The sands of Oceano Dunes, the only state park where visitors can generally drive along the beach, are unusually quiet right now.
Too quiet, many locals say, because ATVs and beach camping have been temporarily banned from San Luis Obispo County's Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area since April 14.
Many others, however, are happy with the pause and say it will be good for the western snowy plover, a threatened seabird species.
This discord is part of a long-running battle between environmentalists and recreation advocates along this stretch of coastline a few miles south of Pismo Beach. Environmentalists won the most recent round when a federal judge ordered the dunes closed until state parks officials obtain a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that allows occasional bird kills.
State parks officials, who canceled all camping reservations in the area through May 22, said they hope to reopen by May 23. But that timeline depends on approval of the permit by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Camping reservations for May 23 and beyond are still active, according to Jon O'Brien, superintendent of the state park system's Oceano district.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
Meanwhile, along Pier Street in Oceano, business is slow.
At Sun Buggy Fun Rentals, which has been serving visiting families for more than 20 years, “we've had to lay off most of our people,” said owner Randy Jordan. He said he is counting on state parks officials to “do everything they can” to reopen the area on May 23.
At Pier Street Deli and Mas, “it's been very slow,” manager Chelsea Nava said. “Our employees are losing hours.”
In normal times, Nava said, 80% or more of his customers are from out of town, including “a lot of people from Bakersfield and Fresno, [who] Come to the dunes.”
“We're not quite sure” what to expect next, Nava said, noting that his family took over the deli in late 2024. “We were doing great right before the closure,” he said.
The closure was ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Anne Hwang, who ruled April 9 that the state needs to do more to protect the western snowy plover, which is classified as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act.
Under Hwang's order, the closed area can reopen when the state submits a long-awaited habitat conservation plan and obtains a “bycatch” permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that allows for the death and injury of some snowy plovers. Jon O'Brien, superintendent of the state parks system's Oceano district, said he was confident the state would get approval and reopen the area almost immediately after May 22.
Camping reservations for May 23 and beyond “are still active,” O'Brien said. “So if you have a camping reservation for May 24, you still have a reservation.”
Jim Suty, president of Friends of Oceano Dunes, which favors recreational use of the area, said he is hopeful that parks officials can open the area as promised. But even if they did, Suty said, a lot of damage has already been done.
“People really need to appreciate that closing the park right now did nothing to help endangered species, and did everything to hurt people,” Suty said, referring to visitors and the local businesses that depend on them. “It's very important for the vitality of the local community.”
“It's maddening,” said David Hamilton, who lives in nearby Arroyo Grande and said he has been driving through the dunes and watching sunsets with his wife for years. “There is so much coastline that they can't leave this small stretch open.”
The recreation area's status has long been crucial to Oceano, an unincorporated community of about 7,000 located just to the north.
Although there are several small neighboring towns along the nearby coast, Oceano merchants say they don't get much business from Grover Beach, Arroyo Grande or Pismo Beach, which includes more upscale hotels and restaurants with clifftop ocean views.
Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area remains the only California State Park where vehicles can be driven on the beach.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
The judge's order covers approximately 800 acres of off-road vehicle area south of Arroyo Grande Creek. As of April 14, O'Brien said, up to 350 campers per night (at $10 per vehicle) were allowed in the area, along with up to 1,720 all-terrain vehicles and 1,800 road-legal vehicles per day, at $5 per vehicle.
The most recent court case was brought in 2020 by the Tucson-based Center for Biological Diversity. Zeynep Graves, the center's senior attorney, said in a statement that state officials “have let all-terrain vehicles traverse protected habitat in Oceano Dunes, injuring and killing snowy plovers, harassing roosting flocks and degrading their habitat.”
However, state park statistics show that the western snowy plover's breeding population has grown from at least 32 breeding adults in 2002 to at least 281 in 2024, exceeding state goals since 2013.
In his ruling, Hwang found that California state parks had violated the federal Endangered Species Act by allowing too much activity near the birds without having obtained an “incidental take” permit.
State parks officials responded by saying the closure “will result in thousands of families losing their camping reservations and recreational access to the shoreline, while cutting operating revenues that fund environmental conservation.”
During the closure, Pismo State Beach, which is just north of the Arroyo Grande Creek and off-highway recreation area, will allow a maximum of 1,000 legal vehicles on the road per day (and no off-road vehicles). The two Pismo State Beach campgrounds (near the beach but not on it) remain open.
Oceano Dunes is the state's only oceanfront ATV recreational area. Drivers have been driving along the beach and dunes since the beginning of the 20th century. The state acquired the land in 1974 and created the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area in 1982.
Over the years, state parks officials have gradually reduced the surface area open to all-terrain vehicles as recreation advocates and environmentalists have debated how much protection the birds need. The battle has often pitted the California Coastal Commission (seeking to restrict vehicle access) against California State Parks leaders (seeking to continue vehicle access).
In addition to the closures, Oceano Dunes recently faced another challenge. Due to CoVID-19 safety measures, the area closed its doors in 2020-21. During that time, rare shorebirds began nesting in areas usually reserved for off-roaders and their beach vehicles. In 2021, the California Coastal Commission attempted to permanently end off-road driving in the dunes, but was later overturned by court rulings that said the agency had overstepped its authority.
Throughout the debate, the area has remained popular. In 2022-23, the most recent fiscal year for which statistics are available, the area attracted more than 908,000 visitors, including about 126,000 campers.
