To Texans in particular ... and all beach lovers

[Beachbum 0]

I haven't been able to keep up with everything on here lately ... have gotten involved in something bordering on political (last thing I ever expected!). I attended a meeting in Galveston about their upcoming beach access plan, and in the course of it discovered that roughly 15 miles of beach they have closed to vehicular access was done without being in compliance with state regs. We have formed a group to fight Galveston (and any other beach infringement on our coast) on this ... Texas Open Beach Advocates ... please check out the website at http://www.texasopenbeaches.org/ and join us (no dues or anything, tho donations are welcomed!). We've only had two board meetings so far, and the site has been up for about 10 days ... and already we have information that a similar thing is about to happen at Matagorda, so we now have 2 possible battles on our hands! By state law, the beach from the water to the vegetation line belongs to the people of the state ... don't let them turn areas into private beaches!!
As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

[quade 4]

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By state law, the beach from the water to the vegetation line belongs to the people of the state ... don't let them turn areas into private beaches.

Not really my state or my issue, but I'd think that the land would still belong to "the people" and if you want access to it, you just have to walk farther.
What's wrong with that?
quade
http://futurecam.com

[airann 1]

This debate has been going on for as long as I can remember.
I would be (my mother says) is ......."on TV every time there is a hurricane- she is out there surfing!!" Well, they catch the girl on tape everytime, discriminators!
Back to you Brent...... Well Bob, we are standing here in the stinging rain and if you can see behind us thru the rain and wind gusts... there are people out in the chruning ocean -surfing!! Thats right Bob, if can we focus in on that one with the yellow board, this surfer girl has been out there a good part of the day. The officers here have tried to call the surfers in..... but apparently the surfers can not hear the bull horn....
Down by Shorty's peir, you used to be able to drive forever.... untill you got to the nude beach and usually stopped (due East).
Take The Balanese... we used to surf there hold contests there. No more. We surfed the Flagship, we surfed outside of Sunrise Surfshop, and later on down -skipping alot- to Freeport. There were several brakes there. Octagon House, that was like super secret brake a long time ago. Hard to get to. The jetties. Then Quintana, across the shipchannel to the south is Quintana... good break there. But it takes about 30 - 40 minutes to get there when you can spit on it from Freeport. ... Oh hell yes, I did it, I paddled the channel, slightly illegal, yeah a big ass boat came......... Damn good thing I was in terrific upper body shape. Dude came outta nowhere. Only problem was it was on my way back from surfing Quintana. I was tired.
WTF was your comment again......
Oh yeah, about driving on the beach... Well it has its good points and bad points.
Good points- no gang activity, or other serious rif raff. On Mondays there was trash, beer bottles, more trash, etc everywhere. People forgot their dogs, guess who got them...
(I lived across the street from East Beach my Med Center for a summer, I was in "college") that was a really good summer.
It was when The Clash came out with Rock the Casba, so the dogs name was Shreif....white german shepherd.
Vehicles also damage the eco system. The little crabs get mashed. And etc varmits.....and the sand gets mashed down so the ocean can come in higher.... and the tourists pay alot to see a nice clean beach without hypodermic needles and crack pipes. And not to mention the clothes left behind that accidently fell off the drunken minors.
But I have a cool car and wish I could take it out into the salt water to secrely and silently let it rust to dust.
I would say surfers only.
Ann ~ www.AirAnn.com
Levin in RW suit.. I have pictures!!!

[airann 1]

Matagordo-- BTW, Only surfers do that drive to S. Padre. Fly down it sometimes and see all the abandoned vehicles that didnt make it.
You can ask a hard core surfer and he can tell you the exact tidal conditions in which you MIGHT make it.
Thing is this particular stretch also has a thing going on with the hooping cranes.
So again I am totally mixed on the issue. Yeah most people should go and be able to go. But there are some people who do not respect anything. Especiall the persons who have big trucks and 4 wheelers who do nothing but tear up the dunes.
WE worked hard on those dunes, putting chrismas trees there so the sand would stack up and adhere to it and Blow Joe with the beer and 4 wheeler -Whooo, smashes it right back down.
Ann ~ www.AirAnn.com
Levin in RW suit.. I have pictures!!!

[Beachbum 0]

