Four years later, the Coastal Act became state law, regulating development in collaboration with local government agencies, guaranteeing public access and protecting marine and coastal habitats. During that time, the McCoys were locked in a fight worth revisiting now, on the 50th anniversary of the Coastal Act. Mike McCoy knew the roughly 2,500-acre space was already something useful, and vitally important. At a 1977 Imperial Beach meeting packed with marina supporters, Mike McCoy drew his line in the sand. Coastal conservationist Mike McCoy looks at a new interpretive sign at the Tijuana Estuary in Imperial Beach on Friday.

Source: Los Angeles Times February 14, 2026 12:17 UTC