Nature's Balance at Ocean Beach in Lompoc,
California
Ocean Beach in
Lompoc, California--When a beach closes for endangered, nesting snowy
plover birds...Coyotes that prefer steering clear of humans
gain free reign to the beach to dine on snowy plover eggs.
Update: This is a story that's hard to keep up on.
We receive emails from time to time about the policy changes in public
access to these beautiful beaches.
Central Coast California Beaches 2010--It's amazing that one tiny little bird
can shut down the beaches attended by billions of people. But the Western snowy
plover can do it, and some think that's great. Just as spring approaches and
California heads into tourist season, there's a seven month stretch from March
through September that the precious little bird gets the beach all to itself,
minus people. Fox, coyotes, bobcats and other animals will have a field day on
these very beaches but only a half mile of Surf Beach west of Lompoc will be
open to the public, between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. daily.
Ocean Beach will be closed between March and October, as it is every year
during the nesting season. We've visited during this period and stood at the
bright orange netting that forms a barrier, watching coyotes roam during the
daylight. We're more afraid of them than they are of us as they sift the sand
for food, undeterred by a human posted sign.
Do coyotes eat Western snowy plover? What do coyotes eat? Yes. Coyotes are
opportunistic predators that favor small mammals abundant on the Central Coast
beaches and brush--rabbits, mice, frogs, skunks, berries, insects, road-kill
deer and birds. Coyotes raid the nests, taking eggs from a group of nests in a
single evening. They then
dig caches, or hiding spots nearby to store the eggs. Coyotes return later to
eat the eggs, sometimes as many as three weeks after they were cached.
Under agreement with the Air Force and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, limited
access for people to the beaches specifies violations that can occur, 50 at
Surf and 10 at Minuteman and Wall beaches. Once those violations are reached, a
specific beach must close for the remainder of the nesting season.
In 2010 Wall and Minuteman beaches will be open from sunrise to sunset on a
trial basis, but will change to hours of 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. if five or more
violations occur.
No pets, horses, Frisbees, balls, kites and other flying objects, or
collection of driftwood is permitted during the plover season.
If Vandenberg can acquire a population of 400 adult breeding birds sustained
over 10 years the Endangered Species Act will remove restrictions. With a
population decrease in 2009 to 173 adult birds, the goals is lofty at this
point.
Older posting for this beach:
On a recent visit, stickers
in windows around Lompoc suggested beach access was still a hot topic.
The story below is outdated but we kept it to provide a flavor of what
concerns citizens now and for years to come, we imagine.
A temporary pedestrian path connecting the beach access
point at Lompoc's Ocean Park to the half-mile of open beach area at Surf
Beach opened June 1, 2000. After nearly 100 citations were issued to pedestrians
entering a prohibited area which closed for the summer months to protect
endangered nesting snowy plover birds, Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB)
officials had to do something, according to base officials.
The path is a 3,000 foot stretch of sand from Ocean Park
to Surf Beach which closed and was supposed to be out of commission from
March 1 to September 30 to protect near extinct birds that build nests
on the sand. Rather than bury their eggs, snowy plovers scratch the surface
and lay their eggs right on top.
When popular Ocean Beach (pictured) closed, some local
beach lovers and tourists ignored posted signs while others traveled a
short distance south to Surf Beach where an Amtrak Station sits.
Past several large guard-gated NASA buildings, Surf Beach provides a beautiful
fine, sand beach located on the perimeter of VAFB. But access requires
crossing the Amtrak train tracks. Concerns about public safety have caused
officials to create temporary access paths so that the snowy plovers and
humans can thrive side by side on the Central Coast beaches.
For now, Ocean Beach is open though large areas are off limits.
While this photographer spotted no snowy plovers, a coyote was recently
spotted on the beach. Coyotes, which are known to keep their distance
from humans, are plentiful in the region and especially at the protected
Oso Flaco and Guadualupe dunes. It is not recommended you approach or attempt
to feed them or the small bobcats seen roaming the secluded and protected
areas of the Central Coast.
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