I agree with several parts of that ... but about other parts ... have to agree with your "mixed" ... Traffic-wise .. good points ... I don't like people driving 4x4's out there just to play and tear up the beach, dunes, and marsh areas .. but those are enforcement issues .. not a reason to stop access. You can drive on the beach responsibly. People speed and drive recklessly on streets .. we don't shut them down. We certainly discourage driving in dunes - it's been illegal since the 70's (and for good reason). We try to get people to use the beaches responsibly. Look at Surfside (where I take my trees - I do that too) these days ... gets a LOT of traffic, but they don't have problems because they have a very obvious police presence. The problem at Galveston has been that until recently, they had only 1 officer patrolling that entire west end (about 18 miles) so he had little time to spend on the beach itself. They now have a whopping TWO to cover that area.
As for the critters ... it isn't like our whole coast is accessible anyway. Probably less than 1/5 of it gets much vehicular traffic because there is so much barrier island with no bridges/ferries to get there, and a large part of the remainder is 4x4 only territory. And I'm not convinced that the main problem isn't pollution anyway. I've lived along the Texas coast most of my 47 years (started surfing when I was 11) ... so have seen the beaches change a lot. Around Galveston .. even as late as the mid 70's you still found a lot of shellfish, etc. around the beach. Go down there now (even to areas that haven't had vehilcle access for over a decade) and you find very few of the surf clams, coquinas, sand fleas, and other critters that should be in the surf zone. If you go to Aransas where cars have never been prohibited, there are still a lot more ... same with the first mile or so at South Padre where cars can regularly get to.
Birds ... another thing .. lots do nest in the area between normal high tide, and the dunes. But that can be dealt with also. In N.C. on the outer banks, they tape areas off every spring for the birds .... you end up driving on a very narrow strip right by the water, but you can still get to places you want to surf and fish, or whatever it is you want to do. BTW ... whooping cranes are not beach birds ... unless something has changed the last year or so the entire population of them still lives at the wildlife refuge at Aransas while they are in Texas. Several tours out of Rockport and that area will take you to view them.
I don't agree about south padre ... I am/have been a "hardcore surfer" ... been going down there for about 32 years now (they used to have a contest down there every easter, way back when) and have never gotten stuck. And it's not ONLY surfers ... a lot of fishermen, too. Most serious surfers have the sense to not even try to get far down the beach without a 4x4. Back in the 60's I drove a volkswagon, and could do it, but if you rely on low tides to make the trip and then the wind picks up onshore, you're stuck until the wind lets tides get back to normal. Anyone who knows much about that beach realizes that and won't do it unless they're prepared to ride it out for a day or two if that happens. We only did that drive with a shovel or 2, some carpet chunks, and a compressor that ran off the lighter so we could deflate the tires if need be. As for those abandoned cars you talk about ... we used to have a good laugh over those ... seemed like most of them were the type you mentioned (hey ya'll ... watch THIS types) .. we found plenty of them in time to pull them out.
As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

[Beachbum 0]

Nothing wrong with walking further in SOME cases... get back to that in a second ... the thing is, the way the Open Beaches Act reads, they can only close it if they provide "equal or better access", and for a lot of folks, there IS no equal or better access. Plus, if they DO close it off, are supposed to provide a parking space for every 15 feet they close, such that the furthest point of the parking area is not more than 1/4 mile from the furthest point of beach that parking area services. They haven't even tried to meet this ... most of the closed areas have no parking access whatsoever, or are in front of what are now subdivisions that have "private" signs on their streets.
But there are a lot of people who use the beach in ways that walking is not a good option.
Back to walking ... in a lot of cases that's a viable option ... but there are already plenty of beach areas that are walk in only. Hardly if any of those areas meet with the ADA ... imagine someone in a wheelchair trying to get from their car to a ramp thru sandy soil with little grass ... up and over the ramp ... then thru 50 feet or so of soft sand to get over to the part of the beach which is hardpacked wet sand. As for surfers and fishermen ... our coast is not like California where the majority of your breaks and bottom structure are fairly static. We are used to driving the beach looking for a good break ... or in the case of fishermen looking for breaks in the bars or just pods of baitfish being worked in the surf. People launch their sailboats, jetskis, sailboards, kayaks ... they carry generators for lights for night fishing ... they take grills and large coolers for family outings .. none of that is something I want to try to carry 1/4 mile and over a dune walkover! Not to mention a single parent with a couple of kids trying to go to the beach for the day ... a couple of chairs, a cooler, kids toys ... too much for one trip ... do I leave my kids and stuff alone on the beach while I fetch the 2nd load ... make the kids walk twice and leave my stuff on the beach ... what? Not to mention, leaving my car parked in an area where I can't see it along a stretch of beach where break-ins are common due to lack of police presence! Some might say that stuff isn't needed ... and that may be, but that's not the point here. The people of the state have used the beaches in this manner for longer than I've been alive ... the laws here give us that right .. and now a few developers and beachfront homeowners are trying to take it away from us. We're hoping to stop them, and MAYBE be able to get at least a FEW of those "drive thru and tear everything up" types to learn to treat the beaches with a little respect in the process.
As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

[Jumperpaula 0]

I don't think you have a chance in Hell of getting the City of Galveston to budge one inch. They hate "city people" and could really care less what a bunch of Houston residence thought of the way they are handling the beach.
If your making this a State issue, you may have a case.
Remember legalized gambling (killed by the residence how many times?) Remember the Casino ship that was run off? remember drinking on the seawall that was outlawed ? And to that list, just add driving on the beach.
The residence are pure down home, small town , Texas Southern Baptists. Your organization will probably have to sue them, even if they are breaking a Texas Property law by closing the beach off. That might not even work....remember Kingwood?
I've been a Harris County Delegate for years, been out of politics for a few now. Let me know if I can help.
It's great your getting involved in an issue you really care about. My eyes were really opened by the Bayport Issue. The group can be 100% right on, and still loose the battle.
Blue Skies,
Paula
Fly Your Slot !

[Beachbum 0]

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the sand gets mashed down so the ocean can come in higher....

