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Arizona has had many deserts closed down to OHV. Claims were dust, and damage to the desert. Later those same deserts were bulldozed and turned into shopping plazas and neighborhoods. Thanks for making this video! You Rock, I've never been to Pismo, but I hope it stays open. I always feel hopeless on these matters.

I don’t live in California but I really appreciate Revzilla’s true effort to post videos like this. Great work Rev Team!

The dunes were shut down completely during the pandemic and - surprise! The amount of dust didn’t change at all. It’s a DUNE because the onshore winds blow across the sand to make those hill-like features.

I was born and raised here. My dad built dune buggies and I have been going to the dunes since I was about 3. I no longer live there, but my family does. As much as I do not like all the traffic and tourists coming to the area, I know that the area needs it to survive. The dunes change with the wind and when it rains. I do agree that those who come to ride or camp should take care of the area, which it seems they do. Compared to the rest of the coast line of Cali, this isn't a lot. What Cali allows in some areas is far more destructive than what is going on at Oceano dunes.

No ATV's, no hunting, no fishing, no camping and on and on, what's the point of saving nature if you can't spend any time out in it?

Wow . The amount of research done and presenting both sides equally is amazing . This is how true journalism should be .

Lifelong motocross rider/racer and enthusiast from SoCal. This hits so hard, I’ve ridden there 50 times. I’m California there is nothing more endangered than ride spots. So many places I grew up riding are now housing tracks. Other spots you ride for 10 years than one day the cops decide to show up and you’re getting arrested for trespassing. And than there’s Karen’s

The Coastal Commission is a Governor appointed group of environmentalists who are not from the area. As a local who grew up going to the Oceano dunes, it’s been very disappointing seeing the fight to close them.

Great reporting! Very informative and nicely laid out both sides of the argument. I live 20 minutes form these dunes and it seems that for the most part, the people complaining about the dust are people who moved into this area, not the locals. Shoulda done their research before buying their homes here. Hope the dunes stay open for off-road riders and campers.

Coastal commission wants to stop all OHV use so later on they can allow developers to build hundreds of condos and homes in that area.

I live in this area of the central coast. Access to outdoor recreation, and a generally slower pace of life, make it unique area on the California coast. The dunes are one of these holdovers from an earlier time with less red tape and a little more freedom to explore. I expect we will lose this access, but I’ll miss it.

They did the same stunt up here in Oregon, they closed huge parts of the dunes down cause of the plovers. But, if you walk through those sections there's still no snowy plovers... it's literally all a play on emotion to sway people who don't even ride into making the decision for everyone. Also, the dunes are ALWAYS changing on their own. AND European beach grass is an invasive plant; BTW.

Snowy plover has the ENTIRE west coast as habitat. And we can't have even 5 miles. Never ending tyranny.

Their plan is to eventually close all the riding areas, one by one…

Wow what a great story and production! We need more of this for sure! Great work Jen and co.!

Kudos to the Rev production crew and staff, well done piece. It's important to bring these issues to a world wide audience.

Its nice to see such a dynamic when it comes to coverage on Rev. Its not just hooning on motorcycles, but also on the culture of riding and what surrounds it. Good work.

There’s always an alternative reason. They’ll wait 5 years and sell the land rights for house construction worth billions. Gits. Great vid Jen 👍

California lawmakers are doing such a good job managing the state this is going to be another great achievement just like opening the border and turning Los Angeles into Tijuana...I'm so impressed with the job there doing.. I've already bought a sombrero and I got a job at taco bell to fit in... now I'm going to sell my cr500

Excellent job Jen! The Coastal Commission ought to be dissolved. There’s way too much on their plate to actually properly research and make pragmatic decisions. Ask any homeowner, developer, or contractor trying to get things approved within their jurisdiction, it takes a minimum of a year. Too much power centralized in a small group. It’s like a nightmare HOA board in charge of all of CA coastal areas, ridiculous. I hope the lawsuits prevail!

rich old ladies in cali hate to see people have fun. its sad for everyone.

Another sad story of a very small number of people on a power trip & changing everyone’s way of life.

This was really well produced, edited and presented.

