
OUR MISSION:
PRESERVE
PUBLIC ACCESS,
PROTECT WETLAND HABITAT,
SAVE
THE CUESTA INLET!
PUBLIC ACCESS
For decades, neighbors of the inlet, Los Osos locals, SLO county communities, and visitors have accessed Cuesta Inlet for passive recreation, including walking with our dogs, admiring the incredible wildlife and sunsets, kayaking, paddle boarding, and more. We believe this space should remain accessible to the public for passive use free of charge, and be taken out of private hands and off the real estate market.
ENDANGERED HABITAT
This property is home to many protected bird, insect, and plant species, including some endangered species that have been carefully accounted for and protected by coastal organizations and communities for many years. Because the Los Osos building moratorium was recently lifted, it is now easier than ever to override these efforts through private ownership, development, and fencing of tidal wetland areas.
We must act now to keep them wild and free.
OUR COMMUNITY
Cuesta Inlet is the heart of our community, where an average of 150 people per day come to admire our glorious microclimate, enjoy the water, marvel at herons and egrets, and connect with one another. This property is at imminent risk of being fenced off and commercialized — a true travesty not only for its fragile, beautiful ecosystem, but also for our community members, many of whom have been bringing their families here for decades.
Save Cuesta Inlet is an energized citizens group. We are exploring strategic ways to secure the Cuesta Inlet property for the continued enjoyment by our community as well as visitors. There are no paid members, and no members with any financial stake. We are 100% volunteer-run.
Our goal is to facilitate the transition of the property to a long term steward. The group has received non-profit status as a 501(c)(3) so that all donations are tax-deductible, and if our effort fails, all donors will be given the option to receive their funds back, minus small administrative costs (like keeping this website, etc.), or to redistribute their funds to a like-minded land preservation organization in our area.
Please check out every last little detail about what we’re doing and how here
Who is SCI?:
When the present owners of Cuesta Inlet decided to list the property for sale, a group of community members came together to facilitate the transfer of the property to public ownership and ensure preservation and public access in perpetuity. The group grew and is now known as Save Cuesta Inlet (SCI).
SCI wishes to express our community's desire for the future of the Cuesta Inlet. Our mission statement encapsulates the “why,” our vision statement the “what,” and the objectives, the “how.”
"Save Cuesta Inlet exists to ensure diverse opportunities for access, recreation and the personal enrichment of our local community and visitors while preserving and protecting the extraordinary biological diversity of the Inlet along with its valued natural and cultural resources and creating opportunities for a wide range of quality outdoor recreation." –SCI Mission Statement
“Protection of the Cuesta Inlet and preserve continued access for the benefit of the community, wildlife and habitat.” –SCI Vision Statement
SCI Objectives:
● Ensure public access in perpetuity.
● Clean up the Inlet and dispose of derelict and abandoned boats.
● Provide suitable recreation and sustain wildlife.
● Protect cultural, natural, and biological resources of the Inlet
● Establish the Inlet as valued parkland for public enjoyment and environmental protection.
● Develop a funding source for the maintenance and betterment of the Inlet.
WHO WE ARE
Save Cuesta Inlet | Board of Directors
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President
Andrea spent her career working in local municipal government, recently retiring after 35 years of public service. Most recently, she oversaw Port San Luis Harbor District as Harbor Manager, spending 7 years at that agency. She also taught Grant Writing and Finance at California Polytechnic State University as an adjunct professor. Prior to that she spent 2 years as the Executive Director of a newly formed, non-profit organization instrumental in securing historic fishing privileges to the Central Coast - the Morro Bay Community Quota Fund. Andrea began her career with the City of Morro Bay, spending 27 years with that city, including 7 years as City Manager.
Andrea is involved with a number of local nonprofits/organizations including Board Member of the Los Osos Community Advisory Council, Committee Member for the Land Committee/Land Conservancy of SLO County, member of the Los Osos Community Services District Parks and Recreation Committee, Vice President of the Board of Directors for the Morro Bay Community Quota Fund, Past President of the California Association of Harbormasters and Port Captains and Board Member of REACT Alliance.
Married to Richard Hubbard since 1990. They have one married daughter who lives with her husband and their son in Los Osos. Andrea divides her time between California, Colorado and her grandson with other travel interspersed along the way.
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Beth has lived in Los Osos since 1979 and graduated from California Polytechnic Institute with a Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition and Dietetics. Post-undergraduate, Beth worked in various facilities, providing nutrition education. It was her dream to raise children in Los Osos. She and her husband raised their two sons playing in the Bay via skiff, canoe and paddle boards and enjoyed all things nature has to offer in our area and abroad. She is fortunate to say her sons live locally with their partners.
