The Sierra Club activist who forever changed a beloved coastal park -- and how she did it

Sometimes we all need to be reminded the profound difference one person can make -- and to be inspired to chart our own course. Jeannette Merrilees loved Crystal Cove State Park and for years led a Sierra Club task force to protect it from a proposal for a luxury resort that would restrict access to beachgoers. 

Merrilees died in 2013, but her impact on the community lives on. On June 9, community leaders and activists gathered to honor her life and work, and to dedicate a memorial plaque on the beach she preserved for all of us to enjoy.

The back story

In 1982, the state park plan called for the historic cottages as well as camping and day use areas to be opened to the public. But in 1997, the state signed a 60-year concession contract with private developers to convert the cottages into a luxury resort.

With the guidance of the Angeles Chapter’s conservation staff and the members of the Chapter's Sierra Sage Group, Merrillees took action. She was able to build an active task force, which included weekly hikes in the park and discussions of the issues and risks that were mounting. 

Is there an environmental issue in your area that needs to be addressed or are you ready to add your voice to one of our existing campaigns? The Angeles Chapter can help with your efforts. Contact Angelica Gonzalez at (213) 514-5802 or email angelica.gonzalez@sierraclub.org.

From those weekly hikes, she created a large mailing list of interested people who put articles in newsletters and newspapers to make the public aware of what was happening at Crystal Cove.  The effort was brought to a head when Merrillees and the task force realized that no public hearing had been conducted, even though it was required by law. 

She engineered a letter-writing campaign to key officials in Sacramento and the management of the California Department of Parks and Recreation. 

The forced hearing

Ultimately, the state agreed to hold a hearing in an elementary school adjacent to the park. Merrilees and her task force notified every person on their contact list and asked them to come and speak up. More than 1,000 people attended, and the meeting ran well into the wee hours. Almost all the speakers opposed the resort.

In 2001, the California  Department of Parks and Recreation canceled the contract with the resort developer, paying $2 million to be released from the proposal  Shortly thereafter state parks officials announced they were beginning a complete review of the park’s master plan, including the future of the many residents who rented property and built cottages in the park.

As a result of these efforts, the park is being transformed into a gem of a public beach with a long-range master plan supported by Sierra Club. None of this would have happened without Merrilees and the task force. Visitors can rent the beach cottages or pitch a tent at a campsite.

The legacy

At the June gathering, a new picnic table with the plaque bearing Merrilees' photo was dedicated in front of the Beachcomber Cafe. More than 50 people from the task force, the Sierra Club, and Jeannette’s family attended.  Speakers included members of the Merrilees family, a former director of what is now OC Parks, and Mike Sappingfield, representing the Sierra Club.

The picnic table that bears the plaque was made by young people at the state parks facility for at risk youth in Sonoma County. Today, it is the only new one in the row of benches at the beach.

This all goes to remind us that great things can happen by people when they work together to change people’s minds.  Sierra Club thanks Merrilees and the many other activists out there who consistently ignore the naysayers and convince public officials to do the right thing for the environment.