friend to friend
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FROM TRESTLES TO SADDLEBACK—PROTECT OUR COMMUNITY—stop the toll road south
e a r i
A Project of Sierra Club
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p e a l e d …
ap n n o u n c
d ate a l y 2 5th
a y , J u
Fri d
Earlier this year Sierra Club, Surfrider
and environmental groups from
all over the state won a decisive
victory at the California Coastal
Commission hearing in Del Mar, CA.
Over 3,000 surfers, campers, hikers, bikers
and environmentalists came out to urge the
Coastal Commission to save California’s
fifth most popular state park. In an 8-2 vote
the Coastal Commission voted to uphold
the Coastal Act and keep a six-lane pay-to-drive road out of San
Onofre State Beach.
However, the Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA)
have appealed, asking the Federal Government to overturn
the Commission's decision. The United States Secretary of
Commerce, Carlos Gutierrez, will oversee the appeal. In a
shocking testament to TCA’s consistent and repeated failure
to address the public’s concerns regarding this toll road, they
have urged the Department of Commerce to deny the public
an opportunity to participate in a hearing on the appeal. But
Secretary Gutierrez has announced he will allow and host a
public hearing in Southern California on Friday, July 25th at
the UCI Bren Center in Irvine CA.
We need to keep the pressure on the Bush Administration.
We all know what our reasons for stopping the toll road are,
but the TCA is changing their strategy in
their appeal to the federal government.
First they claimed their road would
relieve congestion on I-5 and now they
are saying it's a matter of national
security! Thanks to all of you who have
written Secretary Gutierrez urging him
to grant a Federal Hearing in Southern
California.
We need to turn out at least as many
people at this Federal Hearing as we did
at the Coastal Commission hearing in Del
Mar earlier this year. If we don’t we could
lose nearly 60% of the park, including the
San Mateo Campground, and destroy the last pristine watershed
in Southern California and one of the greatest surf breaks in
Northern America. Also at stake is a Native American Sacred Site
and the Donna O’Neill Land Conservancy.
There is no time to lose! Sierra Club’s Friends of the Foothills
Campaign is gearing up for a busy summer. In continuation of our
efforts to save Trestles, the San Mateo Campground and San
Onofre State Beach from a destructive toll road, we are taking
our fight to Washington D.C.! Help spread the word about the
upcoming hearing to people who we know care about San Onofre
State Beach. To learn how you can help contact Robin Everett at
robin.everett@sierraclub.org or call 949-361-7534.
Mark your calendar
for Friday, July 25th to attend
the most important hearing the toll road
fight has faced yet—it can seal the fate of our
fight to STOP the Foothill-South Toll Road.
 In a time of declining ridership
and revenue, why is the TCA
looking to take on more debt?

w ith gas prices at well over four dollars a gallon, Orange

County toll roads are feeling the pinch. A recent Los Angeles Times
article reported that ridership on the 241 toll road is down 4%
and if the trend continues the Transportation Corridor Agencies
(TCA) will miss their projected budget by 8%. The declines have
been attributed to higher gas prices and the economic downturn.
That leaves many of us saying, “In a time of declining ridership
and revenue, why is the TCA looking to take on more debt?” The
Foothill-South Toll Road would cost an estimated $1.3 billion
that is almost a 50% increase from the originally proposed
figure of $875 million. On top of that, the TCA is seeking over
a billion dollars in federal loans to help facilitate its merger of the
241 and 73 toll roads.
With the proposed toll road extension prices escalating
and revenue plummeting why is the TCA and Orange County
Transportation Authority (OCTA) pushing forward with an out-of-
date, 20th century, supposed traffic solution?
In a recent traffic study done by the OCTA, transportation
plans proposed to address traffic problems 20 years in the future
still contain the Foothill-South Toll Road, and the OCTA board
refuses to look at alternatives that consider a future without the
toll road extension. In fact, OCTA is even considering subsidizing
the toll roads with what they call a “shadow toll” in order to get more
people on the toll roads. Shadows tolls would take funds from other
sources to subsidize the true price a driver would pay on the toll road.
Where will the funds come from to lower the toll road rates? OCTA
does not know, but you can bet it will come from our pockets not the
TCA’s!
If the TCA cannot meet their budget when gas is $4 a gallon,
what will they do when it is $8 a gallon? Now is the time to get real,
and start facing Orange County's traffic problems realistically, and
stop burying our heads in the sand.