HUH???? believe me ... WGIPOA has tried REAL hard to find any information to back up that idea ... not any! Our sand along the upper coast is so fine in the first place that it packs plenty hard on it's own. Think about it ... if you drive down on the wet sand, you hardly make any imprint in it at all unless you get REAL close to the water. As for the erosion problem (west end is losing about 5 - 8 feet a year) ... a study (the Heinz group did it) that WGIPOA themselves pushed for (and I believe helped fund) found that it is mainly caused by development ... which of course was the LAST thing they wanted to hear!
As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

[Beachbum 0]

No doubt - not an easy battle ... lol ... fortunately, we're not all town people ... half our board are island residents ... as are a large part of our membership so far. Many of the folks on the west end didn't even realize that WGIPOA was claiming to represent them until this all started making itself into the local papers down there!
The beer on the seawall ... LOL ... I can ALMOST understand after having witnessed several accidents of people either skating or biking off the seawall while intoxicated and unable to peel their eyes off an attractive member of the opposite sex down on the beach!! If you want to get involved ... feel free ... we're JUST getting off the ground and trying to get the word out - would be more than happy to have ya (please sign up even if you don't want to be active tho ... as you know ... it's numbers that get the attention of politicians).
As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

[Jumperpaula 0]

It was a "new idea" to pump the dredged silk from the channel onto the beach, but Millions of dollars later, we are not in much better shape on the seawall beaches than we were 5 years ago.
Good news, they will have more silk to dredge building Bayport. Maybe we can build the beachfront up AGAIN.
"Let's just put a Refinary Port in the same harbor with the East Coast's second largest yatch storage area, and about a hundred thousand homes. Although we have Texas City, already dredged and equipped, but wait...that's not in Harris County..." Follow the money....
Fly Your Slot !

[Jumperpaula 0]

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Many of the folks on the west end didn't even realize that WGIPOA was claiming to represent them until this all started making itself into the local papers down there!

Don't mean to be a synic, but you can have the Media Support, but without a divided inner city government, it's still gonna be a battle.
Fly Your Slot !

[Beachbum 0]

yeah ... I'm just WAITING for that one to start ... just hoping that the state makes them meet the same stardards for beach quality sand as everyone else cause as soon as the test the silt from the bottom of that area and find all the heavy metals and who knows what else in it ... they won't be allowed to use it for beach nourishment. What these folks either fail to realize or refuse to accept is that these ARE barrier islands ... and barrier islands MOVE. If they would take a good look at the San Luis pass area there is ample proof ... I'm willing to bet that barring a good direct hit from a storm that pass will close up within the next 15 or 20 years ... it's already starting to. You used to be able to come thru the bridge, make a short jog left, then head straight offshore. Now you have to go up the beach past the water tower before you can head out without running into the shoals. The bars inside the pass are building/changing rapidly too. I know from stuff covered when I was in school in N.C. that the islands there migrate south ... and from what I've seen here, ours do the same.
As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

[Jumperpaula 0]

The new port building and digging can't possibly be helping the stabilization of the bay OR the existing Houston Ship Channel.
Im saying that there are a lot of things going on around here that are a lot worse for the beach and Bay Area than driving on the waterfront.
I guess we haven't had a major oilspill in so long, they ran out of things to be "enviromental" about, and decided now "driving" was bad.
They really do not want to make it an easy way to enjoy Family Day on the Beach. They wanted the Port to go to Houston, they didn't care about the money, they don't care about the resort or tourist business.
Remember, Small Town, Hate City Folk and could care less if you visit or not, would rather not.
We should just annex them. (j/k) Don't even get me started on THAT issue.

Fly Your Slot !

[airann 1]

I personally am for saving all the stuff.....
especially the stuff that comes out of dog toys - I have saved enough to make a new dog bed!
No seriously, the Blue Mouse Mole has to be saved. The mother has to go to extremes here in the Houston area to nest..in suburbia. Its just plain wrong.....
Click Here to ....Save the Blue Mouse Mole!!!
Ann ~ www.AirAnn.com
Levin in RW suit.. I have pictures!!!

[Iflyme 0]

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You can drive on the beach responsibly

Drive on a beach, and you are polluting it...
"There's nothing new under the sun"

[cloudseeker2001 0]

good luck! way too much big money down in galveston who are really from houston but own the beach houses down there!
"remember when we were in africa"

[FreeflyGoat 0]

I'm for limiting car access to anything that we can. Petroleum engines polute any environment they are in. Humans think we can drive our snowmobiles through mountain habitat, our cars through beach and woodland habitat. Other things live on this earth and we must give them the room.
Galveston has been the most discusting beach I've ever been to. Trash, oil blobs, disembowled fish and sea animals. People have no respect for nature and it's particularly bad in Texas.
Goat aka Dereck aka SuperFreak
AD A#292

[Jumperpaula 0]

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Drive on a beach, and you are polluting it...

Wow. If you had ANY IDEA at all how much oil and chemicals were being shipped across the bay each day, you would realize that driving on the beach is the LEAST HARMFUL thing that happens on Galveston Island.
Fly Your Slot !