By Julia Scott
Posted: 11/09/2010 05:20:06 PM PST
Updated: 11/09/2010 05:58:54 PM PST
PACIFICA -- The City Council vowed to protect the tiny, endangered western snowy plover Monday night with new rules cracking down on off-leash dogs and other harms on Pacifica State Beach.
PACIFICA -- The City Council vowed to protect the tiny, endangered western snowy plover Monday night with new rules cracking down on off-leash dogs and other harms on Pacifica State Beach.
Capping two years of fierce
debate between dog owners and wildlife advocates, the City Council
unanimously adopted a policy that would enforce existing leash laws on
the beach and install signs and fencing in areas where the snowy plovers
are known to roost in the winter.
The decision fell short of the stricter protections sought by some environmentalists.
"I
would be a lot more open to allowing dogs on parts of the beach if the
city ever showed a semblance of control or enforcement at this
location," Dyer Crouch said
after the meeting. Crouch is co-chairman of the
Pacifica Open Space Committee, which recommended that the city ban dogs
from the sandy area of the beach north of Crespi Drive to avoid
disturbing snowy plovers.
Easily mistaken for a fluffy cotton
ball, the western snowy plover was listed as a federally endangered
species in 1993. A host of urban threats have contributed to the birds'
decline, including humans trampling their small, exposed nests, built
into dunes along the seashore; dogs; predatory birds; and non-native
grasses that disrupt their habitat.
Posted by Steve Sinai
4 comments:
Cracks down? More like cracked up. All they did was send the loonies off to play with some fencing. Banned nothing and divided nothing. Added the bit about asking Fish and Wildlife to comment on the city's final plan so that they can't get sued. If you missed the meeting catch the rerun Thursday. Classic Pathetica Pacifica with a fine surprise ending.
Why can't we all just get along
Rodney baby don't worry be happy. Nothing has changed. No new laws just a few signs and some ugly fencing someday which mother nature will take care of pretty quick. We've seen it before. Busy work for the arrogant fools who keep trying to tell us how to live and spend money we don't have on problems that don't exist. Meanwhile, the beach is open to everyone and their dogs. Just the way it should be. The way it's always been.
Professional fundraiser Sam Casillas is going to help with getting funds for the dog park. That should help a lot.
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