The ewsletter - Naturist Action CommitteeMay 2010 The Naturist Society, LLC./Naturist Action...
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Judy Williams, NAC board member The political and bureaucratic pub- lic officials in the Beaconia, Manitoba area have been notoriously tight-lipped about local government actions or inac- tions which have allowed destruction of Beaconia marshlands and precious riparian habitat. They also have not commented about the land swap which has traded away tiny clothing-optional Beaconia Beach to private interests. Such an act is contradictory to federal Canadian law, which demands that all citizens have access to all public beaches. The secluded Beaconia Beach is on an island in Lake Winnipeg, and is connected to the mainland by an earthen causeway which has been in sad disre- pair for some time now. Even as rumors swirled about the trade, folks were writ- ing as early as August 2009 to local gov- ernment requesting that the causeway be repaired. No one received a response. Enter the Eastern Beaches Conserva- tion Coalition (EBCC) holding the local government’s collective feet to the flame, as it were! According to EBCC’s vice- chair, Chris Davis, the EBCC “strives to preserve the public beaches, wildlife, and wetlands on the lower eastern side of Lake Winnipeg through advocacy, lobbying, and education. The EBCC was formed as a grassroots response to the lack of transparency, due process, and public accountability to various constit- uents. The EBCC is registered with the Province of Manitoba.” EBCC chair David Crab said of the land swap involving Beaconia, “No wa- ter studies were done. No public consul- tation. No environmental impact studies.” In 1998, with support from The Naturist Society, Naturist Action Com- mittee, and the Federation of Canadian Naturists (FCN), local Winnipeg resident Ivan Pokus and I established the Mani- toba Naturists Association. With the help of others, we won our rights to be nude at Beaconia Beach after taking on both the provincial government and the Rural Municipality of St. Clements. Until the recently uncovered land swap shocker, naturists have been able to enjoy Beaco- nia and Patricia Beaches in peace except for the deteriorating causeway leading to Beaconia. Locals were galvanized into action when bulldozers began desecrating the pristine marsh behind Beaconia Beach by ripping a 1500-foot-long (the original application asked for 700 feet) channel toward Lake Winnipeg. In early March, some citizens expressed their concerns to Crabb and Davis asking them to conduct research as to what was going on. The two contacted the FCN, who in turn contacted me. I began advising and guid- May 2010 The Naturist Society, LLC/Naturist Action Committee/Naturist Education Foundation ewsletter 1 Go barefoot all over! The www.naturistsociety.com • www.naturistaction.org • www.naturisteducation.org Beaconia Beach 1998 Beaconia Beach Hangs in the Balance Judy Williams
Transcript of The ewsletter - Naturist Action CommitteeMay 2010 The Naturist Society, LLC./Naturist Action...
Judy Williams, NAC board member
The political and bureaucratic pub-lic officials in the Beaconia, Manitobaarea have been notoriously tight-lippedabout local government actions or inac-tions which have allowed destructionof Beaconia marshlands and preciousriparian habitat. They also have notcommented about the land swapwhichhas traded away tiny clothing-optionalBeaconia Beach to private interests.Such an act is contradictory to federalCanadian law, which demands that allcitizenshaveaccesstoallpublicbeaches. The secluded Beaconia Beach ison an island in LakeWinnipeg, and isconnectedtothemainlandbyanearthencauseway which has been in sad disre-pairforsometimenow.Evenasrumorsswirledaboutthetrade,folkswerewrit-ingasearlyasAugust2009tolocalgov-ernmentrequestingthatthecausewayberepaired.Noonereceivedaresponse.
