A Toast to Victory for Rare Toads

If you like surfing this is good news to you too.

Defenders’ California members and activists had good reason to break out the bubbly this past New Year’s Eve, after an appeal for a proposal to cut a massive six-lane highway through the sensitive San Onofre State Beach was finally shot down in December by the U.S. Department of Commerce.Nearly 50 Defenders members and activists turned out to a California Coastal Commission hearing in February 2008 to voice their concerns over the 16-mile long toll road that would have closed about 60 percent of the park. The San Onofre State Beach, a scenic surf spot just north of San Diego, boasts one of the largest intact coastal sage scrub habitats left in the Golden State. The sage scrub habitat and coastal waters provide a home to many imperiled and endangered species, such as arroyo toads, the Pacific pocket mouse and southern steelhead trout.So here’s a toast to the Defenders members, activists and staff for their tireless efforts to block the San Onofre toll road: Cheers!