The Nautical Stairway

The mega-development project Nautical Stairway or “Escalera Nautica” continues to be a threat to Laguna San Ignacio. The project, conceived in the 1970’s, was passed to successive administrations and ultimately inherited by President Vicente Fox.

Mexico’s National Tourism Board (FONATUR), the lead agency, announced the plan to build twenty-four resort/marinas along the Baja California peninsula. FONATUR boasted that the Escalera Nautica would attract 52,000 boats and one million visitors annually. These estimates proved to be grossly exaggerated. EDAW, an independent international concluded that FONATUR had over-estimated the market by 600%. No site specific Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) were ever submitted. Punta Abreojos (inside ejido El Baturi) continues to be an Escalera Nautica marina site and a number of FONATUR maps show the marina in the exact location proposed for the Mitsubishi salt project’s 1.2-mile pier.

The Escalera Nautica project encountered, and continues to encounter, fierce national and international environmental opposition. A coalition of environmental groups eventually reached an agreement with FONATUR in which the project would be scaled back. FONATUR agreed to only promote existing marina upgrades under the banner of “Programa Mar de Cortez.” FONATUR breached this agreement when it announced plans for new marinas in the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Ocean including the recent marina approval for Punta Abreojos.