Surfers are campaigning to preserve a world-class Mexican surf break by calculating its economic value.<\/b><\/p>\n
There\u2019s a lush arroyo in northern Baja California, Mexico, where a river meets the ocean to create a world-class wave that is prized by surfers but also threatened by development.<\/p>\n
Now surfers and conservationists in Mexico and the United States have launched a campaign to preserve San Miguel Arroyo\u2014the birthplace of Mexican surfing\u2014as the first state park in Baja California Norte.<\/p>\n
How? They\u2019re appealing to politicians\u2019 wallets rather than their hearts by placing a price tag on the wave.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s called \u201csurfonomics.\u201d It\u2019s part of a growing movement to preserve surf spots by calculating the economic value of waves. Researchers do that by tallying up the cash a break generates for a community when surfers and their families spend money on accommodations, surf schools, food, gear, and, of course, beer.<\/p>\n
\u201cCreation of the park would ensure access to the beach,\u201d said Fernando Marvan, a marine scientist and a longtime local surfer. \u201cThis is a first step in a practice that could be repeated. Between Rosarito and Tijuana, there\u2019s no public access at all. It\u2019s fences and walls everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
The wave at San Miguel has lured surfers from Southern California since the 1940s, and a vibrant surf scene produced hometown hero and national champion Ignacio Felix Cota.<\/p>\n
The San Miguel Arroyo also attracts industrial sand mining and is often used as a dumping ground for garbage. Many liken this perfect cobblestone point break to Trestles in Orange County, California, which has long been a flash point for developers and conservation-minded surfers.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom an ecological standpoint, it\u2019s one of the last fully intact watersheds around and supports lots of native and endemic plants and animals,\u201d Nik Strong-Cvetich, executive director of the nonprofit Save the Waves, said of San Miguel.<\/p>\n
Strong-Cvetich and his Northern California\u2013based group have teamed up with ProNatura, Mexico\u2019s largest conservation organization, to rally the global surf community that knows the value of the wave. Their Change.org<\/span><\/a> petition collected thousands of signatures from the U.S., the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada in its first week.<\/p>\n Surfonomics aims to pin dollar signs to the emotional attachment of a particular wave. For instance, Mavericks, the big-wave destination near Half Moon Bay, California, is worth $24 million annually, according to a 2010 Save the Waves report produced in partnership with Stanford University, the University of Oregon, and the University of Hawaii.<\/p>\n Save the Waves is now collecting data that the group hopes will show local decision makers the economic value of keeping San Miguel intact.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve seen some rough numbers,\u201d said Strong-Cvetich. \u201cPeople spend significantly on tolls, gas, food, and places to stay, and people locally will spend money on surf schools. In a similar study we did in Pichilemu, Chile, we found traveling surfers spend around $160 every day, and that\u2019s conservative.\u201d<\/p>\n Gustavo Danemann, executive director of ProNatura Northwest, said that locals have clamored for protection of San Miguel for more than a decade.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a critical site for the retention of freshwater that feeds 500 wells in the area,\u201d he said. \u201cEnsenada has a deficit of green space. If it is not protected, this arroyo will follow the same path as all the other streams up and down the coast\u2014it will be overused, degraded, sand mined, and surrounded by buildings.\u201d<\/p>\n