Kelly Slater Meets FLA Governor

FLORIDA GOVERNOR PRESENTS KELLY SLATER WITH CRUCIAL BEACH PROTECTION BILL




On Tuesday, Florida Governor Charlie Crist presented a signed copy of Senate Bill 1472 to eight-time world surfing champion Kelly Slater. The presentation took place at an event celebrating Slater's appointment to the Governor's Council for Physical Fitness.

Senate Bill 1472 works to preserve the public's right to access the beach and protect beach users and sea turtles from an experimental form of coastal armoring. Thanks in part to a statewide lobbying campaign undertaken by Surfrider Foundation's Florida chapters, the bill recently received unanimous passage through both the Florida House and Senate.

"Here in Florida, Surfrider Foundation has been extending itself beyond the surf community," said Kelly Slater. "They're not only looking out for the concerns of surfers but everyone that enjoys the ocean."

The Surfrider Foundation has over 3000 members and 11 Chapters in Florida. Their combined activism was instrumental not only in passage of Senate Bill 1472 but the inclusion of an ‘Open Beaches Amendment' to the legislation. Surfrider activists throughout Florida communicated with their elected representatives the critical need for beach access protection in the nation's 4th most populous state. A contingent of highly dedicated volunteers even took a day from work to travel hundreds of miles to Florida's Capitol in Tallahassee to meet with legislators the day the bill was voted upon.

"This is a landmark piece of legislation," said Ericka D'Avanzo, Florida Regional Manager for the Surfrider Foundation. "Now recreational beach users can be assured that as growth continues along our coastline, we should not see any future loss of ocean access points."


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