One more NR&C meeting on April 5
March 29, 2010 – 4:10 pmDear Seal Supporters ,
Can you write a quick letter or email to support the La Jolla seals?
All your calls, letters and hearing attendance worked last time around. At the City Council’s Natural Resources and Culture Committee hearing earlier this month, Councilmember Carl DeMaio stated that he strongly supported the seals. However, he hedged his bets and sided with Councilmember Sherri Lightner in asking for a city staff report before voting to pass anything on to the full council.
There will now be a special NRC hearing on April 5 at 8:30am in which Councilmember DeMaio will have another opportunity to vote for protection for the seals.
Please try to attend the hearing so we can fill up the room again!
Where: 202 C St., 12th floor council chambers, San Diego, CA 92101
When: Monday, April 5 from 8:30am-11am
Please fill out a comment card for “support,” and write that you waive time for the APRL/LJFS presentation.
Monday’s Union Tribune reported that the mayor’s office will not be releasing a staff report because the mayor is in favor of “shared use” and thinks the status quo is fine:
However, this is what shared use looks like for this tiny beach that is surrounded by other swimming beaches:
Most of the public respectfully stays behind the rope, but a single individual or two will sometimes cross it and disturb the pregnant and nursing seals just because he can. When the rope comes down, as it is scheduled to on May 15 for the summer, it gets even worse with no clear guideline and people swarming right up to the seals:
Now that this matter will not make it to the full city council until at least May, and with the guideline rope scheduled to come down May 15, it is urgent that the council also consider the rest of our proposal, which is to keep the guideline rope up year round and declare Casa Beach a marine mammal park to encourage Marine Mammal Protection Act enforcement.
Please also write to Councilmember Marti Emerald to thank her for supporting the seals and encouraging her to vote for year round protection that is urgently needed.
Marti Emarald
(619) 236-6677
martiemerald@sandiego.gov
The APRL/Sealwatch and La Jolla Friends of the Seals proposal is supported by a wide variety of groups, including Coastal Environmental Rights Coalition, The Surfrider Foundation, The San Diego Coastkeeper, Green Party of San Diego County, Humane Society of the US, In Defense of Animals, PETA, Sierra Club, Southwest Wetlands Interpretive Association, Wildcoast, and even the San Diego Union Tribune editorial page.
Now that the mayor has declared there will not be a staff report, the council needs to do its job and vote on this commonsense proposal that is supported by the vast majority of San Diegans as confirmed by independent polling. Yet another scientific poll was conducted after the last NRC hearing, this time by 10 News, confirming that the vast majority of San Diegans want this small beach closed during pupping season. Note the age differences, which are interesting and quite drastic (Item #2).
Please also write to Carl DeMaio urging him to vote in favor of the three points:
1) closing the beach during pupping season
2) guideline rope the rest of the year
3) declare Casa Beach a marine mammal park to discourage seal harassment
Carl DeMaio
(619) 236-6655
carldemaio@sandiego.gov
The final point would create no new legal obligations for the city but would signal to federal agencies that the city wants the Marine Mammal Protection Act enforced rather than ignored as it currently is at this beach. The seals would have been chased away long ago in fact if not for the constant vigilance of nonprofit groups.
The mailing address for all councilmembers is the same: 202 C St., San Diego, CA 92101.
As for Sherri Lightner, don’t waste your time. She is simply acting irrationally and in bad faith against the interests of the city she was elected to serve and needs to be voted down–again–by her colleagues on the council.
While politicians continue debating over the fate of the seals at the Children’s Pool, the anti-seal vandals keep invading the nursery causing damage to the well being of the colony.
The visitors became extremely upset when the out of control child started throwing rocks at the moms and pups swimming in the water. As the group was busy having their usual “fun” of disturbing the animals, the female seal was in labor. You can watch the birth of little Hughes filmed by Brooke here:
The pup was named after a witness, Harrie Hughes who gave our program a generous donation of $100 – THANK YOU!
The same disrespectful individuals (one of them identifies himself as CYBERKICK under blog comments) showed up on Saturday, March 27, crossing the rope and sitting too close to the animals causing upset among the public. Two men were soon joined by a notorious seal harasser David Johnson who, at 1:45 PM scared more than 60 seals in the water when coming back from snorkeling; ten minutes later he scared 6 more seals by walking at the waters edge.
