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Time to stop the devastation at the Oceano Dunes

July 13, 2026

OPINION by MATT STEPHENS

Having lived in San Luis Obispo County for more than 25 years, I continue to be astonished at the ongoing community support for the madness occurring year-round at Oceano Dunes by mostly out-of-area RV owners who, contrary to recent news, do not bring any significant benefit to this community.

Rather, our county and state continue to allow this devastation on a daily basis that destroys wildlife habitat and causes significant harm to nearby residents due to dangerous blowing dust, airborne particulates, and uncontrolled ATVs. We have some of the most beautiful beaches in the world but, sadly, Grover Beach and Oceano can no longer be counted among them.

Where are the environmentalists who have tirelessly worked for many decades now to preserve the treasured California coastline to be enjoyed for generations to come?

Let’s not keep supporting businesses, that benefit only a handful of business owners, but put the health of our citizens, beaches, and wildlife in jeopardy.

The time has long past that we should put an end to this insanity.

 


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26 Comments

Schvantz.


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Matt Stephens asks: “Where are the environmentalists who have tirelessly worked……to preserve the treasured California coastline to be enjoyed for generations to come?” Well, Matt, those “environmentalists” have built and bought homes in the once treasured, precious and unique ecosystems where the built-out communities of Los Osos and Baywood Park now stand. They built on, destroyed and permanently altered the various habitats within the once natural & pristine California coastal sage and chaparral Eco-region such as the Coastal sage scrub, Coastal dune scrub, Coastal brackish marsh, Oak and manzanita, Maritime chaparral, Pygmy oak woodland, and Riparian woodland habitats. That’s what the environmentalists have done to the “Treasured California Coastline”, Matt. They built their homes and businesses on it, eradicating these habitats and the indigenous wildlife so they can enjoy the California Coast for their own “generations to come”.


4

A quick Google search turned this search result up, not 100% sure if it is the same, but if it is, talk about the kettle calling the pot.


If you are looking for the local San Luis Obispo resident, Matt Stephens is a local writer and community voice who recently authored a published opinion piece regarding the Oceano Dunes on Cal Coast News. [1, 2, 3]

Depending on why you are searching, there are a few other notable people named Matthew Stephens associated with the area:



  • Matthew Stephens (PG&E): A Sr. Auditor based in SLO who previously served in the US Navy RocketReach.

  • Cal Poly Alumnus: Matthew Stephens, who graduated with a B.S. in Construction Management in 2017 LinkedIn. [1, 2, 3, 4]


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B.S. Indeed.


An embarrassment to my accounting profession as well.


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I agree. Let’s stop the “madness” at the dunes. We can control the flurishing plover population, return to the lower natural particulate rates, and re-establish financial stability for the local merchants by reducing off road vehicular traffic at Oceano. We should immediately open every beach in the state to vehicular traffic instantly diluting vehicle density at Oceano to near zero and effectively solving the localized crisis overnight.


16

Biting sarc ftw


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