Malibu Lagoon Project featured in Smithsonian Magazine

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Workers at the Malibu Lagoon Project site continue building a "Winter Walk," a winding walkway that will allow visitors access to the lagoon at water level.

Smithsonian Magazine’s Claire Martin profiles the controversy surrounding state-sponsored Malibu Lagoon Project in an article featured in the magazine’s November issue. 

The in-depth piece titled “Malibu’s Epic Battle of Surfers Vs. Environmentalists” touches on activist Stephenie Glas’ involvement in supporting the Malibu Lagoon Project and the heat she took from opponents of the project. Glas committed suicide in June. Her then-boyfriend Steve Woods believes Glas was under added stress from the Lagoon Project battle and her work as a firefighter.

Martin also spoke with local activists who vehemently opposed the project, including local surfer and former City Council candidate Andy Lyon. Lyon and Councilman Skylar Peak at one point during their campaigns last spring promised to chain themselves to bulldozers working in the lagoon. 

Work on the wetlands phase of the Malibu Lagoon project was completed on Tuesday of this week and construction on visitor areas and other non-wetlands parts of the project continues. The project to reshape the lagoon and waterflow is scheduled to be completed in December. 

Correction: An earlier version of this post referred to Claire Martin as Claire Gibbs.