”The 70 miles of California coastline that makes up the unincorporated area of Big Sur has a storied, almost mystical allure, largely thanks to its staggering beauty. With redwood forests, stunning Pacific views, winding rivers and natural hot springs, the area has for decades attracted celebrities, artists and millions of visitors. So many visitors in fact, that these days, Kirk Gafill, the president of the Big Sur Chamber of Commerce, estimates that 90 percent of the local economy is tourism-dependent.
But getting there, and living there, is increasingly difficult.
Big Sur’s main thoroughfare is Highway 1, a scenic two-lane road constructed between 1919 and 1937 as part of a statewide initiative to make the California coastline a drivable tourist attraction. In the past two years, the area has been hit by fires, heavy winter storms and landslides that cut off the community for sometimes months at a time. In March, one chunk of the road crumbled into the sea, restricting car travel to residents only for two months. Another debilitating landslide, in February, continues to cut off the southern portion of the coast: Last month, work in the area to remove debris from the road was paused indefinitely. According to the California Department of Transportation (known as Caltrans), that portion of the roadway won’t reopen until 2025, at the earliest.”
The rest of the New York Times article may be found here: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/18/travel/big-sur-tourism-california.html
“It’s so important to preserve and protect this landscape, or you will not have economic sustainability,” Ms. Daniels said. (Kate Daniels is the incoming Monterey County Supervisor, for the 5th District, Board of Supervisors, which includes Big Sur.)
She also said, later in that same article: “Our economy relies on tourism and visitation,” Ms. Daniels said. “We won’t have a viable tourism industry if the people that support that industry can no longer afford to live here.”
“My wish is that all of the stakeholders here feel proud of being a part of this extraordinary place,” Mr. Toren said. “And that that pride expresses itself by embracing the notion that this place deserves strength, protection and restoration.” (Magnus Toren, Henry Miller Library as quoted in the above article.)
It is not just Big Sur, but many places on the planet — we are destroying that which we love most, via our numbers, our unconscious members of this community of humans, and our anger and hatred. We have to find a better way to relate to our natural world than how we currently do or we will destroy all these special places.
You can find more of her photographs here: https://dellahuff.smugmug.com/Big-Sur
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The Sur is not alone.
Other "special" locales throughout our planet share similar maladies. Many, and sadly, are of their own thinking, and under their own steam in the making.
Case in point...Hawaii. Near the end of the last world-wide pandemic, state coffers were "near insolvency". Stubborn addiction-like want of the "easy" tourist $$ has proved the underlying bane of this paradise for decades...continuing to the present, projected 'n programmed into their future.
A unique Earthly paradise, choosing, for the most part, Hawaii sojourns on the edge of their own slow demise. Limited resources, as well as that "limit" all there can see and depend on 24/7, namely "land", remains not enough to curtail the addiction.
(A portion of our families have resided and been connected to the islands since the end of WWII, having countless connections, then to the present. Wife grew up on the backside of Oahu before statehood. Her father, instrumental in the initial dairy infrastructures on the islands. Mother, a Cathiolic teacher in Honolulu. Our deepening personal connections have continued throughout in recent decades, on Kauai...w/it's people, communities, businesses, and government.)
Yet there are others, we've had short 'n long-time connected "eye-witness" views from within, through the decades: the Cook Island nation, all three of the Caymans, Peruvian Highlands, the unusual Nihihau, CA Central Sierras alpine, and others...even the dear Sur.
All have their own challenges of varying degrees of maintaining that elusive balance of sustainability and preservation...at the same time, sharing and running along the same tracks.
These days, no unique locale is exempt. Specially highly trained "garbage collectors" are now being regularly put in place by one small rather poor limited resourced country...hauling tons of trash, discarded equipment, and dead humans away from one of the most remote and unfriendly yet highly sought location...Mt. Everest.
With an island, it's a little easier for the eye to understand, as "all that we have to work with is surrounded by that blue water". Similar with the Sur. "All we have is this "strip 'tween that blue water down there, and that mountain ridgeline just above us".
The trouble is, that "we humans" are in charge.
Shall we baracade ourselves in, fending best we can for ourselves? Keep the fences high w/everso careful what comes 'n goes? Seek skilled "preservationists" aid in development? Allow the "help" of "skilled" resource-rich equity firms assist?
These questions are not only for the "special" locales...
...it is planet wide these days.
Jeff Baggett / Wonder Valley, CA
Kate, thank you for the article. The only problem is that your voice was missing in it!
I wrote a rely and got it published in the comments section of the NYTimes article you have cited (Our Boundless Love for Big Sur May Be Killing It)
Feel free to share.
Kalinda | Big Sur
While this article mentions the housing shortage, it doesn’t delve deeply enough into the problem of how short term rentals are contributing to the Big Sur crisis. It would be great for the NYTimes to do a followup article on how short term rentals and the hosts who run them professionally on the Airbnb, VRBO platforms are perpetually taking housing away from locals who need housing. In our neighborhood adjacent to Big Sur, we used to have people in the agriculture business, local fireman, restaurant managers, nurses and young families who could afford to rent long term. With the advent of Airbnb, long term tenants have been price gouged out. Passing an ordinance to eliminate commercially run short term rentals would go a long way toward supporting the Big Sur community.
Couldn’t agree more with Kalinda. You read about all the impacts of overtourism in Europe and the protests from people that live in these impacted areas and a lot of it comes back to vacation rentals destroying housing options for the people that work, live and grew up there.
From my understanding the author of this article interviewed people not associated with the commercial interests of Big Sur and expressed the negative impacts of STR’s, the commercialization of residential property’s and how the Land Use Plan does not allow for any more hotel rooms to be built due to the carrying capacity of a very limited two lane highway. The author had a complimentary stay at one of the luxury resorts so the article was obviously influenced by the business interests in Big Sur.
Reduce dependency upon tourism..rebuild Sur to accommodate the essence of what your striving towards. Coming up with a common goal will be the challenge. Definitely the Navel Facility being demo' and rebuilt is the no- brainer yet Jim the tycoon rancher is a bit of a challenge..yet he has skills valuable ..& could potentially be a win win team member. Accommodations there for F/B staffs..with transit for workers thru out the day..no private car usage! End the tacky gift shops..they are attracting the go nowhere types counter productive to future healthiness. Let there be Air-B's yet create a 'Luxury Tax capable of funding wise additions .
The only thing that destroyed Big Sur was extremely greedy capitalist. It was pretty sustainable until Ventana and post ranch decided to hire illegal scab labor,displacing legal residents and giving those jobs to people who could be super exploited and who are voiceless. Let’s stop beating around the bush. Housing and harboring illegal workers for a fews profits. It’s disgusting and disgraceful. But that what has destroyed the community here