Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Silver Strand fencing to be replaced

"It seemed simple: get some posts, get some wire."

Two-foot gaps don't present much of a barrier
Two-foot gaps don't present much of a barrier

It took a federal agency, a state agency, a state commission, and several citizens' groups — as well as $325,000 — to move forward in replacing 2.1 miles of dilapidated chain-link fence along the Silver Strand. And, when they reached agreement on the size of the holes in the mesh in March after almost two years of negotiations and fundraising, the project was put on hold because of bird-breeding season.

Little bit of rust after 30 years

Everyone agrees that the 30-year-old fence along the Silver Strand State Park/Beach is a worn-out, rusty eyesore. But U.S. Fish & Wildlife, the City of Coronado, two community groups, state parks, and the California Coastal Commission all saw the project differently.

"It seemed simple: get some posts, get some wire," says Coronado engineer Ed Walton. "As we got started, there was more and more people with input."

Sponsored
Sponsored

The Silver Strand Beautification Project and the city want to have as little obstruction of the ocean views west of the Strand highway as possible. U.S. Fish & Wildlife and the coastal commission staff want the fence to block predators as much as possible and state parks — grateful for a free fence that will block far more than the one falling down — worked out a balance and a compromise their biologist felt would adequately protect the two endangered birds (the least tern and western snowy plover) in the reserve south of the beach.

And that doesn't touch on the topic of an optional gate.

The existing fence was built in 1984. About 12 years ago, the Silver Strand Beautification Project and the Coronado City Council turned their attention to the fence, which had two-foot gaps between the bottom and the ground in some places, sections with holes, and some that are tilted.

"There are some parts I'm amazed are still vertical," Walton says.

The city talked with state parks and learned there was no money available to fix it, according to city records. The rusty, falling-down fence on state parks land so annoyed the City of Coronado that the city allotted $230,000 to fix the fence and helped raise another $95,000 in grants for a total of $325,000 for the project. The city and state parks hammered out agreements on the height, the poles, and the metal mesh size...and then the fight began.

The southern end of the fence — from just north of the Coronado Cays to the end of the state parks reserve — runs along the nesting zone for the endangered western snowy plover, a small bird that lays its beige eggs unprotected in the sand. To protect the bird and the nests without blocking the views of the beach and ocean, the city and state parks reached a compromise that the holes in the mesh would be 2" by 6" along the southern portion where the birds nest and 6" by 6" along the northern portion. But when the plan was submitted to the coastal commission, U.S. Fish & Wildlife objected, worried that predators — including kestrels, shrikes, and mammals such as cats and raccoons — could pass through the mesh and harm the plovers and their eggs.

Fish & Wildlife insists the mesh at the south end has to be 2" by 2" to protect the birds, according to letters and emails submitted to the coastal commission. The coastal commission staff then submitted its own alternative, which added a foot in height, reduced the mesh to 1.5" by 1.5" and eliminated the emergency gate, in accordance with what U.S. Fish & Wildlife asked for.

"State parks has stated that their staff believes it would be unlikely for predator birds to be able to occupy a 2" by 6" space for the length of time necessary to gain a predatory advantage......" the coastal commission report says. "However, the commission's ecologist, Dr. John Dixon, has reviewed these objections and respectfully disagrees with the applicant."

The coastal commission, after a two-hour hearing on March 9, gave permission to build the fence that's essentially a gift from Coronado to state parks. But breeding season began and runs for six months.

"We'll get back to it in September," Walton said.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Navy solves San Diego homeless crisis by retiring four locally moored ships

Decommision Accomplished
Next Article

2024 continues to impress with yellowfin much closer to San Diego than they should be

New rockfish regulations coming this week as opener approaches
Two-foot gaps don't present much of a barrier
Two-foot gaps don't present much of a barrier

It took a federal agency, a state agency, a state commission, and several citizens' groups — as well as $325,000 — to move forward in replacing 2.1 miles of dilapidated chain-link fence along the Silver Strand. And, when they reached agreement on the size of the holes in the mesh in March after almost two years of negotiations and fundraising, the project was put on hold because of bird-breeding season.

Little bit of rust after 30 years

Everyone agrees that the 30-year-old fence along the Silver Strand State Park/Beach is a worn-out, rusty eyesore. But U.S. Fish & Wildlife, the City of Coronado, two community groups, state parks, and the California Coastal Commission all saw the project differently.

"It seemed simple: get some posts, get some wire," says Coronado engineer Ed Walton. "As we got started, there was more and more people with input."

Sponsored
Sponsored

The Silver Strand Beautification Project and the city want to have as little obstruction of the ocean views west of the Strand highway as possible. U.S. Fish & Wildlife and the coastal commission staff want the fence to block predators as much as possible and state parks — grateful for a free fence that will block far more than the one falling down — worked out a balance and a compromise their biologist felt would adequately protect the two endangered birds (the least tern and western snowy plover) in the reserve south of the beach.

And that doesn't touch on the topic of an optional gate.

The existing fence was built in 1984. About 12 years ago, the Silver Strand Beautification Project and the Coronado City Council turned their attention to the fence, which had two-foot gaps between the bottom and the ground in some places, sections with holes, and some that are tilted.

"There are some parts I'm amazed are still vertical," Walton says.

The city talked with state parks and learned there was no money available to fix it, according to city records. The rusty, falling-down fence on state parks land so annoyed the City of Coronado that the city allotted $230,000 to fix the fence and helped raise another $95,000 in grants for a total of $325,000 for the project. The city and state parks hammered out agreements on the height, the poles, and the metal mesh size...and then the fight began.

The southern end of the fence — from just north of the Coronado Cays to the end of the state parks reserve — runs along the nesting zone for the endangered western snowy plover, a small bird that lays its beige eggs unprotected in the sand. To protect the bird and the nests without blocking the views of the beach and ocean, the city and state parks reached a compromise that the holes in the mesh would be 2" by 6" along the southern portion where the birds nest and 6" by 6" along the northern portion. But when the plan was submitted to the coastal commission, U.S. Fish & Wildlife objected, worried that predators — including kestrels, shrikes, and mammals such as cats and raccoons — could pass through the mesh and harm the plovers and their eggs.

Fish & Wildlife insists the mesh at the south end has to be 2" by 2" to protect the birds, according to letters and emails submitted to the coastal commission. The coastal commission staff then submitted its own alternative, which added a foot in height, reduced the mesh to 1.5" by 1.5" and eliminated the emergency gate, in accordance with what U.S. Fish & Wildlife asked for.

"State parks has stated that their staff believes it would be unlikely for predator birds to be able to occupy a 2" by 6" space for the length of time necessary to gain a predatory advantage......" the coastal commission report says. "However, the commission's ecologist, Dr. John Dixon, has reviewed these objections and respectfully disagrees with the applicant."

The coastal commission, after a two-hour hearing on March 9, gave permission to build the fence that's essentially a gift from Coronado to state parks. But breeding season began and runs for six months.

"We'll get back to it in September," Walton said.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Didja know I did the first American feature on Jimi Hendrix?

Richard Meltzer goes through the Germs, Blue Oyster Cult, Ray Charles, Elvis, Lavender Hill Mob
Next Article

San Diego's Uptown Planners challenged by renters from Vibrant Uptown

Two La Jolla planning groups fight for predominance
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.