The Surfrider Foundation

Offshore Drilling: What We’ve Accomplished & What’s Next 👏🌊 In late 2025, the Trump administration announced plans to expand offshore oil drilling to more than 1.2 billion acres of U.S. ocean—opening California, Alaska, the Gulf of Mexico, including the previously protected waters off of Florida, and the Arctic Ocean to new oil and gas leasing. During the federal comment period, 308,000+ people spoke out—tens of thousands through Surfrider—making this the largest advocacy action in our history. 🎉 Business leaders joined the movement too! 41 Ocean Friendly Businesses signed a letter to BOEM, standing up for clean water, healthy coasts, and thriving communities. With the initial BOEM comment period closed, Surfrider is shifting our focus back to Congress. Our new Action Alert urges Senate and House members to oppose the plan and pass bills that permanently protect our shores. 📝 Additionally, Surfrider will head to Washington, D.C. this April for our 10th Annual Coastal Recreation Hill Day—bringing our voices straight to lawmakers. Click the link below to connect with your local chapter and take action to protect our ocean, waves, and beaches from new offshore drilling. https://hubs.la/Q041SyZw0 #DrillingIsKilling #ProtectOurCoast 📸: Photo 3 by Anh Truong Craver

“I have been a surfer for 46 years and love and cherish the ocean for all the joy it brings to me. I want to protect and preserve this for others now and into the future.” -Vince Pappalardo has been a driving force at Surfrider’s Newport, Oregon chapter over the last fifteen years—rallying volunteers at beach cleanups, leading the Blue Water Task Force, advancing beach access, and advocating for Oregon’s statewide bag ban. 🤙🌊 Check out the spotlight: https://hubs.la/Q0407ww50 #SurfriderActivistSpotlight 

Drive Fast, Drink Slow. ⚡️☕️ Camino Caffeino is a sustainable mobile coffee business serving locally roasted brews along the coast in Charleston, South Carolina. 🌊 We caught up with Camino Caffeino’s owner, Robert Huffman, to discover what sparked this one-of-a-kind business and how they’re keeping it #OceanFriendly. Check it out: https://hubs.la/Q03_tDh-0 📸: Luke & Rachael Garmon at Valor Creative #OceanFriendlyRestaurant #OceanFriendlyRestaurantSpotlight

Happy #WorldWetlandsDay! 🌊🌾 Wetlands are incredible ecosystems that play a vital role in sustaining our planet! 🌎 🌱 Wetlands help keep our waterways clean by naturally filtering out pollutants and sediment. 🌱 They act as “biodiversity hotspots” by providing habitat for hundreds of animal species. 🌱 Wetlands also help protect communities from climate change by reducing flood impacts and capturing and storing carbon. Unfortunately, our wetlands face urgent and growing threats from rising sea levels, overdevelopment, and pollution. This World Wetlands Day, we encourage you to become a Surfrider member and help protect wetlands and the benefits they provide for future generations. https://hubs.la/Q040Njw80 

🌊 3 Federal Victories for Our Ocean & Coasts 🌊 After over a year of advocacy by Surfrider’s national network of volunteers and coalition partners, Congress delivered real protections for our ocean and coasts by defending against severe budget cuts in Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26). We’re proud to share these three victories: ✅ BEACH Act Funded: Level funding secured for the EPA BEACH Act Grants Program to fund beach water quality testing programs nationwide. The Trump administration originally attempted to eliminate funding for this program! ✅ National Ocean & Coastal Programs Protected: Level funding for critical programs, including NOAA Coastal Zone Management, Coastal Management Grants, Sea Grant College Program, National Marine Sanctuaries, and increased funding for National Estuaries Research Reserve System. ✅ Border Water Infrastructure Grant Funded: Level funding for the EPA Border Water Infrastructure Grant Program to help address the U.S.–Mexico boundary water pollution crisis. Surfrider’s influence in Congress is directly proportional to the number of constituents who are Surfrider members in a given elected official’s district. The more members we have, the stronger our influence—and the better we can protect our ocean, for all. Learn more and become a Surfrider member today: https://hubs.la/Q040w2CV0 📸: Avery Schuyler Nunn