I live here in oceano and work out in the dunes doing rentals. I heard that they're wanting to buy a beachfront property to build hotels. That's the main reason.. the rich people line their pockets with more money

As an environmentalist, I think this is stupid. A certain caliber of miserable twits just really hate off road vehicles and others having fun in general. If you don't fit in their neat little box of bubble wrapped feelings and predictability, then look out. Any excuse to shut you down. I think most of us have crossed paths with these people a few times in our lives, especially while out for a ride. "You shouldn't do this or that!" - no, Karen. You should be quiet and mind your business before you end up with a mouthful of dirt, cause I'm gonna throw it whether you like it or not.

No matter were you are recreational vehicles are under attack

As a native Californian for many, many, decades I am surprised it has remained open this long. Used to ride our dirt bikes next to PCH, racing around the oil rigs. And ride and 4 wheel at Lake Elsinore and the desert. And ride in pie plate races in the desert. A pile of tires would be set a blaze several miles out and its a full on balls out race to the smoke. lol (yeah, not burning tires is good idea) California used to be literally amazing and the best place on the planet. Currently live in the foothills of the Sierras and some good dirt roads still abound for riding. For now...

Meanwhile in California our navy seals training beach is next to toxic waste being dumped in the ocean. But the dust and them loud motor bikes………

In Livermore California they used green sticker money to "expand" Carnegie off road area. Then claimed it needed to be A "protected area" and closed it down. (It was a old coal/brick mine area, worthless open area).

What isn’t coming to an end in California. That place is an uncontrolled spiral of government overreach and a modern example of the pitfalls of unfettered greed. Thank you for the video I love you guys.

Grew up on the central coast and the dunes are a vital part of what makes the central coast the amazing place it is. The commission has already shut down hundreds/thousands of acres of riding here and they still aren’t satisfied. We don’t have many places to ride in general and losing this area would be devastating for the community that thrives on this spot.

That's a shame, The same thing is happening in Australia with our riding areas.

The "both agencies declined to provide a comment for this story" says a lot about the people making the decisions. It's the "do as we say and shut up about it" style of governing.

I lived in Grover Beach (directly behind the dunes) there is no air quality problem that’s BS

This is a perfect example of private enterprise creating an area of leisure activity and communal gathering while also improving the environment for an endangered species versus the government pretty much ruining every single thing it touches.

Well researched and presented video. Would love to see more reporting videos like this. Great job Jen!

As someone who lived in California and now lives in Utah. It is incredibly sad to see these types of places eradicated only to be replaced decades later with housing, hotels, businesses, etc. You don't have to look much farther then Monterey/Marina or St. George/Moab to see how little these people really care about saving the environment.

The days of having fun are over

This is happening to OHV and Jeeps trails everywhere. Blue Ribbon Coalition has been fighting an almost unending battle against closures.

Remember when feinstein shutdown access because of the desert tortoises yrs ago but when a new mall was to be built she had no issues protecting the tortoise! That was awesome! People want just no fun for anyone. Where are all the orv manufacturers? They let us down all thru the years they need to step up and represent or purchase areas to be used.

What... The scolds in California are spoiling everyone's fun... Who would have thought it.

It's a never ending battle. Over this side of the pond, it's the same story.

Thanks for the info! I live in San Diego and think Off Roading and OHV parks need to remain. We lost several areas on the border due to re-development and housing tracts. Please keep us updated and I will try to help anyway I can and get the word out!

Very well done! Its sad that people want to close down the small area that allows families to pass on camping and riding on the beach in CA. Doesn't surprise me at all. We raised our kids riding there with several trips a year but now that they are older we choose to go elsewhere.

The bureaucracy and duality of California never ceases to amaze me. It’s just easy to see how environmentalism is so extreme in California, because the state also allows so much extreme environmentally negligent behavior. Like cities in desert regions steeling water from other states and countries so their lawns are green, to just going full throttle off road. It’s the state of mixed messages, bureaucracies, and contradictions.

