Pacifica Tribune Letters to the Editor, 2/6/13. "Plover protection" by Dan B. Underhill
| Roosting Western Snowy plovers on Linda Mar Beach |
There are responsibilities as well as blessings that come with whatever part of the planet one inhabits. I am not surprised that Mayor Stone would easily find 50 people who are not very well informed about the fragile ecosystems around them.
The fact is that most people have barely a clue. I, myself, rely heavily on people who have studied such things in greater depth than I will have time to do. I am sure that, once the council fills the vacancies on the open space committee and the committee is back to doing its job, then Mayor Stone's votes will reflect his better understanding of the issues and the responsibilities we share as stewards of our little part of the planet."
Note: Photograph from Pacifica Riptide blog, 10/22/08. "Elusive, reclusive snowy plovers on Linda Mar state beach, lovingly
photographed by our stealthy ploverstalker Clark Natwick with a fuzzy
filter."
Posted by Kathy Meeh
33 comments:
"Editor: For those who were as astounded as I was that there would be any dissenting votes to the very modest proposal to protect the Snowy Plover, I should say in Len Stone's defense that he came in to the council at a time when the Open Space Committee had been allowed to languish.
Was this the Tribune Editor or the Editor of this blog?
Wow Clark Natwick and Dan Underhill on the same post.
I am a fan of Dan's non-confrontational and insightful writing style. And he hit 2 birds with one stone, (or one Stone with 2 birds?) simultaneously making the case for the Open Space Committee and Plover protections.
You could rationally characterize this LTE as "non-confrontational" (albeit totally inaccurate). However, I can't see any serious person characterizing Dan Underhill as "non-confrontational and insightful".
He's traditonally been the NIMBY version of Pacifica's Fox News. He (and his editor Maybury) have never failed to find some ridiculous vast right-wing conspiracy under any and every rock. They are as equally what's wrong with this country as Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh.
Len Stone's common-sense approach to the plover protections @ LMBeach requires no defense. As for those who voted irresponsibly for the extreme and unnecessary beach restrictions (a vote that will come back to haunt them), how about an insanity plea?
making a case for what? junk science and radical, unfounded opinions? I'll ask again, if the GGNRA runs the open space, why does Pacifica need an OSC? As for the plover, I thinks Stone is spot on. This is the problem with Pacifica, unqualified people making policy based on what they want to be true.
Read the truth about the snowy plover myths:
NO WSP
Woof!
I stand corrected
Clark Natwick
Dan Underhill
Ian Butler
On the same post.
Pacifica is saved!
Open Space Committee is a waste of time and money. There is no need to have an open space committee when 51% of our city is already open space. Enough already! At one time it was proposed by this committee that all applicants come before them and then go on to the planning commission. Over-reach. We have a GGNRA advisory committee. Why another layer? As for the fence and signs on the beach, hideous, visually unseemly, and a vandals dream. Insanity.
I watched the re-run of the Council meeting on PCT and laughed out loud at Len Stone because he said he was voting against the Plover protections for - wait for it - "aesthetic reasons" !!!
Obviously Stone doesn't know what the word means, or has bad taste, or both. Apparently he didn't have the "Stones" to admit he was voting "no" because he represents only a small handful of fanatics he would rather despoil our beach with dog crap then the vast majority of people he can appreciate multiple use and protection of the beach and the plovers.
How much money has the snowy plover brought into Pacifica?
Maybe they need to hire a consultant?
"aesthetic reasons" Anonymous 9:36 am
Well, you've taken a word out of the larger context to spin a subordinate point. Mayor Stone was clear that he did not think such a large walled-off area for plovers was needed. He surveyed about 50 people there who all agreed. And he was concerned about beach tourism.
Linda Mar is an urban beach, and it would be nice to keep it that way. Protect visiting plovers, yes. Create a breeding ground for plovers, and destroy access to our urban beach, no.
Clearly you are the one who doesn't know what "aesthetic" means. Len is obviously the only adult in the room and understands the impact of throwing up a bunch of ugly fencing on the main tourist draw for our financially-strapped city.
lol Anon 10:32. Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of art & beauty. I wonder if Stone is a Kantian? You clearly are a "Neumanian" (as in Alfred E. Neuman). Have more potato chips.
What do you expect Len Stone, went to Terra Nova.
A few well-placed educational and regulatory signs would meet the legal requirements for this threatened bird. That's a fact. To go beyond that is to indulge the interests and hobby of a small group of people who want to increase the plover population on an urban beach. They have brought in a powerful ally in the USFWS. The goal is to have breeding plovers on busy LMBeach. They need to eliminate the disturbance caused by people and their activities. A harmless birder thing? Not really. There are beaches in CA that are closed for the entire breeding season March through September because people and breeding plovers cannot really share a beach. We might be a few years away from that, but this plover corral is the first and most important step. It's a step that the GGNRA has wisely never taken with roosting plovers at Crissy Field and Ocean Beach. But foolishly, we're going to do it in Pacifica.
This is an old story in Pacifica. We accomodate the idealogy of a persuasive and zealous few at the expense of the rest. There is no majority that supports these extreme plover protections. The majority is indifferent and/or ignorant. Council should and IMHO did know better. Digre's motion and vote were to be expected. The other three sold us out. Sold us out knowing it would take years for the full effect of their blundering to be felt. Time is the last refuge for inept and inadequate politicians. Stone was absolutely right on this one.
no stone said it was for anaesthetic reasons. pacifica is rapidly dying and he wants to numb the pain.
