|
Naturist Beaches in Peril Last month we reported on the legal action to fight the announced closure to nude use of the popular c/o beach at San Onofre State Park in California. Unfortunately the immediate legal issue is now resolved, with a result that threatens naturist use at all California state parks, as reported in the article below.
Now, there is a new threat to Lighthouse Beach in New York. (see article below) As this beach is within the National Park Service (NPS), closure there may portend future closure attempts at other naturist beaches on federal land, such as Gunnison Beach (NJ) or at Canaveral National Seashore. (The naturist area at Apollo Beach at Canaveral was recognized in a General Agreement negotiated by the Naturist Action Committee in 2000. However, the NPS may terminate that agreement unilaterally for any reason by issuing a 30-day written notice.)
The preservation of every accepted naturist use area is of critical importance to all naturists, because the loss of any one can form a direct precedent within the park system in which it operates, and an indirect precedent elsewhere. ("Well, they closed that beach - why should we keep yours open?")
Is there any safe naturist beach in the US?
Today many users consider Haulover's naturist beach "safe". San Onofre naturists considered their beach "safe", because of the thirty-year history of the "Cahill policy", a CA State Park Department policy of not harassing skinny-dippers at traditional areas. That policy now seems dead.
One should remember some of South Florida Free Beaches' advocacy efforts that have been instrumental in establishing, preserving, and improving the c/o beach at Haulover, including:
- Its self-designation and establishment of the c/o area at Haulover in 1991. The county did NOT establish the naturist beach at Haulover, and did not allow the installation of signs until December 1993.
- Its legal defense of arrests by county police for skinny-dipping at Haulover in 1992.
- Its lobbying at the state level beginning in 1994, when state anti-nudity laws began to be proposed and drafted. See our website Government Affairs page for recent activities on this front.
- Its ongoing meetings with local officials and administrators to address concerns. Among the items SFFB lobbied for were: opening the North parking lot, providing lifeguards at the c/o beach, signs designating the c/o area, the new restrooms, beach renourishment, etc.
The point is, you can't take anything for granted, and maintaining naturist use areas requires constant pro-active monitoring and ongoing meetings with officials. It may seem self-serving, but we believe we can present a credible argument that without the active, ongoing efforts of South Florida Free Beaches, there would be today no c/o beach at Haulover.
Early in the history of South FL Free Beaches and The Naturist Society, we lost a number of c/o beach areas in FL: MacArthur Beach, Navarre Beach, Bahia Honda Beach, Honeymoon Island. SFFB and B.E.A.C.H.E.S. Foundation would like to restore some of these lost beaches, but it takes a lot of lobbying and a certain amount of money. It's a lot harder to get a beach back, than to defend it in the first place. And frankly, the naturist organizations, then in their infancy, were not sufficiently organized or effective in preventing these closures in the 1980s. Also, at that time the naturist model was essentially that if you found a remote enough area and didn't make waves, you probably wouldn't be bothered.
Think again. Today we need a new model.
More positively, in Key West, the local Florida Keys Free Beaches is working in concert with SFFB and B.E.A.C.H.E.S. Foundation, and even more importantly, with local officials and business interests to advocate for a c/o beach area there. We must demonstrate popular support, address management concerns, and document an economic benefit to the community. We must present a detailed and active management program, not vague promises based on internal assumptions and philosophical hypotheses that, frankly, are often not understood and often doubted by administrators. Time will tell if this approach will succeed, but the fact is that "remote" areas where naturists once hoped to be left alone are rapidly disappearing as the population grows. Naturists can no longer rely on "gentlemen's agreements" negotiated thirty years ago with a park administrator who left office twenty years ago.
The lesson is that complacency leads to loss. Yesterday's favorable administrators retire. Last year's legislators are voted out of office. No victory is permanent. This is an ongoing educational and lobbying process.
Nor is a handful of upset naturists merely waving picket signs on the beach accorded much respect by officials and administrators. Once a naturist issue comes to such open confrontation, the cause is usually lost. Today naturists must demonstrate organization, reason, and sound argument, along with continued, pro-active communication with officials and community interests.
We need your support to stay strong. Volunteers are always welcome...please email Richard Mason for more information. Financial contributions may be made at sffb.com/sponsors |
