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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Calif. Fisherman Wins Ruling on Beach Access

(CN) - A commercial surf fisherman can drive to a beach in northwest California without asking the National Park Service for permission, a California appeals court ruled.

Commercial surf fishing requires off-road vehicle access and a special permit.

Edward Salsedo sued the California Department of Parks and Recreation for the reissue of a permit for vehicle access to Gold Bluffs Beach after his original permit was revoked.

Because the beach is part of the Redwood National and State Parks, the department claimed that it could not issue the permit without involving its partner, the National Park Service.

The trial court ruled that the state park service had the authority to issue the permit on its own, and the 1st District Court of Appeals in San Francisco agreed.

"Although the state and federal agencies had been acting in unison," Justice Pollak wrote, "the underpinnings of the relationship between the two agencies do not support the view that ultimate authority over the management of the state parks has been relinquished by the state."

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