43 pups born to date:
#41 March 21 @ 12:43 PM “Hughes”
#42 March 26 @7:30 PM “Dulce Noche” or “Sweet Night”
#43 March 29 overnight “Dulce Suenos” or “Sweet Dreams
Tiny pup which we named “Dulce Noche” or “Sweet Night” was born at 7:30 PM under the bright moon on Friday, March 26.
Roxann took some pictures of the pup the next morning when we could finally see him in the daylight:
PLEASE COME TO THE MEETING! LET’S SOLVE THE SEAL ISSUE ONES AND FOR ALL!
Dorota
Follow Us on Twitter 
10 Comments! WOW! Read Below what others are saying.
If I was breaking any law, how come when the police were called and came to the beach they advised me I wasn’t breaking any law? How come when I called NOAA they advised me that I was not breaking any law, and if any seals actually go in to the water that too isn’t breaking the law unless I wave my hands and chase after them for the specific purpose of scaring them? How come if they were so scared, one of the mother seals and her pup came right up to us and started nursing? That seal came right up to us and sat down. It then turned its back to us.
The beach is for children, and the seals were not dispersed for the specific purpose of benefit of children. If the seals aren’t serving that purpose, then the seals were not dispersed under false pretenses.
By cyberKICK on Mar 29, 2010
The seals aren’t going anywhere. People should be using the beach. Then maaybe it won’t smell like a dirty toilet all of the time.
By Ben on Mar 29, 2010
The use of a man made pool, Children’s Pool built for human use, while seals are present can hardly be considered harassment of seals. Yet many people have been intimidated away from using the Children’s Pool by self appointed seal babysitters. There are lots of places the seals can move to if they were ever to feel threatened by the human activity at the Children’s Pool.
There are coves and sheltered beaches up and down the San Diego coastline that are very hard for people to access and are available to the seals. The fact that most seals flee humans is normal and should not come with the threat of criminal prosecution or physical assault to someone using a public beach. Those seals that have lost their natural fear of humans should be relocated to more secluded areas to allow the remaining seals to restore the natural balance of human/seal interactions.
The overzealous attempt to ban people from Children’s Pool by the pro seal activists should be exposed for the crime that it is. They should be moved away from the Children’s Pool area until they learn to behave and respect the rights of all beach users. The constant harassment and intimidation by this group should never be tolerated and will lead to increasing problems as people resist their intimidation.
The evidence is clear that this problem was caused by the San Diego City Council’s many years of mis-management of the Children’s Pool. They did not react quickly enough to the overpopulation of seals caused by Sea World’s rehab and release program and the assumption of authority by the seal activists. They now have plenty of guidance by the State and the courts on how to finally resolve the problems at the Children’s Pool.
Continue the shared use policy and remove the pro seal / anti human terrorists.
By califia on Mar 31, 2010
How does closing the beach “benefit” the children? The beach is supposed to be for the children, not the sidewalk. If the seals don’t serve this purpose, why keep them there?
Also, if someone wants the ONLY beach in San Diego with no strong currents (no rip currents, no undertow, etc) to be for children, why does that make them a “seal hater”? I have talked with people who use the beach even though the activists say not to, and NOT ONE of them hates seals. In fact, many want to see the seals returned to a natural environment because that is what would be best for the colony as a whole.
By cyberKICK on Apr 1, 2010
califia, you are spot-on. I would be willing to bet, that no matter what is done, until the sales booth is shut down, there will never be any sort of peace. That booth is the real problem.
By Frisbee Boy on Apr 2, 2010
This site should be handed over to people who support a logical approach to the beach situation like cyberKICK and califia. From the comments posted it seems like these are the only people who visit this site. Gotta say, the comments are actually sound and logical. It must be tough for these people to deal with sound logic and ideas that actually make sense.
By John Conner on Apr 4, 2010
My whole issue is my lips move when I think.
By ZX1400 owner on Aug 30, 2010
keep it real, iight
By AnTiViRuS on Sep 10, 2010
yeah my dad will like this
By weight on Sep 27, 2010
I’d come to give blessing with you on this. Which is not something I usually do! I enjoy reading a post that will make people think. Also, thanks for allowing me to speak my mind!
By Chad Dorce on Dec 13, 2010