We stand against the unjust violence inflicted upon those who are exercising their civic rights. Social justice and environmental protection are inseparable. The violent harassment and recent killing of community members during federal immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota and around the country are deeply disturbing. They demand the full attention of the American public and Congress. The harassment and deaths require truth, accountability, and a sober reckoning on the abuse of power being exercised in our country. The Surfrider Foundation exists to protect our ocean, waves, and beaches — for all people — through civic engagement and advocacy. Critical to Surfrider’s mission are the constitutional guarantees of peaceful assembly, protest, and free speech. Communities that lack political power are the same communities that bear the greatest burden of pollution, climate change, and environmental harm. We cannot protect public resources, public access, or public health in a society where the government routinely violates constitutional rights, ignores due process requirements, lies to the people it should serve, and uses state violence without accountability. We must be able to speak out about the issues that are important to us, without fear for our lives. A society that fails to protect civil liberties cannot effectively protect the environment we all depend on. America is a nation born of immigrants, strengthened by its diversity. While imperfect, the ideal of America stands for liberty, freedom, and opportunity for all. Our democracy is strongest when it chooses transparency over secrecy, accountability over impunity, and compassion over cruelty. Surfrider will continue to stand in solidarity with communities demanding justice, defending civil liberties, and working toward a future where both people and the planet are protected with integrity and care — without fear, without violence, and without exception.

We are deeply saddened by the passing of our friend Rob "Birdlegs" Caughlan, one of the Surfrider Foundation’s most influential early leaders. Rob served as Surfrider’s President from 1986-1991, helping guide the organization through its critical formative years. Before Surfrider, he brought two decades of environmental policy experience from the California Legislature, U.S. Congress, EPA, and the White House under President Carter. A lifelong surfer since 1959, Rob was actively involved in what was the biggest Clean Water Act lawsuit in US history against two pulp mill operators in Humboldt County in the late ‘80s that helped to put Surfrider on the map, and more recently in the successful beach access case at Martin’s Beach — his local surf break. "All of us who spend as much time as we do living and loving the ocean, must also shoulder more than our share of the responsibility for preserving and protecting it." Rob passed just four days after his wife, Diana, and only a week before what would’ve been their 62nd anniversary. Rest in peace, Birdlegs. Photo Credit: Don Montgomery

MIDNIGHT DEADLINE! Every voice matters to stop new offshore drilling. Yours could be the one that makes the difference. 👏 BOEM's 60-day public comment period on offshore drilling ends at midnight tonight, and we still need every possible voice speaking out to protect our coasts. If you haven't added your name yet, this is your last chance. And if you already have — THANK YOU! Please share this alert with your friends and family who love the ocean. 🌎🌊 Offshore drilling threatens our beaches, marine life, coastal economies, and the health of the communities we love. We CANNOT let Big Oil push us backward. Please take a minute to add your voice and defend our coasts. Submit your comment now: https://hubs.la/Q03T5J-B0 

Victory! 👏 New Jersey Passes Statewide “Skip the Stuff” Bill Significantly Reducing Plastic Waste! Thanks to the leadership of Surfrider’s New Jersey chapters, working with a coalition led by Clean Water Action, Governor Murphy signed a statewide “Skip the Stuff” bill (S3195) on January 20, 2026 which will take effect on August 1, 2026 significantly reducing single-use plastic waste. The new policy shifts expectations for takeout and delivery by requiring utensils and condiments to be provided ONLY upon request, significantly reducing unnecessary plastic waste. It also requires restaurants with seating for more than 10 guests to serve on-site diners using reusable foodware—a measure that protects public health, coastal ecosystems, and reduces costs for businesses. A huge thank you to Surfrider’s New Jersey chapters and the coalition partners whose sustained advocacy made this victory possible! 🎉 Learn more: https://hubs.la/Q03_J0gG0 #SkipTheStuff

“Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability but comes through continuous struggle.” Today, we celebrate MLK Day and reflect on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s vision of justice and equality for all. We believe that #TheBeachBelongsToEveryone, and we want to take this time today— as well as every day— to honor all those who tirelessly advocate for racial, social, and environmental justice. Our dedication to fair and equal access to our ocean and coasts is inspired by leaders like Dr. King, who courageously paved the way and demonstrated persistent effort and activism. The Surfrider Foundation stands firm in our commitment to fight for safe and welcoming beaches for everyone. #TheBeachBelongsToEveryone #MLKDay