San Miguel: the birthplace of Mexican surfing | Photo: Serge Dedina

The Save the Waves Coalition is asking surfers to sign a petition supporting the approval of the proposed 58 hectare Arroyo San Miguel State Park, in Baja California, Mexico.

The creation of the first state park in the region will protect six kilometers of watershed that drain at the river mouth at San Miguel beach, and provide safe drinking water for 400 local residents.

San Miguel is the birthplace of Mexican surfing, with over 60 years of wave riding. It remains a rite of passage for Baja surf adventurers. The protection of this iconic point break is part of the declaration of Bahía de Todos Santos as the sixth World Surfing Reserve.

"We have an opportunity to keep something like Trestles. Or, we're sort of standing at this point where we can also have massive development and massive building within this watershed," explains Nik Strong-Cvetich, from Save the Waves.

"The government in developing countries doesn't think about surfing as a recreation or aspect of tourism that's really important. So showing them concrete numbers when they're deciding, they need to see what they're losing."

The San Miguel watershed is a critical riparian ecosystem that contributes necessary sand and cobblestones to form the classic wave. Support Save the Waves.

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