EntertheEasternBeachesConserva-tionCoalition(EBCC)holdingthelocalgovernment’scollectivefeettotheflame,as it were!According to EBCC’s vice-chair, Chris Davis, the EBCC “strivestopreserve thepublicbeaches,wildlife,andwetlands on the lower eastern sideof Lake Winnipeg through advocacy,lobbying,andeducation.TheEBCCwasformed as a grassroots response to thelack of transparency, due process, andpublic accountability to various constit-uents.TheEBCCisregisteredwith theProvinceofManitoba.” EBCCchairDavidCrabsaidofthelandswap involvingBeaconia,“Nowa-terstudiesweredone.Nopublicconsul-tation.Noenvironmentalimpactstudies.” In 1998, with support from TheNaturist Society, Naturist Action Com-mittee, and theFederation ofCanadianNaturists(FCN),localWinnipegresident
Ivan Pokus and I established theMani-tobaNaturistsAssociation.Withthehelpofothers,wewonourrightstobenudeatBeaconiaBeachafter takingonboththeprovincialgovernmentandtheRuralMunicipalityofSt.Clements.Until therecently uncovered land swap shocker,naturistshavebeenabletoenjoyBeaco-niaandPatriciaBeachesinpeaceexceptforthedeterioratingcausewayleadingtoBeaconia. Localswere galvanized into actionwhen bulldozers began desecrating thepristine marsh behind Beaconia Beachbyrippinga1500-foot-long(theoriginalapplication asked for 700 feet) channeltowardLakeWinnipeg. InearlyMarch,some citizens expressed their concernsto Crabb and Davis asking them toconductresearchastowhatwasgoingon.ThetwocontactedtheFCN,whointurncontactedme.Ibeganadvisingandguid-
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Beaconia Beach 1998
Beaconia Beach Hangs in the Balance
Judy Williams
ingEBCCastheyinvestigatedpossiblelocal government improprieties. Whatwas going on was that the beach hadbeen given away illegally and withoutduenotice to thepublic,and themarshworkhad ignoredwildlifeandfisheriesregulations for developer Robert Ret-tie’sdesiretobuildahugemarinaandtoover-developchannels fromland to thelake. Many provincial and federalminis-trieshavebeencontactedbytheEBCCchallenging these actions. The saga ofclothing-optional Beaconia Beach, thecauseway leading to it, the marsh sur-rounding it, the danger to the regionalaquifers,andcontinuedpublicaccesstotheonelocalartesianwellservingasthemainsourceofpotablewaterforfolksintheareaisstillunfoldingat thetimeofprinting. To date, EBCC has held two pub-lic meetings, chosen a mandate, andregistered a name with the Province.Theyhavealso formedan interimguid-ing executive and created a logo forcorrespondence and visibility, crafteda website visited daily by all levels ofgovernment,andopenedabankaccountto enable them to keep their fundrais-ing and expenditures transparent and
accountable, while continuing to buildtheircredibility. Davis,inhisApril19openlettertoareastakeholders,wrote that thecaveatto cement the land swap be rescindedbeforeweloseBeaconiaforever:“Publicrecordsprovethattheentranceareasofthebeach(parkinglotsandimmediatelyadjacentfields extending to the easternshoreline)were tradedbySt.ClementstotheSopkofamilyofGrandMaraisonOctober 14, 2008. Of greater concernis that almost a year afterCouncil con-ducted the beach land swap, St. Clem-ents—not theSopkofamily—requestedthedischargeofacaveatthatessentiallyprohibitedallnon-parkdevelopmentonthebeachproperty.” The story of the battle to save Bea-conia Beach and the surrounding marsh,along with revealing pictures, may befound atwww.EBconservation.ca. If youwouldliketofightforyourinternationalnaturist rights on Beaconia Beach aswell as for the protection of dwindlingwetlandsacrossCanada(migratorybirdsdo not recognize man-made boundar-ies),becomeamemberbysending$20ormoretoEBCCPOBox95,BeaconiaMBR0E0B0CANADA.
