Northern California has Point Reyes National Seashore. New York has Fire Island National Seashore. And North Carolina has Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
But should some of L.A.’s most famous beaches also receive such a designation?
Unbeknownst to many Angelenos, the National Park Service is studying the possibility.
The federal agency is embarking on the Los Angeles Coastal Area Special Resource Study, which focuses on the coastline and adjacent areas along Santa Monica Bay from Will Rogers State Beach to Torrance Beach, including areas around Ballona Creek, as well as San Pedro. The study area excludes the Port of Los Angeles north of Crescent Avenue.
The National Park Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Times on Friday. But in an announcement, the agency said the study’s purpose is to “gather information about select sites along the Los Angeles coast through research and public input, and then to report these findings to Congress.”
It said the study “will evaluate the potential for inclusion of the Los Angeles coast in the national park system based upon whether it meets established criteria for significance, suitability, feasibility, and the need for [National Park Service] management.” It will also consider “other alternatives for preservation, protection, and interpretation,” as well as the costs.
Only Congress or the president has the authority to establish a new unit of the national park system.
Though the study is underway now, it’s been in the works since Congress included the plan in appropriations legislation in 2022.
That legislation directed the National Park Service, which is part of the Interior Department, to “conduct a special resource study of the coastline of Los Angeles.”
One question that will probably come up in the process is how designating a national park might work alongside the California Coastal Act, a landmark state law that has shaped and defined the way the coast is developed and protected.
Other than the information on the National Park Service website, Trump administration officials have not publicly commented on the idea of making L.A. beaches a new national park.
The National Park Service is holding two virtual informational meetings about the study, one on Feb. 11 at 1 p.m. and another on March 11 at 6 p.m. The park service will also accept written comments on its website until April 6.
