TRESTLES, ONE OF USA’S MOST FAMOUS SURF SPOTS, IS IN A BATTLE WITH MARINES

At the very southern edge of Southern California’s Orange County is a well-known stretch of beach called Trestles. The name comes from two train trestles that parallel the ocean. And Trestles isn’t just a random stretch of SoCal surf: It represents seven of the best known surf breaks in the world. It’s also been a practice beachhead for the U.S. Marine Corps, and now surfers and the military are fighting over who has rights to the 2.25-mile stretch of sand and ocean. Surfrider Foundation wants Trestles listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has won an early round against the Marines: The State Historical Resources Commission voted unanimously that Trestles be listed and the decision has been sent to Washington for approval. But the Marines have politics on their side, with state senators Mimi Walters and Mark Wyland warning that historic designation would take use of the beach out of the Marines’ hands. With typical political hyperbole, they said it would “put state bureaucrats and surfers in control of Marine Corps training near Trestles.” Men with boards overruling men with guns? It’s a nice idea. Via L.A. Times.

B.C. BACKCOUNTRY TRAUMA GETTING WORSE

Just one day before a 19-year-old snowboarder was killed in the Blackcomb backcountry after stacking a landing and suffering major chest injuries, the head of the local search and rescue warned that incidents in the terrain surrounding Whistler and Blackcomb were getting much more severe. “We see it both in extreme skiing and snowmobiling,” said Whistler SAR team manager Brad Sills. “Not everybody’s cognizant of that. I don’t think they would do those things in the conditions they do them sometimes if they thought about it. It amazes me that people would go that fast in poor light.” Over the last year, the group responded to about the same number of incidents as the previous year, but the traumas were worse, especially for snowmobilers. 31 of the 34 missions required helicopters, testament that people are going deeper, too. Via Pique.

NONEXISTENT B.C. TOWN GETS A MAYOR — AND OPPOSITION IS FUMING

B.C.’s Jumbo Glacier Mountain Resort, planned for the last 22 years in the Purcells and opposed for those 22 years by environmentalists who say that the resort threatens grizzly habitat, now has a mayor and a city council. Never mind that there are no citizens of the proposed resort. Well, actually there’s a lot of minding going on against Greg Deck, who was appointed mayor of the town of Glacier by the province last November to oversee development of municipal infrastructure for the planned $450-million ski resort. Opponents say that it’s illegal for the province to appoint Deck by fiat, without elections, especially when he’s essentially a figurehead meant to rubber stamp resort construction. The matter is now in the hands of B.C.’s supreme court. Via The Province.

WHY MAINE NEEDS ANOTHER NATIONAL PARK — TRY MONEY

The fight over a national park for Maine comes down to money, as always. But here’s how shortsighted old school ways of thinking are: a study suggests that a second national park in Maine could create 450 to 1,000 jobs. But locals don’t want it, in large part because they fear a national park would shut down nearby logging. You know how many jobs would be created by timbering all 100,000 acres of the proposed park? 50. Read that again: 50. I don’t know what kind of math they’re teaching in Maine, but in most parts of the world 450 to 1,000 trumps 50 every time. But not in Maine. Just hope you’re one of the 50. Via Boston.com.