But don't people poop on the streets there ? That's bad for the environment too

I have lived on the central coast for 31 years now,much of that on the Nipomo Mesa and as always when a beautiful undeveloped area becomes discovered development happens and that’s exactly the case here. Builders from outside of the area saw $$$$ signs , this caused two things to happen,the removal of 1000s of wind breaking eucalyptus trees then the building of well over a thousand million $ homes directly down wind of the Oceano dunes, mostly purchased by people from Orange County and the Bay Area ( they were sold a false Utopia ) after actually living here reality set in ( there’s wind and not a lot of the creature comforts they were used to). A perfect storm for what’s happening now with the dunes. I miss the central coast of 30 years ago but I understand, My wife and I are transplants ourselves but we didn’t want to change our new environment that’s why we left our old one. I don’t miss Calabasas at all.

"Despite all the evidence to the contrary, the California Coastal Commission seems unlikely to reconsider their position" Tyrants are unlikely to change their ways, listen to people, or look at the facts. For them power is more important than facts.

It's not about the environment it's about control. Always has been. Look at the entire coast riddled with expensive houses and people's trash, but the last dunes on the water are the problem?

Well researched and good evaluation of the issues. This must of taken a whole lot of time. Thank you. for doing this.

This video is amazing, the production value, the objective view, the holistic business approach from RevZilla. Apposing and understanding view points is important, don't destroy the earth and don't let bureaucrats run it.

This all started because of the building of new communities down wind and they started to complain about the dust. If the state park is a designated off highway vehicle park the costal commission should have no say on how the park is run. You also forgot to mention that a huge amount of the dunes have already been shutdown to vehicles and the park limited to 1,000 vehicles per day. It's already been shown that they are using faulty data to try to justify shutting down the only off highway costal area in all of California.

But riding unplated dirt bikes on the street & robbing stores is met with no resistance. The birds man!

Flipped my buggy here, broke my arm! Camped here, got blasted by welting onshore sand! Surfed here, got stung! Camped here, got stuck in the sand! Every adventure here, saw hundreds of the "endangered" birds! 100% of the times here, everyone has helped me out! Great town, Great people, Great times!!

Thank you for posting this video.

The wind moves more sand in a week than off road vehicles do in a year. But....demo-fornia

Enough is enough !!!! Support The Friend's of Oceano Dunes. Keep the one last right of camping/riding on the beach. What a beautiful way to spend time with family and friends. And the local businesses trive with the extra patrons. Stop going STUPID people. PLEASE

This reporting was fantastic journalism! I hope this will garner more attention to this issue.

You’re doing good work Revzilla. Keep producing videos like this to keep us informed no matter the state we live in

In Morro Bay huge snowy plover population and the City wants to build the World's Largest Battery Energy Storage System of Lithium Batteries on the ocean. Where are the environmentalists on that one and California Coastal Commission🤔

Just one of the reasons my wife and I left the "Golden" state 20 years ago. Born in San Diego in 1955, it was a great place to grow up. But it has morphed into something I no longer recognize. Great piece on this issue, Jen. As Buddhism extols, with awareness, you're halfway there.

It's surprising that off-roading there has lasted this long. In most California state parks, you aren't allowed to walk a small dog because it could cause stress to the wildlife or pollution if its waste isn't picked up.

I've been to Pismo Beach and I rented ATVs with my gf at the time and it was probably the most fun thing I've ever done. It would be a shame if people could no longer do that for obscure bureaucratic reasons. I suspect it boils down to a few rich residents complaining about the noise.

The CCC is famously, hilariously corrupt. The organization makes sense in principle (protecting the coast is good!), but in practice it is a caricature of government mismanagement. An acquaintance of mine had to work with them to renovate an old dock in Newport Beach. Approvals must go through the CCC. They sent a long list of expensive, non-negotiable requirements for the new structure, for the 'community'. At the same time the CCC offered to waive all the requirements if they received a check for $500,000 instead. It was never about the community, it was about the money. The project got canceled, and everyone loses. That's the CCC in action. ETA: I do not take the side of the developers much, and I don't care about the off road vehicles, but the CCC is a joke. There is a middle ground here that would work for more people, but you cannot expect the buffoons at the CCC to figure it out.

Welcome to Germany oh wait... Sorry about that. Over here I really have to leave my country to be allowed to have some off pavement fun. Really sucks. And our neighbours are also starting to put up more and more restrictions.