Two dozenwomenwalked topfreealong downtown streets of Portland,Maine on a sunny Saturday thisApril3 to the cheers and jeers of up to 500onlookers, most of whom were male.The five women leading the peacefulmarch along city sidewalks wanted todraw attention to society’s double stan-dardregardingmaleandfemaletorsos. Approximately half the number ofwomen took to the sidewalks a secondtimeonFriday,April30inFarmington,Maine.Theirpurposewasthesame,andagain a large crowd trailed them alongthewalk.Citypolicehere too reportednoproblems. Ty Blanketfort MacDowell, top-free participant and organizer of thewalks, told Portland Press Herald re-porterEdwardMurphyduringtheApril3walk thatwomenappearing inpublictopfree “is not socially acceptable yet,andobviouslythere’sgoingtobeareac-tiontosomethingthatbreaksthenorm.”MacDowell was happy at the turnout,butfrustratedatsomeof theboisterousmalesinthecrowd.DaveHolmanofThe Free Pressreportedherassaying,“I’msickof thesleazes,but it’swhatweex-pected.Therearelotsofcreepshere.” Policewere satisfied that thewalk-ers remained on the sidewalks, as the
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BEACONIA BEACH HANGS IN THE BALANCE, cont.
Portland, Maine Topfree Walk on April 3rd 2010
Topfree Walks in Maine
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women and their supporters had nopermitforamarchoncitystreets.Asfornot covering their breasts, the womenwere breaking no city or state law.Na-turistActionCommitteeboardmemberVirginia Schnee explained, “The or-ganizers of the topfreewalks inMaineintended to protest the inequality ofAmerican social standards concerningtopfreedom, rather than any particularlaw.Because theMaineCriminalCodepertaining to ‘indecent conduct’ referstogenitals,andnottoawoman’sbreasts,itisnotillegalforwomentobetopfreewhereveritispermissibleformen.Also,judicial rulingsof2002and2008deter-minedthatwomen’sgenitalsareprimar-ilyinternaland/ornotvisible,sosimplefemalenuditywasdeemednotindecentconducteither.” Few onlookers expressed criticismof the freedom the women enjoyed.Still,TopfreeEqualRightsAssociationcoordinator Paul Rapoport expressedhisconcerntoN:“Thetwoeventswereeffectiveinpublicizingtheissueoftop-freeequality.Irrationalcriticismofthemshows that the women’s topfree walks,despite being legal in Maine, shouldcontinue.Toforbidthemonthebasisofmythsinordertomakeonefeelbetterisbothunjustandunacceptable.” For many, topfreedom is aboutwomen’srights;fornaturistsitcanalsobe an incremental march towards fullbodyfreedom.Bothgoalsmeritoursup-portandapplause.
While TNS holds most of itsGatheringsandFestivalsatnudistclubsorresorts,they’vealsotakenoverafewtextilecampsorresortsnormallyunavail-ablefornudeuse.SomeTNSmembershaveurgedsupportingestablishednudistsites,whileothershavewantedtoexpandour naturist presence into areas usuallyreserved for the hopelessly clothed.Strongcasesexistforbothchoices,butit’s oftenmore practical considerationsthat determinewhereTNS can host anevent. TNS has—fortunately—beenable to take advantage of a variety ofoptionstothebenefitofitsmembersandtheadvancementofnaturism. The most obvious arguments infavor of holding major TNS events atestablished private nudist clubs andresorts are (1) such settings welcomesocialnudity and readily accommodatelargenumbersof family-friendlynakedpeople,(2)manynaturistswanttovisitnudist parks they’ve heard about fromfriends and naturist publications, (3) itprovides financial support for fellownaturistswhoownormanagesuchparks,(4)it’sfairlyeasyforTNSorganizersto
approachnudistclubsaboutuseoftheirsite,and(5)manynudistparksactivelyseekTNSevents.Together,theseconsid-erationspointintwogeneraldirections:TNS canmost easily host events at es-tablished private nudist clubs, and it’sgenerally a good thing to support yourownpeople. There are good reasons, though,for seeking alternative opportunitiesin normally clothing-mandatory set-tings.Thesereasonscounterbalancethedownside to looking to textile settingsforclothes-freeevents.Thereisfarmoreworkinvolvedinfindingacampgroundor resort with the amenities demandedby many TNS event attendees. Theseincludecomfortableandaffordablelodg-ing,campingspaces,foodservice,andabreadthofactivities.Alsochallengingisfindingasitesecludedenoughfornakedparticipantstobeoutofsightofpassingcarandfoottraffic.Finally,thereisthelogisticalproblemofconvincing textilecampownersthattheyshouldrenttheirfacilities to a bunch of nudies they’venever met, and who are committed tobeingtrulyandfullychild-friendly. Fortunately,TNShasenjoyedgoodrapport with textile Eastover Resort inLenox, Massachusetts—home of theEasternNaturistGathering for the past12 years—and that solid relationshipprovidesTNSstaffanenviableintroduc-tion tomanypotential campand resortowners. But why go to the trouble offinding a textile resort, when so manynudist clubswould love to host aTNSGathering? There are three good reasons forseeking a new, normally-textile venue.(1)MorethanafewTNSmembersenjoyvisitingnewplaces,andafreshsitewillbeattractivetosomeseekingnewexpe-riences. (2)Many textile settings haveamenitiesandattractionsrarelyfoundat
The “Proper” Setting for TNS Events
TOPFREE WALKS IN MAINE, cont.
