Instead of throwing on a suit and tie and knocking on doors at least one Saturday morning a month is devoted to working with Surfrider Foundation and their Beach cleanup programs or Coastal Keepers. Today the San Diego Chapter met in Oceanside Ca. by the Pier. Nice group and everyone hauled in lots of debris off of the beach. Bigest change in what you find- less bottles and cans and more of those plastic foil juice containers, also less cigarette butts than what you saw even 10 years ago, people really are cutting back. A no no for the people who fish off the pier- don't cut your tangled filament line and let it go in the water, it doesn't dissolve, it tangles with the ocean plant life and makes a mat. When it washes up on the beach we just pick the whole bundle of filament line and seaweed and haul it off. People left sandals, shoes, kids plastic shovels, diapers, and just general trash feet away from the city supplied trash containers. The other no no are balloons, regular or mylar, they don't dissolve and when they land on the pebbles the sun melts them into the rocks and you have to haul the whole heavy mess away. July 4th is approaching and on July 5th there will be multiple groups meeting to cleanup the beaches after the holiday, check locally for group times and locations.
June 19th is a very important meeting being held by the Water Quality Board over the future of Tresstles Bridge and the free flowing river that goes from the ocean back into the Cleveland National Forest. The Toll Road Developers are at it again and want to build a 8 lane clover-leaf Freeway exit and entry on what is now the Tresstles Bridge area and concrete the river back up into the inland area some 25 miles. This will go through some nice undeveloped land. San Mateo Campground is also on the cutting block as it sits next to the river. I have taken my kids camping there since they were little, its about a mile from the beach and you walk along a Sycamore covered trail to get to Tresstles Beach. At the last meeting when we defeated the Developers 3500 members from Surfrider showed up. Meeting is at 9174 Sky Park Court, San Diego, Ca. 92123, 1:00P.M, Wednesday June 19th.
We lost a similar battle 20 years ago to the Ted Williams Freeway in Del Mar. The Planning Groups assured everyone that the native deer herd that lived in the 10 mile long canyon would be ok, their habitat took them all they way to the beach where you could see them play in the surf. Within a year after completion of the Freeway all of the herd was gone, killed.
Look forward to seeing and meeting up with any who want to join in.
