UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO ‘Saved Forever?’: An Eco-Ethnography of Trestles’ Surfscape A Dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Communication by Briana Marie Iatarola Committee in charge: Elana Zilberg, Chair Richard Carson Brian Goldfarb Cary D. Lowe Keith Pezzoli Fernando Dominguez-Rubio 2018 Copyright Briana Marie Iatarola, 2018 All rights reserved. The Dissertation of Briana Marie Iatarola is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm and electronically: Chair University of California, San Diego 2018 iii DEDICATION For G and Z: I love you. For my supportive family, kind friends and thoughtful colleagues: Thank you. For Trestles: Your waves are sublime. iv EPIGRAPH “A Ledge” Tomorrow I’ll be out in the water When dawn descends bringing The quiet reminder of immortality There I live, I survive, I balance on a ledge Wobbling always, I wait for time to go by I fall off I swing back up I completely overshoot it I don’t know if it’s balancing Or falling Or living Maybe that is best Just nothing, just now, just here Just being Terrence E. Dunn v TABLE OF CONTENTS Signature Page ............................................................................................................................................. iii Dedication .................................................................................................................................................... iv Epigraph ........................................................................................................................................................ v Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................................... vi List of Terms & Abbreviations .................................................................................................................. viii List of Photographs ...................................................................................................................................... ix List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................. xi Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................................... xiii Vita ............................................................................................................................................................ xv Abstract of the Dissertation. ...................................................................................................................... xvi Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 18 Chapter One: Producing the Surfscape ....................................................................................................... 45 Bathymetry: How Trestles’ Waves Work ............................................................................................ 46 Indigeneity: A Reminder of Trestles Cultural Legacy ......................................................................... 54 When Indigenous Land Becomes Property .................................................................................... 61 When Recreational Space Becomes Militarized Property ............................................................. 69 Subjectivities: A White Woman’s Take on Surfing Trestles ............................................................... 75 Racializing Lowers ........................................................................................................................ 81 Environment: The Visible Impact of Contests ..................................................................................... 87 Chapter 2: The ‘Save Trestles’ Campaign .................................................................................................. 95 ‘Pro Toll Road’ Stakeholders ............................................................................................................... 97 ‘No Toll Road’ Stakeholders .............................................................................................................. 107 Additional Environmental Concerns ........................................................................................... 119 Legal Exchanges and Uphill Victories......................................................................................... 125 Endless 241 Toll Road Re-Articulations ............................................................................................ 131 Chapter 3: Trestles’ Rotting Ecology: An Interruption ............................................................................. 137 Dead Sentinels Part I: A Gray Whale at Lowers ................................................................................ 141 Miramar Landfill’s ‘Whale Cemetery’ ........................................................................................ 154 Reflections on Hacking and Dumping a Whale Carcass ............................................................. 158 Dead Sentinels Part II: Sea Slug and Tuna Crab Die-Offs at Trestles ............................................... 161 Chapter 4: Eco-Ethnography as Experimental Method ............................................................................ 167 Urban Tides Objectives ..................................................................................................................... 171 Becoming an Urban Tides Citizen Scientist ....................................................................................... 174 Assessing the Limitations of Citizen Science..................................................................................... 185 Other Ways of Knowing .............................................................................................................. 196 vi Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................ 204 Works Cited .............................................................................................................................................. 216 vii LIST OF TERMS & ABBREVIATIONS CCC California Coastal Commission CEQA California Environmental Quality Act CoSMoS Coastal Storm Modeling System EHL Endangered Habitats League EIR Environmental Impact Report EIS Environmental Impact Statement F/ETC Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor F/ETCA Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agencies NRDC National Resources Defense Council JBMAN Juañeno Band of Mission Indians, Acjachemen Nation MPO Metropolitan Planning Organization NRDC National Resources Defense Council OCTA Orange County Transportation Authority RTP Regional Transportation Plan SANDAG San Diego Association of Governments SDRWQB San Diego Regional Water Quality Board SSOC Save San Onofre Coalition SIO Scripps Institution of Oceanography SLR Sea-Level Rise SONGS San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station SOSB San Onofre State Beach TCA Transportation Corridor Agencies UCPP United Coalition to Protect Panhe Toll Road 241 Toll Road/extension; Toll Road 241; Foothill South Toll Road; TCA Toll Road; SR 241; SR-241 extension; alignment viii LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS Photograph 1.1: A day of small waves still makes for a picturesque surfscape. ...................................... 30 Photograph 1.2: The circulation and transport of sediment coupled with cobble substrate help produce Trestles’ sandbars, which influence the shape and style of each surf break’s waves. ............................... 51 Photograph 1.3: On a small day of surf, a lone surfer navigates the famous cobblestones of Lowers. ..... 52 Photograph 1.4: San Onofre’s “Fish Camp” along the newly constructed Pacific Coast Highway foreshadowed the economic potential of surf tourism before World War II. Image reproduction courtesy of Don Craig and the Huntington Library. ................................................................................................ 64 Photograph 1.5: In a contest held at San Onofre in 1941, competitors were required to pin their numbers to the bottom of their bathing suits. ........................................................................................................... 65 Photographs 1.6: These photos are featured as a spread in John H. “Doc” Ball’s famous 1946 book California Surfriders. Ball’s writes: “General view, contest day, 1940. The competition was keen, the spills were frequent, and the spectators roasted on the beach. The boys come from within a hundred and fifty-mile radius to participate in this activity.” ......................................................................................... 66 Photograph 1.7: San Onofre surf pioneer Mary Ann Hawkins frequented the surf with her friends, subverting the misconception that women were too weak to hold or paddle the heavier surfboards shaped during the 1930s. Here, she surfs with E.J. Oshier and friends on February 27, 1937 .............................. 68 Photograph 1.8: After the U.S. Marine Corps assumed control of Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores, the once-public beaches of San Onofre became a site for the U.S. Marine Corps’ amphibious training exercises during and after World War II.. ................................................................................................