The Snowy Plover depends on the California beach ecosystem to survive. According the Fish and Wildlife Service: "Only 28 major nesting areas remain for the estimated 2,600 snowy plovers that breed along the Pacific coast from early March through late September. The sand spits dune-backed beaches and other coastal habitats where the small shorebirds breed are being lost to development and encroachment of exotic beach grass. Human activity on the beaches during the breeding season and predation also have contributed to the decline of plover numbers and helped put this species at risk."

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Save the Beaches: Fry the Plovers by Jenny Harker

Bear with me as I lay out the facts.

The beaches of Vandenberg Air Force Base, near Lompoc, California, are breeding sites for the Snowy Plover, a tiny shore bird on the endangered species list.

To aid in the bird's comeback, Surf Beach, Ocean Park, Wall Beach, and Minuteman Beach are closed to human access from March 1st to September 30th.

These months are the plover's breeding season. The birds lay eggs in indentations in the sand. Yeah, the birds are that small.

Federal officials are shooting for a goal of 400 adult breeding pairs of Snowy Plovers. Last year the number of breeding pairs was 256.

Signs describing the beach rules are posted in clear sight at the entrance to the beaches. Any person caught on the beach or in the sand dunes during the breeding season is fined.

A group of Lompoc Valley beach users continues to fight for access to the beaches during the breeding season. They have petitioned to have the Snowy Plover removed from the endangered species list.

The case is on hold in federal court until a scientific study by the Fish and Wildlife administration is released. (March 3, 2006, Lompoc Record)
We humans populate the majority of the planet. We breed all over the place. We are the two-legged equivalent of the rabbit.
Snowy plovers need these few beaches to keep their species in existence.
The whining Lompoc beach-goers don't give a damn. Apparently, the time they spend romping in the sand is more important than the survival of a species. I have seen bumper stickers in Lompoc with sayings like, 'Free the beaches-Fry the plovers'.
I overheard a man in a checkout line say, "Let me run my SUV through the dunes a few times. That will solve the problem for good."
I expressed my opinion of his words in a manner that left him feeling as if he had been run over by his SUV.
I spent thirty years of my life in Lompoc. I know and love well the beaches concerned. During the summer, the beaches are smothered in cold fog. Mountains of seaweed are often cast on shore. This attracts millions of flies. No one can swim safely off these beaches because of the cold water, riptides, and sharks.
Surfers do try the waves despite the dangerous rocks, but the waves at these beaches are at their highest during the winter when the beaches are open. Surfing in the summer is better at public Jalama and Refugio Beach, about twenty miles farther south.
Surf Beach, Ocean Park, and Wall Beach are ten miles closer to Lompoc, though, which make them convenient for the beach-goers.
This brings us to the root of these selfish people's desire: The Snowy Plover's struggle to survive is inconvenient for the whining beach-goers.
Instead of whining about how victimized you feel, Lompoc beach-goers, help the plover to increase its population. The sooner you help the bird, the sooner the beaches will remain open during the summer.
You need the experience to become better human beings.

About the Author

Visit http://www.writingup.com/blog/JHarker to read Jenny's editorials, historical fiction book reviews, and how-to articles on writing book reviews.

Update: According the Fish and Wildlife Service they ares conducting a status review of the California beach ecosystem population of the western snowy plover, to comply with two petitions to de-list the species and also to comply with the requirement that species status be reviewed in five-year intervals. The Service expects to complete that review next spring.

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