This is a wonderfully researched video and super valid assessments, but as a local born and raised in Oceano, the large tourist crowds camping on the dunes are really what’s killing it. It gets rowdy, alcohol-fueled, and a lot of people who visit don’t care about the dunes or town outside of their use of it. Limiting beach camping but not ohv use would help, bc many like myself are tired of using our days off to help clean up the beaches after busy RV weekends but still wanna take that drive down the beach too…

This was an incredible video and story! Would love to see more content like this from the Revzilla team. Excellent job of telling both sides and the truth of the matter. As a rider in MT I always want to be a steward or the land and not see the ohv community be stereotyped as a destructive group. It starts with us riders to protect these areas for future use. Bravo Jen and Revzilla!

They want to shut it to eventually build real-estate. That's the first thing that crosses my mind.

Big fan of off road access for motorcycles, dune buggies, ATVs, off road vehicles, etc. Not a big fan of the multitudes that come to such areas and leave all sorts of trash, junk, graffiti etc. To those of you who "leave no trace behind," and "pack it in, pack it out," bravo. Keep doing what you're doing. To those who don't, you're the reason these places get closed. Sure it's for the endangered X or Y but when there is cigarette butts, soda cans, plastic utensils, plastic bags, condoms, cups plates, beer cars, etc etc etc, it's just easier to close those areas off than teach you basic human decency. So, congratulations, you played yourselves.

California went from the land of recreational innovation to the land where fun is banned. As a native who left for freer conditions, especially outdoors, in 2009, I still find this sad. The California of On Any Sunday, the genesis of dirt biking's enduring popularity, is dead.

destroying the habitat? its such a small area!! wtf? The commission has way too much power...

Great presentation format, great research, great presentation from presenter. Please keep this format of video!

I used to go riding in Avery California before they built housing next to it and then closed the area. I remember some smart ass told me to "take care of our forest". ( I always came back from a ride with cigarette butts and crushed water bottles in my pocket from the hikers). As my wife said " the environmental movement is killing the environment".

Amazing work shedding light on this issue!

Yeah the birds in the air quality stuff is bull. I live out here and work out here. You see those birds running around everywhere and when the covid happened to beach was shut down for 9 months they prove that there was no difference in quality of air or sand being blown up due to riders. In fact there's actually more sand and dust blown up without us packing it down

Born and raised in San Luis Obispo County. Love riding and love the dunes. However, the reasons stated in this video for attempting to shut down the dunes although technically true, is just smoke and mirrors compared to the real reasons. It goes much deeper than this.

Having seen how fellow riders treat off road areas here in MI, it’s probably coming here as well. Have to enjoy them as much as possible before that happens.

😭 Pismo Sand Dunes are like no other OHV area in CA. Please if you are reading this think about donating to Friends Of Oceano Dunes and help save our only Sand Dune riding area for our future generations. My daughter was finally old enough to take out this past season and she had such a great time on the beach and going out with dad in the dunes. Please help save our future memories 🙏

Just another reason, why the California I grew up in is gone forever! I now live in Texas where I drive on the beach all the time.

The snowy plover strikes again. That was the excuse given for losing my local beach in Humboldt several years ago.

I really like your final thoughts. Be respectful of the places we love to travel.

Yes I’ve heard they’re supposed to close this in a few yrs.. I live about 20 minutes from the dunes and I hope they don’t close it., save Pismo dunes!!

I have only been there once. It was a blast riding ATV’s there. As a California resident and tax payer I strongly oppose closing Pismo down. Thanks for sharing this video.

I’ve lived here my whole life and ridden there many times. It’s such a great place, and should not be closed. We will all be relegated to dedicated “smaller” and more controlled areas eventually. There is, and must be a way to co-exist with nature. That balance comes in our own stewardship of our accessible public lands. Like it or not, we are all ambassadors of this thing we love so much.

