NAC Action Alert - Calfornia

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            NATURIST ACTION COMMITTEE
                ACTION ALERT
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            http://www.naturistaction.org
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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   : July 21, 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 help in an effort to have the State of California create official designations of areas for clothing-optional recreation in state parks.

Under existing regulations (California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Section 4322), the California Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) already has the authority to designate clothing-optional areas in units of the State Parks system. Through a petition that has been delivered to the Parks Department, the Naturist Action Committee has formally and specifically requested the Parks Department to make the designations it is presently allowed, by law, to make.

WHO SIGNED THE PETITION?

NAC invited California naturist and nudist clubs, groups and organizations to sign. The following sixteen signatories appear on the petition:

Naturist Action Committee
Friends of San Onofre Beach
BeachFront U.S.A
Black's Beach Bares
Friends of Gaviota
San Diego Camping Bares
Bay Area Naturists
Clothes Free International
Southern California Naturist Association
Whales Cave Conservancy
Naturists in the OC
Laguna del Sol
Nude Beach Alliance
Living Waters Spa
Naked Volleyball
Central Coast Naturists

Responding here to an anticipated question, NAC points out that it asked both the American Association for Nude Recreation and AANR-West to sign the petition for designation of appropriate areas for clothing-optional recreation in California State Parks. AANR and AANR-West each declined to sign.

IMPORTANT NEXT STEP:
NAC ASKS YOU TO WRITE IN SUPPORT OF THE PETITION

NAC urgently requests that you contact the Director of CA Parks and other important California State officials to express your vigorous support for the petition they have in their hands.

So that your contacts will have the greatest effect, please first take a couple of moments to learn about this situation.

WHAT DOES THE PETITION SAY?

The petition reminds the California Department of Parks and Recreation of its existing authority to set aside areas in State Park units for nude recreation. Using the Department's own documents and publications to justify the request, NAC and its partners call attention to the fact that the published mission of the California Department of Parks and Recreation includes "creating opportunities for high-quality outdoor recreation."

NAC augmented the submitted petition with exhibits, including a California-specific public opinion poll published just last year. The Naturist Education Foundation commissioned an independent polling organization to conduct the 2009 NEF California Poll. In that statistically significant survey:

79 percent of Californians AGREED that "people should be able to enjoy nude sunbathing on a beach or other location that is designated for that purpose"

70 percent AGREED that "areas should be set aside for people who enjoy clothing-optional recreation such as nude sunbathing and swimming"

62 percent AGREED that "the California Department of Parks and Recreation should exercise the legal authority it has to designate clothing-optional areas in state parks?"

For the complete text of the petition and details of the publications, documents and public opinion polls that make up the impressive list of exhibits, go to:  http://www.naturistaction.org/ca.petition

WHAT IS NAC ASKING YOU TO DO?

The Naturist Action Committee is asking you to write to California officials, expressing your SUPPORT for the petition presented by the Naturist Action Committee and its partners. In this instance, we need WRITTEN contacts (paper letters, faxes, e-mails). See the contact list, below.

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 Department of Parks and Recreation
  attention: Director Ruth Coleman
  1416 Ninth Street,
  Sacramento, CA 95816
  E-MAIL: director@parks.ca.gov

  Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
  State Capitol Building
  Sacramento, CA 95814
  FAX: 916-558-3160 (new number)
  WEB-BASED E-MAIL: http://gov.ca.gov/interact

  California State Park & Recreation Commission
  P.O. Box 942896
  Sacramento, CA 94296-0001
  Louis Nastro, Assistant to the Commission
  E-MAIL: LNastro@parks.ca.gov

  California Roundtable on Recreation, Parks and Tourism
  P.O. Box 942896
  Sacramento, CA 94296
  Nina Gordon, Chair
  E-MAIL: ngordon@parks.ca.gov

  California State Parks Foundation
  Northern California, Headquarters
  50 Francisco Street, Suite 110
  San Francisco, CA  94133
  FAX: 415-772-8969
  Elizabeth Goldstein, President
  E-MAIL: elizabeth@calparks.org

  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

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.

A couple of additional writing points:

  a) 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.

  b) Rangers and park managers must NOT confuse simple nudity
     with lewd behavior.
     Rangers presently have the authority to stop lewd activity,
     and that authority is separate and different from the 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.

  http://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: http://www.naturistaction.org/donate/

Thank you for choosing to make a difference!

Naturally,

Bob Morton
Executive 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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