Having taken this first disastrous step on LMBeach how long before the plover overlords of the beach decide to ban dogs? While they wisely dropped the D-word from their recent rhetoric, they've often brought up the fact that dogs are banned on other state beaches and LM is a state beach. How long do the dogs have on Linda Mar?
Years ago one of the GGNRA bigwigs
made a comment about plovers at Crissy Field to the effect that as long as dogs were allowed at all in the area the plovers would not breed. He wasn't complaining about this. It was clearly part of the GGNRA management strategy for a very urban and popular recreation asset. And of course the dogs don't drive themselves to the beach. They come with their people. How long do we have?
@936 Fanatics? The fanatics are the small group who want to return that beach to pre-1970's when the plovers would breed there and would sacrifice a vital recreational beach and economic asset in their holy quest.
You make an interesting reference to "dog crap". How many of these plover lovers are really just dog haters ready to use any scam to rid the beach of dogs?
hahaha 408. i like vicodin with my council meetings. quikker than likker and nothing to recycle.
Yeah, the plover people dropped the D-word from their campaign and got instant traction with council.
Now, that shows a deep, and somewhat cynical, insight into
the minds and motives of the city council. All you have to do is make it about embracing cute little birds instead of the gradual loss of a heavily used urban beach loved by generations of dog-walkers and others, and council can't roll over fast enough. You just got to make it easy for them. Don't hurt yourselves there, Council. Roll over slowly and in the same direction. You guys on the end, careful, careful.
seems like the "new" council learned something from the dogs . . . roll over and play dead
Don't forget to thank Julie Lancelle for her efforts to protect the plovers at any and all costs to Pacifica. It's up to you to do so because the plovers can't. A round of kumbaya if you please.
Ian, Ron, or Dan (or anyone):
please show us where Linda Mar beach is listed as a crtical habitat for the WSP.
oh anon@518 It's not but that doesn't matter. Don't you know? This plover beach grab is going to be the legacy of a bunch of aging hippie birders. Members of the same group whose enviro ideology and political alliances have kept Pacifica poor for decades. This beach grab didn't happen overnight. It's been underway for years. From ice-plant removal to Lancelle's plover protection sub-committee to council's disastrous vote a few weeks ago, it's been a work in progress by a small group of zealots who rely on the indifference of most people. The other key tool is a willing and supportive council. There's really nothing new about this new council--as Len Stone and the rest of us will discover. The enviros are still running the show.
Linda Mar beach is not considered a critical habitat for the WSP by the organization that says the "WSP" is a threatened species.
Why the heck are we even talking about it then? could there be anything more indicative of how DUMB this city is than what just happened??
@731 Looking for more dumb moves? You'd have to go back a few decades but the failure to pursue a freeway connection to civilization over the hill was also a pretty dumb move. Then of course we have a series of land give aways to the GGNRA...Sweeney Ridge, Mori Point, etc....also pretty dumb moves. The relocation of a sewer treatment plant to the quarry area also seems anti-development and a pretty dumb move. The results of these events and their negative impact on this town weren't felt immediately but they are permanent and devastating. The impact on our lives and economy from this beach grab by this so-called new council also won't be immediate but it, too, will be devastating and permanent.
What have we put in office? If we judge them by their decisions instead of what they claim to be, and we must do that, then this so called "new" council is no different than the no-growth people they replaced. No wonder Nihart and Ervin got all the enviro endorsements. We make the same mistake over and over again, changing nothing, and learning nothing from the past.
http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfile.action?spcode=B07C
http://www.gpo.gov/8543F08A-94D3-4A1F-80C5-29FE64A5B155/FinalDownload/DownloadId-32FD511F1B63D6215CFD9C32ADC96B25/8543F08A-94D3-4A1F-80C5-29FE64A5B155/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-06-19/pdf/2012-13886.pdf
Updated Ciritcal Habitat Report for WSP
nope, no Linda Mar beach. so what the heck are the nobies doing?
(editor: this supercedes my last comment - please post this one and remove this disclaimer)
It's Plover (apologies to Roy Orbison)
Your beach doesn't want you any more.
Golden days, before they end,
Whisper secrets to the wind.
Your beach won't be near you any more.
Tender nights, before they fly,
Send falling stars that seem to cry.
Your beach doesn't want you any more.
It's plover.
It breaks your heart in two,
To know science so untrue.
But oh, what will you do,
When it says to you,
"There's someone new.
you're through.
you're through."
It's plover, it's plover, it's plover.
All the rainbows in the sky
Start to weep and say good-bye.
You won't be seeing rainbows any more.
Setting suns, before they fall,
Echo to you, "That's all, that's all."
But you'll see lonely sunsets, after all.
It's plover, it's plover, no Rover....
It's plover.
PTP anonymous 11:22 AM, your 11:09 AM "It's Plover" version of a Roy Orbison song has been removed as you have requested. Your 11:22 AM replacement with disclaimer is posted as submitted. Comments are not edited.
@906 "What are the nobies doing?"
You need to ask? They're running the show!
We've been had. Add the beach give away to the list of nobie disasters anon1254 put together.
Lancelle, Vree, Dejarnatt and Curtis may have left the main stage but their ideology is alive and well on this council.
All wrapped up in kumbaya, consensus, inclusion... that's nimbie code for gotcha suckahs!
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