NAC ACTION ALERT, NOVEMBER 23, 2010

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                     NATURIST ACTION COMMITTEE
                           ACTION ALERT
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                   http://www.naturistaction.org
**********************************************************************Copyright 2010 by the Naturist Action Committee, which is responsible for its content. Permission is granted for the posting, forwarding or redistribution of this message, provided that it is reproduced in its entirety and without alteration.
DATE: November 23, 2010
SUBJECT: California
TO: Naturists and other concerned citizens

Dear Naturist,
This is an Action Alert from the Naturist Action Committee. NAC is asking for your immediate involvement in an effort to have the State of California create officially designated areas for clothing-optional recreation in state parks.
CALIFORNIA STATE PARK AND RECREATION COMMISSIONThe California State Park and Recreation Commission is NOT the same thing as the State Parks and Recreation Department. The Commission has specific authorities and responsibilities which are defined in California law. Those include the approval of general plans for units of the State Park System, classifying units of the System, establishing general policies for the guidance of the Director of State Parks in the administration, protection and development of the System, and recommending to the Director a comprehensive recreation policy for the state.

As allowed by law, NAC and its allies have submitted a petition asking that portions of specified state parks be set aside for clothing-optional recreation. The State Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) has simply ignored the properly submitted petition.
Meanwhile, since DPR has chosen to make selective termination of the longstanding Cahill Policy, there is presently no statewide or comprehensive policy that addresses the responsible nude use of portions of state park units.

NAC is looking for the State Park bureaucracy to assert some leadership. The Commission has the authority and the responsibility to establish general policy and to recommend policy to DPR, and that’s what NAC is seeking.
ACTION 1: ATTEND COMMISSION’S PUBLIC MEETING ON DECEMBER 10 If you’re in the southern California area, NAC requests that you attend a public meeting of the State Park and Recreation Commission that is scheduled to be held in San Diego on Friday, December 10, 2010.

  DATE: Friday, December 10, 2010
  TIME: 9:00 a.m.
  LOCATION:
  Old Town Theatre
  4040 Twiggs Street
  Old Town San Diego State Historic Park
  San Diego, California

Members of the public will have the opportunity to give brief statements. But whether you speak or not, your presence is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT to lend support to the message of naturists.

We seek the setting aside of areas for clothing-optional recreation in State Park units.

There are few items on the December 10 meeting agenda, and the meeting is likely to move quickly. Please plan to be at the the Old Town Theatre no later than a half hour before the meeting starts.

If you’re planning to attend the meeting, please contact:
  NAC board member Allen Baylis
  rab@baylislaw.com
  (714) 962-0915

or NAC executive director Bob Morton
  execdir@naturistaction.org
  (512) 282-6621
ACTION 2: WRITE TO THE COMMISSIONIf you’re unable to attend the meeting, you can still help. NAC asks that you write to the Commission. Send your comments by e-mail, fax or surface mail. Those who will be at the meeting on December 10 are also encouraged to write.
WHO SHOULD WRITE?
NAC is requesting ALL NATURISTS and other concerned individuals to contact California officials on this important matter, regardless of your place of residence. California understands the importance of out-of-state visitors who come to enjoy the state’s beaches, lakes and streams. The opportunity to provide diverse recreational opportunities applies to those visitors, as well as to California residents. While all are encouraged to make their voices heard, the participation of Californians is, of course, particularly important.

Send a letter, a fax or an e-mail. Phone calls will likely be ineffective in this specific context.

     California State Park & Recreation Commission
     P.O. Box 942896
     Sacramento, CA 94296
     FAX: (916) 654-6374
     Louis Nastro, Assistant to the Commission
     E-MAIL: LNastro@parks.ca.gov
Send a copy to:

     California Department of Natural Resources 
     Natural Resources Agency
     1416 Ninth Street, Suite 1311
     Sacramento, CA 95814
     FAX: (916) 653-8102
     E-MAIL: secretary@resources.ca.gov
NAC encourages you to send copies of your faxes and paper mail to:
      NAC, P.O. Box 132, Oshkosh, WI 54903.
Send copies of your e-mails to:
      CA@naturistaction.org

WHAT SHOULD YOU SAY?
When you write:

   a) Be polite.

   b) Be known. Give your name and address. If you are a California resident or a frequent visitor to California, be sure to point that out. Anonymous letters have very little impact.

   c) Be focused. Keep your correspondence brief and on target.

   d) Be positive. Remember that we’re trying to ENCOURAGE the Parks Department to do something. Please do not take a scolding tone.

   e) Be clear. Say that you SUPPORT the petition asking for designation of clothing-optional areas in units of the State Park System.

Additional writing points:

   a) This is NOT just about San Onofre State Beach. Although that beach was the first State Park unit at which DPR has killed its policy for managing clothing-optional recreation, it will not be the last. The present lack of a comprehensive statewide policy threatens ALL clothing-optional areas in California State Park units. Consider the implications for Black’s (Torrey Pines), Gaviota, Bonny Doon and many others.

   b) For thirty years, the Department’s Cahill Policy allowed a means to manage for clothing-optional recreation in units of the State Park system. The nullification of the Cahill Policy has left the department with no statewide policy to address a form of recreation that’s obviously popular with the public. The submitted petition proposes a specific way to address the management of clothing-optional recreation.

   c) Officials of the Parks and Rec Department have pointed to lewd behavior as a reason for prohibiting nudity. In doing so, they have confused simple nudity with lewd behavior. Rangers presently have the authority and responsibility to stop lewd activity, and naturists encourage them to exercise that responsibility appropriately. However, that specific authority is separate and different from the legal authority the Parks Department has to establish areas for clothing-optional recreation.
MORE INFORMATION AND RESOURCES
Additional information and links are available, along with this NAC Action Alert on the web site of the Naturist Action Committee.

   www.naturistaction.org

Select "Alerts" and find this NAC Action Alert under Current Alerts.
PLEASE HELP NAC TO CONTINUE HELPING NATURISTS!
The Naturist Action Committee is the volunteer nonprofit political adjunct to The Naturist Society. NAC exists to advance and protect the rights and interests of naturists throughout North America. Fighting for the clothing-optional recreational use of public land is expensive. To do its job, NAC relies entirely on the voluntary generosity of supporters like you.

After you've contacted the officials on the list, please take a moment to send a donation to:

   NAC
   PO Box 132
   Oshkosh, WI 54903
Or call toll free (800) 886-7230 to donate by phone using your MasterCard, Visa or Discover Card. Or use your credit card to make a convenient online donation: www.naturistaction.org/donate/
Thank you for choosing to make a difference!

Naturally,

Allen Baylis
Director
Naturist Action Committee
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Naturist Action Committee (NAC) - PO Box 132, Oshkosh, WI 54903
Executive Dir. Bob Morton       - execdir@naturistaction.org
Board Member Allen Baylis      - rab@baylislaw.com
Online Rep. Dennis Kirkpatrick  - naturist@sunclad.com
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