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Access to Ft. Story for the Fishing Public Eliminated!

AUGUST 8th, 2010 PUBLIC ACCESS UPDATE:

Our non-profit has been fighting to maintain full public access to Ft. Story (a historically recreational and training military base) since 2007. In the last two months things, things have gone from bad to worse and access for the fishing public has been totally eliminated and for no reason other than it is a part of the Navy's standard playbook when they took the base over from the Army.

Below is our non-profit's most recent communication with the Navy officials for which no official response has been issued/received. This loss of public access has also been recently higlighted and discussed as well on a local Virginia fishing website pierandsurf.com http://www.pierandsurf.com/fishing-forum/showthread.php?t=78661

May 24, 2010

Captain Charles Stuppard

Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek - Fort Story Commander

2600 Tarawa Ct.

Norfolk, VA 23521

RE: Ft. Story Public Access

Dear Captain Stuppard,

Virginia Coastal Access Now (VCAN) is a non-profit organization that represents recreational anglers and environmental advocates working to maintain and enhance the public’s access to Virginia’s beaches and waterways within the Commonwealth of Virginia ’s coastal zone. We formed our non-profit as a result of concerns over and the real loss of public access to Virginia ’s coast.

VCAN started a dialogue with the US Army and US Navy back in 2007, when BRAC announced the realignment of Fort Story with Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek. As part of the realignment, Fort Story would transition from US Army operational control to US Navy control in October 2009. Base operations were to remain the same, the only difference would be a change in operational control. In 2007, and still today, VCAN is concerned public access may be eliminated or restricted beyond former practices implemented by the US Army.

Under the US Army, Fort Story had a policy for recreational fishing and is provided as an attachment. The policy referenced the Sikes Act, as amended through 2003. The Sikes Act provides for “the sustainable multipurpose use of the natural resources, which shall include hunting, fishing, trapping, and nonconsumptive uses; and subject to safety requirements and military security, public access to military installations to facilitate the use.

No Indigo Dunes 7/14/10

http://hamptonroads.com/2010/07/beach-buy-preserve-shore-drive-property

Our non-profit thanks to all those that helped make this happen. This effort to protect open space and public access took citizen action (NID, SDCC, OPCL, VCAN, local residents, and the public), a down economy, and a white knight in the non-profit Trust for Public Lands (TPL).

My personal thanks to our VCAN members and supporters who have previously went to the mat (Wetlands Board, public hearings, et al) and weighed in on (with calls, email, public comment, and letters to the City and various public agencies and officials) to oppose the high density development to protect the open space at Pleasure House Point and public access to Pleasure House Creek.

We can, VCAN!

Mark

VCAN's July 4th letter to DEQ on Public Access at Sandbridge

July 4, 2010

Mr. David Nishida, Project Manager Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Tidewater Regional Office 2600 Southern Blvd Virginia Beach, VA

RE: Public Comment on & Letter Response to Draft Permit No. 09-1686 Sandbridge Beach Sand Nourishment Project

Dear Mr. Nishida,

We appreciate your letter response of June 8^th, 2010 to our original public comment dated May 25^th, 2010. Although we recognize the DEQ’s position, Virginia Coastal Access Now (VCAN) respectfully disagrees with it for the following reasons and provides the additional public comment.

Again VCAN would like to support the entire Department’s approval of the draft permit and the Sandbridge Beach sand nourishment project. However, the project needs to have public access improvements including greater “access to the access” to sections of Sandbridge Public Beach as identified in our original letter.

For DEQ to state that the project’s public access component is not within your purview and simply default to the local governing body is understandable but unacceptable given the use of public resources in the project that will serve two different mile plus long stretches of what is essentially private beach in Sandbridge.

"This sand's not your sand; this sand is my sand"

By WAYNE PARRY
Associated Press Writer

   MANTOLOKING, N.J. (AP) -- Some Jersey shore beach towns have plenty of ways to keep outsiders off their sand: Limit on-street parking, prohibit food and drink, and have no public bathrooms.

   One town literally walls off the public from much of the ocean with a protective stone seawall, and offers virtually no parking for miles along it.

   Beach access has become a long drawn-out court battle in many coastal states. And now in New Jersey, the state Department of Environmental Protection is bowing to complaints from some local governments and private property owners that state access rules are too strict.

   The department is letting each shore town decide for itself what level of public access is appropriate, though the state agency will still have to sign off on each plan. The new policy has some beach advocates fearing towns will become even more restrictive.

   "This is extremely frustrating," said Ralph Coscia, who co-founded Citizens Right to Access Beaches, or CRAB, after the beloved Point Pleasant Beach was bulldozed to make way for oceanfront luxury homes about a decade ago. "This sets us back 15 years. Everything we've tried to do all these years is falling apart."

   The department says its goal is to maintain public access while applying common sense to beach access rules and giving towns and property owners latitude to take local conditions into account.

   "We believe the Jersey shore and the coastline should be open to everyone," said department spokesman Larry Ragonese. "But there can't be carte blanche to go anywhere, on anyone's property you want."

   Under the Public Trust Doctrine, a legal concept adopted by New Jersey that dates back to the Roman Emperor Justinian, the public has the right to swim in coastal waters and walk along their shores. Courts have held that the public has the right to walk or sit on the sand up to the mean high water mark -- even on beaches where most of the sand is privately owned.