Earlier this month, Surfrider joined local leaders and coastal advocates in Dana Point to launch a new billboard campaign urging members of the community to tell Congress: no new offshore drilling off the California coast.
The event, held at the corner of Doheny Park Road and Victoria Boulevard, brought together Surfrider CEO Chad Nelsen, BAPPC founding member Grant Bixby, and Shannon Wingfield, Tribal Secretary, Juaneño Band of Mission Indians of the Acjachemen Nation, to highlight what’s at stake for California’s coast—and what Californians can do about it.
Grant Bixby, Chad Nelsen, and Shannon Wingfield at the Dana Point event.
For Wingfield, protecting the ocean is about more than protecting a beautiful coastline.
“This is not scenery to us. This is family, this is memory, this is the crux of who we are. We are the ocean people. So when we say Drilling is Killing, we are not speaking in a metaphor. We are speaking from experience. Every oil spill, every leaking pipeline, every drop of crude that has ever touched this coast has touched us first because our identity as a Acjachemen people is inseparable from a healthy ocean,” Wingfield said.
The Dana Point billboard is one of seven running across Southern California through the end of September, part of a broader campaign designed to make the threat of offshore oil drilling impossible to ignore.
Whether Californians encounter the campaign on the road, at the coast, or on their phones, they’ll see the same message: TELL CONGRESS NO OIL DRILLING OFF OUR COAST.
Surfrider Billboard, seen in Anaheim.
The campaign comes as the federal government prepares a new five-year offshore oil and gas leasing plan that includes California. For Grant Bixby, whose business was directly affected by the 2021 Orange County oil spill, Californians already know what is at stake.
“We know from experience that when we drill, we spill,” Bixby said. “Today, we are on the cusp of the federal government releasing a new five-year offshore drilling plan with all of California in the crosshairs. They are attacking our state’s ability to manage our own coastline, ignoring our state laws, the will of the people, and destroying states’ rights and local control.”
Grant Bixby, speaking in front of the Dana Point billboard.
The consequences extend beyond the immediate risks of spills and pollution. California’s clean and accessible coastline supports businesses, jobs, recreation, tourism, fisheries, and communities up and down the state.
“Offshore oil is bad for business, and it’s a terrible business plan for California,” Bixby said. “People from all parts of our beautiful state, throughout the country, and all over the world come to California to experience our scenic, abundant, clean, and open coastline. So no more spills. No more killing of marine life. No more closures of our beaches, harbors, and fisheries. Let’s keep California open for business.”
The campaign’s message is simple: Congress has the power to stand up for California’s coast and oppose new offshore oil and gas leasing. As the federal government considers opening California’s coast to new drilling, Californians have an opportunity to make clear that our ocean and coastal communities are not for sale.
With this campaign, Surfrider is making sure that decision makers hear it directly from the Southern California communities they represent. To urge your congressional representatives to oppose offshore drilling, please complete Surfrider’s action alert today.
No new offshore drilling off California’s coast.
As the California Offshore Drilling Campaign Manager, Matt leads Surfrider's campaign to prevent new offshore drilling along California's coast. He works across the federal and state policy landscape to advance science-based policies and strategic advocacy efforts that protect the Golden State's shoreline and ocean.