Save Malibu Lagoon

www.SaveMalibuLagoon.com

Malibu Lagoon Dredge and Uproot Project FAQs

• In or around June 2011, bulldozers will excavate and grade close to 90,000 cubic yards of mud and wetland habitat. The entire lagoon west of the creek channel will be drained to transform healthy marshlands into a rock-defined channel. The three bridges on the main walk path will be ripped out. Moffat & Nichol, an engineering firm, drew up plans after being directed by an "environmental" team.

• The lagoon is not in need of improvement or restoration. In fact, due to natural development of sand bars and tide pools within the lagoon, rare wildlife, including the Black Skimmer (bird), have returned to the lagoon and have begun to nest.

• Birds, fish, turtles and amphibians make their home here.

• The public is unaware of the plan and had not had a chance to vote on it. Schoolchildren, residents and visitors, surfers, birdwatchers and others were excluded from input and will not be able to use the state park during the busiest time of the year -- and for about ½ year. Once the project is over, there will be little to see, as all the animals will be gone.

• Because state bond money from Propositions 13, 40 and 50 is available and earmarked for state water and "wildlife conservation" projects, groups felt that they had to use it whether or not the project was appropriate. More than a million dollars, better spent elsewhere have been used to conduct a feasibility study, plan, environmental review, permit, monitor, design and engineer the plan. Millions more of these precious bond dollars would be used to implement this ill-conceived plan.

• Project proponents plan to use poison to remove the nonnative plants that are not uprooted by bulldozers. Both the bulldozers and the poison will kill birds, eggs, turtles, fish and essential sea grasses.

• Access for surfers to Surfrider Beach will be arduous and more dangerous. As well, the many school children that come on field trips to the lagoon will have difficult access and of course, little reason to visit once the plan is implemented, as the wildlife they come to view will not exist in the abundance as it does now.

• Nonnative and highly flammable plants can easily be removed by hand. Animals can be protected by cover. All work can be done without bulldozers and poison.

• The California Coastal Commission is scheduled to grant a permit for the proposed project at their October 2010 hearing in Oceanside. Its staff has released a report recommending approval.

• Wetlands Defense Fund, CLEAN (Coastal Law Enforcement Action Network, Access For All, Save the Waves Coalition as well as neighbors of the lagoon and countless visitors and residents oppose the plan.

• Member of the public can visit www.savemalibulagoon.com for directions on how to take action. As well, all concerned citizens are being asked to contact decision makers, write to and call elected officials and write letters to the editor of local papers that decision makers read.

Video produced, directed and photographed by Marshall Thompson, marshall@prvideo.tv 310-403-2507
www.prvideo.tv

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• Save
• Malibu
• Lagoon
• wetlands
• estuary
• birds
• animals
• endangered
• threatened
• bulldozer

[prvideotv]

Hi, Stephanie, check out the follow up video which presents a gentler, alternate plan for restoring the Malibu Lagoon. Thanks for your interest!

[rebeccasmask]

The dead pelican at 2:22 is typical of mass die-offs caused by toxins from algae blooms. These blooms can be caused by eutrophication, excessive nutrient buildup, of the type that is occurring in the lagoon due to poor water circulation. Although that pelican was probably not killed by a bloom in the lagoon itself, it is dishonest to use it as an emotional tactic to work against a project that would help remedy similar problems.

TL;DR Bulldozers didn't kill that pelican, toxic algae did.

[ladybretcrain]

Restore the Lagoon with out destroying it. Lady Bret says NO to bulldozers and YES to a gentler alternative that gives respect for the beautiful, important wildlife.

[craigjrknox]

wow...this is so terrible...by bulldozing this it will end up saving animals in the future...the lagoon is full of trash, the water is polluted, and the fish that live in it are dying because of it...you people need to get your facts straight...if you want anyone to believe you give us water quality measurements and such...if park rangers are supporting this then there is no way you could possible be right

[carexpritch]

If only this project had some public meetings and an Environmental Impact Report.

[stephaniemonique8]

I respect your concern and efforst, but this video did not propose your plan. For that reason I cannot support your plan, because you have not supported you plan of action. What is your exact solution?

[bobpurvey]

From time to time, images come together magically, to tell an important story. It is as if some other forces are guiding all the elements to come together and dance a dance symbiotically in rythme with the camera's movement and frame. This is one of those special and important stories that we all need to know about. This place needs to be restored to it's natural state and we need to acquire the land and restore the lower floodplain to a functioning wetland.