Fish and Wildlife Service grants permits to TCA

i n the last two weeks the Transportation Corridor Agencies
(TCA) received two permits from the Fish and Wildlife
major adverse impacts. Indeed, they recommend that the TCA find
alternative alignments outside of San Onofre State Beach.
Service and the Department of Fish and Game. Once again In the end, though, we know this fight is about not only
the agencies charged to protect our environment have refused to the pocket mouse, the arroyo toad and the steelhead trout; it
acknowledge the effects that out-of-control is about the endangered species of hikers,
development and infrastructure projects campers, and surfers! 2.5 million people
we know this fight is visit San Onofre State Beach every year,
have upon our fragile environment.
Through the years the Fish and Wildlife about not only the pocket and it is one of the few places left were
Service has repeatedly failed to properly mouse, the arroyo toad working families can affordably vacation on
determine when a species is in trouble, California's coastline. This fight is about
and the steelhead trout; endangered species, yes, but it is also
and has been corrected by the courts, most
recently in the Delta Smelt Case. it is about the endan- about the San Mateo Campground, the
We disagree with many of the findings gered species of hikers, pristine San Mateo Watershed, the world-
in the Fish and Wildlife Service's biological famous Trestles Beach, the Donna O'Neill
campers, and surfers!
opinion regarding the impact the Foothill- Land Conservancy, and the Sacred Site of
South Toll Road would have on threatened Panhe.
and endangered species. Though the opinions of these agencies do not affect the Coastal
The Fish and Wildlife Service itself admits, even if all Commission decision it does highlight the importance of making
these species are not pushed to extinction, there are still our voice heard at the Commerce hearing this summer!
 California Leaders Urge U.S. Commerce
Department to Uphold Coastal Act

to
s f r o m a letter
Excerpt e Secreta
ry
m m e r c
U.S. Co Califor
nia
z f r o m
Gutierre Bill Lo
ckyer:
s u r e r ,
rea
State T

“My public record makes clear I do not oppose California's growth. As a State Treasurer and as a Californian who loves my state, I
understand the importance of finding an appropriate balance between the competing demands of providing an infrastructure that meets
the needs of our growing state and protecting the natural resources we cherish. The TCA proposal, however, does not balance these
competing interests. It simply paves over one interest to satisfy the other.”

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ta
rtification, the over
consistency ce e public. Your Coastal Act.”
ject the TCA’s onsibility to th the California
“In voting to re ex ec ut ed its le ga l re sp
ag em en t A ct an d a local
Congress and fa
ithfu lly
e Fe de ra l C oa stal Zone M an
rn ia pa rk la nd s were taken by
spirit of both th that Califo vation and
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and constructed would mock th
oj ec t w er e to be approved e pr oj ec t. Su ch an intrusion
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entity for a maj .” tional security.
governmental rn ia ’s pu blic park system ll R oa d is required by na ine Corps
derlying C al ifo d that the To important Mar
stewardship un on ’s de ci si on would be to fin ro ug h C am p Pendleton, the
missi ilding a highw
ay th them.
erriding the Com an to promote
ly re m ai ni ng basis for ov na l se cu rit y need. Indeed, bu rit y an d m ili tary training th
…the on such a na tio eland se cu
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f r om a le
tter to
s of the United States
Exce r p t s
m m e r ce Secr avis,
etary
Congres
hington, DC 20515
U.S. C o san D
ie r r e z from Su ess; W as
Gut of Cong
r
,
Member , U . S . Senator
Bo x e r ess. ancy…
Barbara m b e r s o f Congr your decision…Al
ternatives…Consist
e r m e are req uir ed to ba se
and 26 o
th teria on which you
tisfy any of the cri
the TCA can sa
“We do not believe nal security. Howe
ver,
National Security…
”
ission's decision on the basis or natio diness.”
tal Comm litary rea
the California Coas at we know about mi
s already aske d you to act to override
of this toll road is inconsistent with wh
“The TCA ha proved by virtue
tional security is im
the assertion that na

To read the letters in entirety, please visit http://taskforce.sierraclub.org/friendsofthefoothills/

“On Friday, July 25th, show the U.S. Commerce
Department we don't want the toll Road!”
by steve netherby
i f you missed the February 6th Coastal Commission toll road
hearing at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, someone surely told you,
“You shoulda been there!”
More than 3,000 of us packed the hall, along with bus
loads of orange-shirted union pro-roaders and tailored toll road
execs. Signs, surfboards, and shirts read, “Arnold Don’t Surf,”
“Terminate the Toll Road,” and “Save the Park, Stop the Toll
Road.” One girl was dressed as an endangered tidewater goby;
another came as Sally the Steelhead.
Moms and dads with kids came to save San Onofre State
Park, Trestles, and the Donna O’Neill Land Conservancy. Adults
skipped work, kids skipped school and surfers skipped the beach
to participate.
The Commissioners’ eight-to-two vote against the toll
road signaled one of the great environmental victories in recent California history. Cheers rose, tears flowed, smiles and hugs
abounded. It was a sweet end to a banner day for the democratic process.
However, this important victory is now in jeopardy. On Friday, July 25th at the UCI Bren Center in Irvine C.A., the Secretary
of Commerce will hold a hearing to decide whether to uphold or overturn the Coastal Commission’s historic decision. We need to
show the Secretary of Commerce that our park and beach is too precious to lose for a pay-to-drive road. If you missed the last hearing or
simply want to relive the excitement all over again, please attend the upcoming Commerce Department hearing and help drive the
final nail into the Foothill-South coffin.

