’s being done is on the “right” side of the law.
But what of the Raccoon River Retreat Center, which
is located on the river? Sunbathers bask nude there, and
owner Harold Wells was the subject of a 2001 county
investigation into charges that he was allowing nudity
illegally. A section of Iowa state law adopted in 1997
forbids nudity at any business that is required to have a
sales tax permit. But according to Wells, his resort is not
a business. Rather, it is a gay-friendly, free retreat that does
not collect sales tax. The owner and his nonpaying guests
have taken care to make proper use a freedom they still
possess under a very strict law.
And because they have used that freedom, they may
lose it. Dallas County Board of Supervisors Chairman
Kim Chapman summarizes his point of view: “You end
up with laws and opinions,” Chapman is quoted as saying,
“because people fail to use good common sense. That
appears to be the case here.”
____________________________This article appeared in modified form as part of a larger
article by the same author in the July issue of the GNI
Informer, a publication of Gay Naturists, International.
7
NAC Updates
TNS members Jim Dickey, Claudette Richards and Fritz Terppe served as the ballot counting crew for the NAC and NEF board election.
NAC and NEF
Election Results
Naturist Education Foundation
NEF grant assists production
of new Haulover beach guide
BAYLIS
HARRIS
SCHLOSS
OSHKOSH, Wisconsin – Members of
The Naturist Society have cast their ballots
and elected three well known activists to
serve as directors of NAC and NEF. Elected
to 3-year terms are Allen Baylis, Charles
Harris, and Morley Schloss. Baylis and
Schloss were incumbents, Harris is a former
board member. Seating / reseating of the
newly elected directors will take place in
October.
Candidate Rich Pasco remains a NAC
Area Representative.
By bylaw, the board members of the
Naturist Education Foundation are the same
as those of the Naturist Action Committee.
However, the two volunteer organizationss
are operated separately.
2011 TNS Youth Camp a Success
Larsen’s Beach: new twists
HAULOVER BEACH, Florida – A grant from the Naturist Education Foun-
dation (NEF) has assisted South Florida Free Beaches (SFFB) in the updated
production of its Guidebook to the Naturist Beach. The informative 16-page publi-
cation, a project of SFFB and the Florida Naturist Association, is offered without
charge to beachgoers at Haulover Beach, a popular clothing-optional destination in
Miami-Dade County, Florida. Guidebook editor Michael Kush deftly incorporated
the revisions, which include new information prepared by NEF board member Mark
Storey. The printing run for the revised publication has been set at 20,000 copies.
NEF directs its funds primarily toward internally initiated projects, but the
501(c)(3) nonprofit does occasionally make external grants for deserving projects that
are consistent with its informational and educational mission.Online preview of the revised Guidebook
www.sffb.com/pdfs/beachguide.pdf
LOXAHATCHEE GROVES, Florida – A record
number of children and parents attended The Naturist
Society’s Youth Camp in July at Sunsport Gardens
Family Naturist Resort. The weeklong event included an
excursion to Haulover Beach, hosted by B.E.A.C.H.E.S.
Foundation and South Florida Free Beaches. Longtime
naturist Richard Mason talked with the campers about the
history of the clothing-optional public beach.
Several members of Florida Young Naturists assist-
ed at the camp. Activities for more experienced campers
included an obstacle course on Sunsport’s lake and a
challenging orienteering course set up by Blair Brumley.
Campers used compasses to chart a path through
Sunsport’s 40 acres.
LEPEULI, Hawaii – The battle continues over a
rancher’s fence across a long-used public trail to Larsen’s
Beach. The beach is a traditional clothing-optional site on
the island of Kauai. Since the article about the matter in
the June, 2011, issue of The Newsletter and the NAC
Update in the July issue, the State Land Use Commis-
sion (LUC) has issued an interpretation that was unfavor-
able to the land owner, Waioli Corp., and its lessee,
rancher and avowed naturist foe Bruce Laymon.
The interpretation showed that the fence is signifi-
cantly misplaced. While naturists and others celebrated,
lawyers for Waioli issued a stern rebuke of LUC. Just
days later, the Commission issued a brief memorandum,
rescinding the interpretation on a procedural technicality.
8
Robert Morton - Texas
Chair/Executive [email protected]
Bill Schroer - Michigan
Mark Storey - Washington
Allen Baylis - California
The Newsletter Editor: Bob Morton
The Newsletter (ISBN N9. 1075-735X) is published by The Naturist Society LLC, Naturist Action Committee, and Naturist Education Foundation, P.O. Box 132, Oshkosh, WI 54903. Entire contents copyright ©2011. Published items may be reprinted with prior permission. Request an annual subscription with a donation of at least $25 to NAC. Your financial assistance is vital! VISA/Mastercard donations accepted at (800) 886-7230, or you may donate online through the NAC Web page: www.naturistaction.org.
Morley Schloss - Florida
Dick Springer - Maine
Judy Williams - British
Columbia
Don Zirbel - Oregon
Contact the NAC Board
www.naturistaction.org
www.naturisteducation.org
(800) 886-7230
www.naturistsociety.com
Upcoming naturist festivals,
gatherings and events www.naturistsociety.com Click on "Events"
AVALONfestAvalon Resort - Paw Paw, West VirginiaAugust 11 - 14, 2011 Phone: (304) 947-5600www.avalon-resort.com
WESTERN GATHERINGLupin Lodge - Los Gatos, CaliforniaAugust 11 - 14, 2011 Phone: (408) 353-9200www.lupinlodge.org
Beach Stewardship at Gaviota State ParkSANTA BARBARA COUNTY, California – Friends
of Gaviota leader (and NAC Area Rep) Dennis Craig Smith
has reported another successful FoG Beach Clean Up. On
July 11, members collected a dumpster full of trash that
should have been taken home with park users.
Smith reports: “Carry In/Carry Out, as a concept,
seems to be losing ground on our coastline, but the nude
recreation devotees of FoG showed once again that they want
so much to have a clean beach, trail, and parking area at San
Onofre/north and Vista del Mar that they’re willing to spend
Members of Friends of Gaviota make a difference at Gaviota State Park. From left to right: Bob Gheno, Margaret Sazani, and Joe McKenna.
hours carrying away other people’s trash. From loaded baby
diapers to a completely ‘stocked’ woman’s purse (license,
passport, and necessities), Friends of Gaviota removed close
to a thousand pounds of rubbish (including many things that
challenge the imagination). As we collected bags of trash, we
came to wonder why people would be conscientious enough
to pick up after their dogs, place ‘it’ in blue bags, and then
casually toss those little blue suckers in the bushes for other
people to pick up and dispose of. Wearing clothes for every
activity is not the only strange thing many people do.
“The board members of FoG
thank all those who took part in
the clean up and collected smelly
bags of human thoughtlessness. It
was a great day on the beach with a
larger than usual turn out of
friendly, naked beach goers helping
celebrate Nude Recreation Week.
Body acceptance also means re-
specting and taking care of the
environment. The only thing
obscene on the beach and along the
trail on Sunday was the amount of
trash inconsiderate people left
behind for others to remove.”