Beth Crizer is also the co-owner of Crizer Construction, Inc. The Crizer Family is renowned locally for quality remodels and new home builds for forty-five years in the Los Osos and surrounding areas in San Luis Obispo County. Beth spent 10 years working for the San Luis Unified School District as an elementary physical education educator. She has a love for children and the great outdoors.
Beth also received an award as Citizen of the Year for Los Osos for her countless volunteer efforts in the community. She is a member of Trinity United Methodist Church, playing handbells and coordinating dinners for those in our Los Osos community in need.
Beth and her husband Bob have lived, worked, and raised a family in this bit of paradise. Beth is an avid swimmer, paddleboarder, cyclist, and hiker. She also loves spending time with her three grandchildren, having coffee with friends, and listening to live local music.
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Jim has been a trial attorney for 40 years, 36 of them in San Luis Obispo. He is a former board member of Morro Coast Audubon Society and has performed pro bono representation for that group. He has also been a field trip leader for MCAS. He was a founding board member of the Morro Bay Bird Festival. He continues to lead trips for that festival. He was a member of the board for the Kern River Research Center near Lake Isabella, which worked to Addc study wildlife in that area, plus preserve and restore habitat there. He is married to Celeste Royer, who was the Director of Rancho El Chorro Environmental School for many years. They have lived two blocks from Cuesta since 1990 and they continue to enjoy daily walks there with their dogs. Jim has compiled a list of birds and plants at Cuesta Inlet.
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Kelly Ann Fisher Served as the program director and Co-Founder of the San Luis Obispo’s Climate Coalition’s Micro-Community Collaborative. Their Resilient SLO Challenge program is designed to promote equity, resilience, and climate protection regionally.
Kelly also served as a highly qualified expert with the United States Army Senior Education Program, where she assisted in the development of Women, Peace and Security curriculum. Kelly also served as a Deputy Congressional Director for the United States Women’s Caucus at United Nations, former board member of the American Red Cross Pacific Coast Chapter and member of the Coalition for Women’s Appointments.
Brigadier General Fisher retired from 40 years of US military service. Her most recent duty assignments included Land Component Commander of California Army National Guard with concurrent duty as Deputy Commandant - Reserve Affairs United States Army War College. General Fisher also served as the special assistant to the Chief of National Guard Bureau, a member of the Department of Defense Joint Chiefs of Staff to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the Wisconsin National Guards Sexual Harassment, Assault, Response and Prevention Program. As a retiree Kelly devotes her full time to caring for two grandchildren and
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Linda served as a Ventura County Supervisor, Councilmember and Mayor of Thousand Oaks, and was a board member of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. She helped stop development of the 3,000-acre Ahmanson Ranch which was made into a park, enacted a first-of-its-kind zone that protects wildlife corridors, and championed a wildlife bridge over the 101 freeway. She established Growing Works, a nonprofit nursery that provides horticultural therapy and job training for people with mental illness. She’s the Executive Director of SOAR (Save Open-space and Agricultural Resources) and sits on the Boards of the Environmental Defense Center and Mothers for Peace. Linda met her husband at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and enjoyed many years of camping with her family in Morro Bay and paddling in the estuary, and now is thrilled every day to be living here.
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Secretary
Margarete and her husband, Mike Lozito, have had a home in Los Osos since 2014 and moved here permanently in 2020. Margarete is the controller for Sequoia Transportation Services. She enjoys kayaking, walking, quilting, and spending time outdoors. Margarete was motivated to become involved with securing public access to Cuesta Inlet because of her belief that everyone should have access to the open spaces and the natural world, especially to a place as unique as Cuesta Inlet.
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Tracy is an attorney and the founder and President of Egoscue Law Group, Inc. Tracy has previously served as the Executive Officer of the State of California Regional Water Quality Control Board - Los Angeles Region and as the Executive Director of the Santa Monica Baykeeper (now known as LA Waterkeeper). Tracy has also practiced environmental litigation as a Deputy Attorney General for the California Department of Justice. Tracy has been appointed to serve on numerous agencies and Boards including the California Climate Action Registry by Governor Davis, the Technical Advisory Committee for the California Office of Oil Spill Prevention and Response by the Speaker of the Assembly, and the Harbor Safety Committee for the Los Angeles and Long Beach Harbor Complex. Tracy has served as a distinguished visiting scholar at California State University at Long Beach, teaching environmental policy and law, and in 2014, was appointed to serve on the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners for the Port of Long Beach, the 2nd largest port in the U.S., responsible for 50,000 jobs in the region and $200 billion in national and international trade. Tracy also serves on the Board of Directors for Mujeres de la Tierra, and the Bay Foundation. Tracy and her husband have owned a home in Los Osos since 2020 and currently split their time between their homes here and in Long Beach.
Save Cuesta Inlet, Inc. is a non-profit registered with the IRS under EIN: 88-3235556.