www.friendsofthefoothills.org
San Clemente, California 92674
P.O. Box 3942

A Project of Sierra Club

stop the toll road south
—PROTECT OUR COMMUNITY—
FROM TRESTLES TO SADDLEBACK

ly 2 5 t h
Ju nounced…
t e a n r i n g
Permit No. 50
da a l h e a
Walnut, CA
PAID p e
by U.S. Secretary
ap of Commerce
U.S. Postage
PRSRT STD TCA's Appeal hearing is granted
hikes
join us for a scenic hike and see for yourself
what is threatened by the toll road
Saturday, July 26
Sierra Sage/Friends of the Foothills
trestles beach
Enjoy this walk to the famous surfing beach at Trestles and the
extensive wetlands area through which San Mateo Creek flows.
We will discuss the ecological importance of the surrounding area
and the damage that the proposed Foothill-South Toll Road would
do to the state beach. Meet 8:30 am Trestles Surfers’ parking lot.
3 mi rt., 100’ gain. Bring water. Rain cancels. Leader: Robin
Everett, Assistant: Paul Carlton.
Saturday, August 17
Sierra Sage/Friends of the Foothills
trestles beach
Enjoy this walk to the famous surfing beach at Trestles and the
extensive wetlands area through which San Mateo Creek flows.
We will discuss the ecological importance of the surrounding area
and the damage that the proposed Foothill-South Toll Road would
do to the state beach. Meet 8:30 am Trestles Surfers’ parking lot.
3 mi rt., 100’ gain. Bring water. Rain cancels. Leader: Robin
Everett, Assistant: Duana Miller.
South Orange County (SOC) hikes rideshare meeting point:
Ortega Business Center parking lot, Southeast corner, at the
intersection of Ortega Highway and Rancho Viejo Road
in San Juan Capistrano.
Important Information for all hikes:
Always bring water; sturdy, comfortable shoes;
and a hat. Wear sunscreen. Rain Cancels.
For more information or directions call Robin Everett at robin.everett@sierraclub.org or call (949) 361-7534
Saturday, September 13
Sierra Sage/Friends of the Foothills
trestles beach
Enjoy this walk to the famous surfing beach at Trestles and the
extensive wetlands area through which San Mateo Creek flows.
We will discuss the ecological importance of the surrounding area
and the damage that the proposed Foothill-South Toll Road would
do to the state beach. Meet 8:30 am Trestles Surfers’ parking lot.
3 mi rt., 100’ gain. Bring water. Rain cancels. Leader: Robin
Everett, Assistant: Duana Miller.
Saturday, October 18
Sierra Sage/Friends of the Foothills/INNER CITY OUTINGS
donna o’neill land conservancy
Enjoy the beautiful natural scenery on this slow-paced nearly level
walk. We will discuss the ecological importance of the DOLC and
the surrounding area and the damage the Foothill-South Toll Road
would bring to the Conservancy and watershed. Meet at 8:30 am
at the SOC rideshare pt. (Ortega Business Center, on Ortega Hwy.,
2 blks. E of I-5). Conservancy donation of $10 to support the work
of the DOLC is appreciated. 3 mi. rt. Bring water. Rain cancels.
Leader: Robin Everett, Assistant: Paul Carlton.
 get involved–
volunteer!
Help Sierra Club’s Friends of the Foothills protect San Onofre State Beach, San Mateo
Campground and the world-famous Trestles Beach from the destructive Foothill-South
Toll Road. By donating as little as a couple hours a month you can really make a
difference! Our volunteers often tell us that they enjoy meeting new people and doing
something positive for their community.

To find out more about volunteer opportunities contact Sierra Club Friends of the
Foothills campaign organizer Robin Everett at robin.everett@sierraclub.org or call
949-361-7534.

We have a variety of committees that need your help:

•T abling Committee: We set up informational tables at Trestles Beach and local
fairs, festivals, and surf contests. By donating just a couple hours you can help us
spread the word of the upcoming Commerce hearing.
• Events Committee: Work with others to help organize our events and make
sure they run smoothly.
• Newsletter Committee: Write articles for our campaign newsletter, donate
photographs or original art.
• Website Committee: Help us keep our Friends of the Foothills website up-to-
date and accurate.
• Hikes Committee: Have an idea for a local hike or other outdoor activity to
help the public learn about our great wild places? Want to train to be a docent? Want
to become a trained hike leader? Our experienced Sierra Club volunteers can help
you make it a reality.
• Public Officials Liaison Committee: Join other local residents and learn
how to meet and talk with public officials about the critical issues confronting our
area.
• Publicity Committee: Help publicize Friends of the Foothills and Sierra Club
events.
• Speakers Bureau: We need speakers to address community groups about the
challenges and opportunities Orange County confronts in protecting its environment
and quality of life.