Show Notes
Despite federal environmental rollbacks and budget cuts to NOAA and EPA, the Surfrider Foundation secured more than 40 coastal victories in 2025 — proving that grassroots activism and community-level action can still deliver real results for ocean protection. CEO Dr. Chad Nelsen and senior staff Emma Haydocy and Miho Ligare reflect on groundbreaking wins, including the completion of the 30-year Surfers Point coastal adaptation project and the Climate Action Program's restoration of 20+ acres of coastal habitat with the help of over 2,000 volunteers. The team also shares how Ocean Friendly Restaurants served 42 million single-use plastic-free meals, and Surfrider brought the plastics crisis to international negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland. But 2026 brings urgent new threats. The Trump administration is proposing to open the coasts of California, Florida, and Alaska to new offshore drilling — sparking bipartisan opposition from coastal communities across the country. With federal protections crumbling and a January 23, 2026, public comment deadline looming, this episode breaks down what's at stake and how you can take action at surfrider.org. Whether you're concerned about beach erosion, plastic pollution, water quality, or climate change impacts on your favorite coastline, discover how Surfrider's network of volunteers, chapters, and policy experts is protecting the beaches you love — and how you can join the movement.
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More from The Surfrider Podcast
Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert joins Surfrider CEO Dr. Chad Nelsen to confront the federal government's push to expand offshore oil drilling off California, Florida, and Alaska. As the new five-year offshore leasing plan takes shape, they cut through the "energy emergency" narrative, explain why more domestic drilling won't lower prices at the pump, and trace the real cost of oil spills — from Santa Barbara and Refugio to Huntington Beach and Deepwater Horizon — for the coastal communities and taxpayers left paying for them. Ryan shares how Patagonia evolved from funding grassroots groups to suing a sitting president over Bears Ears National Monument, and why he believes outdoor recreation business leaders can't stay silent. Chad breaks down the Coastal Zone Management Act, the battle with Sable in Santa Barbara, and the recent Endangered Species Act rollback. Plus: why paddle outs and community advocacy still move decision-makers, and how you can get involved and take action with Surfrider.
In 2005, a proposed six-lane toll road threatened to pave through and destroy San Onofre State Beach and its world-famous break, Trestles. This episode reveals how the Save San Onofre Coalition, Surfrider Foundation, and the Acjachemen Nation joined forces to stop it — protecting a coastline shaped by nearly 10,000 years of Indigenous history. Host David Scales talks with Surfrider's Coastal Adaptation Manager Alex Ferron Mignogna, Acjachemen Nation Tribal Chairman Nathan Banda, and longtime California State Parks lifeguard Steve Long about how a grassroots coalition took on a multi-billion-dollar highway project — and won. But saving Trestles from asphalt didn't end the fight. Today, San Onofre faces chronic coastal erosion, a forecast "Super Niño" winter, and the countdown to the 2028 LA Olympics, where Lower Trestles will host the world's best surfers on a global stage. This episode explores Surfrider's nature-based solutions for coastal resilience and what's at stake for public beach access and tribal cultural resources, and how you can help protect Trestles for generations to come.
A "Super El Niño" is building in the Pacific, and forecasters warn the 2026–27 winter could bring some of California's most powerful storms, highest seas, and worst coastal erosion in decades. But the greater long-term threat isn't the waves — it's how we respond to them. Surfrider CEO Dr. Chad Nelsen and Dr. Charles Lester, director of UC Santa Barbara's Ocean and Coastal Policy Center, unpack what makes this El Niño so strong, and what back-to-back storms could mean for a coast where up to 70% of beaches are at risk of disappearing by 2100.
In this episode, join the Surfrider Foundation's Healthy Beaches Program Manager Jenny Harrah and Plastic Pollution Initiative Sr. Manager Miho Ligare as they break down the data behind the organization's 40-year beach cleanup program — including the 2025 Beach Cleanup Report, which tracked the efforts of 34,000 volunteers at over 1,000 cleanups to remove 340,000 pounds of trash from beaches across the U.S. This conversation explores why plastic pollution accounts for 85% of what's collected, why cigarette butts remain the #1 item found nationwide, and how Surfrider's volunteer-collected data, powered by the Better Beach Alliance, is used to drive meaningful change in environmental policy and legislation. Plus, learn how anyone can host their own beach cleanup, even without a local Surfrider chapter nearby. Visit https://www.surfrider.org/pages/beach... to learn more and get involved now!
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