Portland, Maine Topfree Walk on April 3rd 2010
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The Newsletter (ISBN N9. 1075-735X) is published by The Naturist Society LLC, Naturist Action Committee, and Naturist Education Foundation, P.O. Box 132, Oshkosh, WI 54903. Entire contents copyright ©2010. Published items may be reprinted with prior permission. Request an annual subscription with a donation of at least $25 to NAC. Your financial assistance is vital! VISA/Mastercard donations accepted at (800)886-7230, or you may donate online through the NAC Web page: www.naturistaction.org.
Contact the NAC BoardRobert Morton - TexasChair/Executive [email protected]
Bill Schroer - [email protected]
Mark Storey - [email protected]
Allen Baylis - [email protected]
Morley Schloss - [email protected]
Virginia Schnee [email protected]
Judy Williams - British [email protected]
Don Zirbel - [email protected]
The Newsletter Editor: Mark Storey
1-800-886-7230 www.naturistsociety.com
www.naturistaction.orgwww.naturisteducation.org
nudist camps.This is sometimes due to atextileparkhavinga largercustomerbase,and thusmore income to invest back intoaddedattractions. Perhapsofmostimportanceisthethirdargument. (3)Havingnaturisteventsatnor-mally clothed sites introduces naturism toa public who would likely never meet usface to shame-free face.Resortownersandtheir staff will tell everyone they know ofthe crazy group they worked with, and aslongaseventattendeesare livingup to thebest of naturist values, these business own-ersandservicestaffwillbespreadingwordaboutwhonaturistsareandhowwellwecanfitintomainstreamlife.It’shardtoimaginea more effective tool for advancing under-standingofnaturism,andindirectlypromot-ingawiderarrayofnaturistliberties.Hostinganudeeventatanormallyclothedsettingisnaturistgrassrootsactivismatitsbest! TNSisdelightedtohostatrioofGath-eringsin2010,inadditiontoassistingwithadditional naturist festivals across NorthAmerica. Naturists can enjoy establishednudist settings at Sunsport Gardens inFlorida,BareOaksFamilyNaturistParkinOntario,EmpireHaven inNewYork,Ava-lon Resort inWest Virginia, and DeAnzaSpringsResortinCalifornia. Withequaldelight,TNShasannouncedthatforthefirsttimetheywillholdthisyear’sEastern Naturist Gathering at the normallynon-naturist CampWestmont in Pennsylva-nia.OpenforfullnudeuseJune14-20,2010,CampWestmontboastsmoreactivitiesthanmostnaturistswilleverhopetoenjoywhilenude.A large pool and lake for swimmingare just the beginning. TNS members andfriendsshouldcheckoutCampWestmont’sactivitiesforallagesatTNS’Eventspageatwww.naturistsociety.com. Attending theEasternNaturistGather-ingthisyearwillmakeforanexcitingweekof nude fun, while nudging clothed soci-etyabitcloser toacceptingnaturistsbothas customers and fellow citizens. There’sroomfornaturistseverywhere.Weshouldbethefirsttocelebratethatfact.
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2009 Eastern Naturist Gathering at Eastover Resort.
Michael Horgan