If they can close the dunes for the reason of maintaining natural habitat, they can essentially do the same for all offroad locations. So if a community elsewhere decides that offroading does not fit in with their community, they can then use this case as precedent for their own.

well researched and great presentation of the story Jen 🤙🏽seems like the Park has gone above and beyond to successfully address the primary concerns for closing the dunes to off-road vehicles. the Coastal Commission ignoring data from the California Geological Survey is very close-minded. I've been going to Pismo Beach for years, and off-roading on the coastal dunes is truly a unique experience.

Ah, the NIMBY (not in my back yard) are really the driving force behind this, because it affects their property value.

For those that don't know the California coastal commission is appointed position unelected bureaucrats. They just recently denied a humongous desalination plant in Huntington Beach. If any of you know where the power plant is in Huntington that's where the desalination plant was going to be. All I can say is keep giving you money to who's ever suing the coastal commissions.

My parents already tell me there's not much to do as far as fun anymore. Now I'll have to tell my kids there's nothing to do for fun anymore.

There are groups of people that search for reasons to get their way. Endangered species, noise pollution, air pollution, habitat damage. They'll go down the list until something sticks. California is a big state, one beach here & there put aside for off-road vehicles is reasonable.

First of all, I lived in Oceano within sight of the dunes for 13 years. Weekends, the cloud of sand dust rises and at about 1pm when the on-shore kicks on full force it’s enough to leave a film of dust in my car almost a mile away. That didn’t happen during the week. Second, the plight of the Snowy Plover is a real thing and until efforts began to mitigate their decline in the 1980’s they were almost driven out of the Oceano Dunes and off the face of the earth. That is a fact I reported on for the local newspaper and it wasn’t just limited to the Oceano Dunes. It’s why some other beaches were closed…(which incidentally is not mentioned in this report.) Third, I’ve been a recreational user at the Dunes with 4x4s and paddle-tired Yamaha TT500 (a blast!) It’s not like I’m a frickin environmentalist, I LIVE here and know the impact that place has on the County as a whole. FINALLY, over the years the popularity has grown tremendously. It becomes it’s own city, much larger than Oceano itself and along with that, city problems and this is even with considerable limitations in the amount of vehicles allowed. It’s a frickin cesspool and maybe taking a five-year break (or longer) to allow nature to restore itself isn’t a bad idea.

As a resident of California for past 25 years I just want to add the Coastal Commission is one of the most powerful agencies in America. They get sued constantly by powerful interests and rarely lose. I suspect they will "win". While I do my share of California bashing it is overall a great place for motorcyclists. I ride every day in nice weather. They take care of motorcycles in the laws pretty well with the most well known being legal lane splitting. I filter pretty much every day and thankful for that.

The friends of Oceano dunes won the lawsuit and the courts deemed that the California coastal commission never had the right to close down the dunes so everything is wide open again. As I understand it.

It's a matter of time; before you see some houses getting built. They closed down many ATV areas in southern California to protect desert animals, and years later, the land that was once protected was replaced with buildings.

When you see the satellite view, the beach is just a speck of the total of the coast, the Plovers have, ALL the rest of the coasts to live in.

I moved to Pennsylvania from California in 1989 and I am so happy with the move!

I use to enjoy riding when I was a kid 40 years ago but all the restrictions and lack of areas just made it not enjoyable

I wonder if the US Supreme Ct ruling in EPA vs W Virginia will aid against the commission’s ruling? They ruled an unelected committee can’t make a ruling that affects an industry.

This battle is happening all over the US... conservation vs. preservation. Conservation says that by investing in an area we can make it available for public use/benefit without damaging it's value as a natural area/resource, Preservation says that the only way to protect an area is by kicking humans off of it (it seems founded in this odd idea that humans are not a part of the natural world). And for those who aren't offroad vehicle fans, these same things are happening to bikers, hikers and other outdoor sport fans who take advantage of public spaces. If you enjoy an outdoor activity... there's a good chance that somewhere someone is working to limit your ability to enjoy that activity in an area they have decided needs to be "preserved". In case you couldn't tell... I'm a fan of conservation. I support efforts to CONTROL access to overused spaces to keep them healthy, by limiting access if needed. (which is what I'd recommend for this beach if the claimed issues are real)... but knee-jerk preservationist behavior is not in the best interest of the public but often ALSO isn't in the best interest of the area they seek to protect.