San Carpoforo Beach in California's Los Padres National Forest offers an idyllic view of the Pacific Coast and is the only free public campground in the Big Sur area.
The combination of beauty and exclusivity helped make the San Luis Obispo County beach quite popular with campers; in fact, too popular. And as a consequence, camping there will be prohibited for the next two years, starting in April.
In recent years, a steady stream of visitors trampled sensitive habitats and left behind trash, human waste and illegal campfires, according to a staff report from the California Coastal Commission, which regulates land and water use along the coast. coast. On Thursday, the commission voted unanimously to approve the ban at the request of the U.S. Forest Service.
During the closure, the state will “reset” conditions at the site and complete a new management plan that will identify additional visitor amenities and tools necessary to allow public access to the site again. The ban was first reported by the San Luis Obispo Tribune.
There are countless reasons why guests want to stay at San Carpoforo Beach, a portion of which is located at the northern end of state property in Hearst San Simeon State Park. The beach offers the only free camping along the 90 miles that make up the Big Sur coast.
Beach visitors are likely to see elephant seals, coastal black-tailed deer, and certainly the western snowy plover, a small shorebird that was recognized as a threatened species in 1993 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The beach is also home to several diverse habitats including riparian, estuarine, coastal dunes and marine.
The “lack of control over recreational activities [at San Carpoforo Beach] It has almost certainly affected the snowy plover,” according to a 2019 report by the U.S. Forest Service.
Dogs off leash, tents and humans on the beach and trash left behind that could attract predators were factors cited in the state report as concerning for wildlife and their habitat. The site is also not well equipped to serve its guests: The popular beach has only a small removable parking lot next to Highway 1 and lacks public restrooms and trash cans.
State officials say they don't have the resources to properly police and maintain the site with such a large rush of campers. These visitors also pose a risk when they carry driftwood to light campfires, according to the staff report, which could disrupt the ecosystem that depends on that wood and increase the risk of wildfires.
The beach will not be completely closed to the public and visitors can still stop by to enjoy the views during the camp's two-year respite, but they must pack up and leave before the end of the day, according to the staff report. .
Visitors will notice some changes in the near future, such as new trash cans and an increase in the presence of state personnel to patrol the area, measures urged by the staff report. By the end of the two-year closure, state officials should have calculated how many campsites are manageable, how much visitors should be fined for starting an illegal campfire, and seasonal closure schedules for certain areas at high wildfire risk, he says. The report.
