August 5, 2002:  House Majority Leader Rep. Marcus Oshiro, a major supporter of SCR-85, will be speaking with Gil Agaran-Coloma, the Director of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, later this week to see if they can get the ball rolling sooner.

July24, 2002:  The DLNR recently assigned Dave Parsons to follow up on SCR-85.  This happened after a call from Let's Surf Coalition found out that nobody was working on it at all!  Mr. Parsons cited many high priorities and said that there would be no changes in the state permit policy this year as there is not enough time.  He will inform us of the schedule when it is developed. We will steadfastly follow up.

April 26, 2002:  Both Houses of the State Legislature passed SCR-85 , the Senate Concurrrent Resolution that matched HCR-87.  While this resolution lacks teeth, it is a start in the right direction.  Let's Surf Coalition will actively follow up with the DLNR to help establich fair guidelines at the state agency responsible for granting ocean permits.

On March 27, 2002, the House Committee on Water and Land Use, without opposition, passed HCR-87 , REQUESTING THE BOARD OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES TO INVESTIGATE EXISTING CONFLICTS BETWEEN ORGANIZED WATER SPORTS EVENTS AND INDIVIDUAL RECREATIONAL USERS AND DEVELOP RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EQUITABLE ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE WATERS AND BEACHES OF THE STATE.

A similar resolution, HCR-174 , REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES TO PRIORITIZE THE USE OF THE OCEAN AND COASTAL AREAS, was deferred by joint committees.  Deferral means that it will probably not come out of committee while passage sends the resolution to the floor for a vote of all the Representatives.

The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) and several commercial tour boat and fishing operations testified against HCR-174 on the grounds that it is unfair to prioritize usage of the coastal waters.  The DLNR claimed that they are doing a good job now and that implementing the prioritzation rules would be impossible.  Gil Riviere, on behalf of Let's Surf Coalition, testified that priorities are indeed necessary when conflicting interests seek the same beach or public resource.  Several of the committee members commented that conflicts do arise and they were not convinced the DLNR is looking well enough after the public's interests. Unfortunately, no decision was made and the resolution was deferred.

Rep. Mindy Jaffe, speaking with Gil Riviere later in the day, said that mandating the DLNR to resolve conflicts might not be a good move because the state agency will not relequish control once they have it.  She said the best scenario would be for interested parties to work through the problems without governmental oversight.  Riviere commented that cooperation and compromise have been in short supply the past few years and governement intervention, heavy as it may be, might be the only recourse for the public.


Let's Surf Coalition is growing and seeking new Supporters.  Every new Supporter makes our coalition stronger and more representative.  Until now, the public has not been well organized and has not been able to adequately defend its rights regarding these issues.  If you have not already done so, please Become a Supporter today.