Pinnipeds and humans don’t mix on beach On Tuesday, March 31, 2009, a rope was placed on the La Jolla Cove beach as a barrier to keep people away from a juvenile Northern elephant seal which had hauled out on the beach earlier in the day. I applaud the actions of the City of San Diego to keep people away from this elephant seal by placing the rope barrier on the beach. It is time to realize that pinniped populations are increasing off the coast of San Diego and the presence of pinnipeds on La Jolla pocket beaches will only increase. Pacific harbor seals, California sea lions and Northern elephant seals are now using the Children’s Pool, South Casa Beach and the La Jolla Cove. It is only a matter of time before these La Jolla pocket beaches will have to be closed to humans because of the presence of these marine mammals. Pinnipeds and humans cannot use the same beaches, it is just not possible. Enforcement of the Marine Mammal Protection Act means closing these beaches to humans because there is too much interference by humans into the daily behavior patterns of pinnipeds using the beaches. Anyway, people do not want to use beaches where pinnipeds are present because they are not clean like public beaches should be. It is time to realize that marine mammals off southern California are on the rebound and they are reclaiming some of their original territory. It is also time to remove the Children’s Pool seawall so harbor seals can use their historic seal rock area instead of having to use the beach at Children’s Pool and the South Casa Beach on the other side of the seawall. Robert Johnson, San Diego Answer to easing jet noise is in quieter planes Re “Airport Authority seeks to reduce noise” (Village News, April 2, page 3): The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority should start thinking outside the box. They have been soundproofing one house at a time for years now at an amazing cost.  This is not even a good stop-gap measure, because it means one must close oneself in the house when we have this wonderful weather outside. One cannot sit on one’s deck or patio when this happens, or even walk to the beach, the store or library. The answer is to quiet the planes. Then everyone everywhere would benefit. Some of you do not think it possible to have quieter planes. The newer planes are quieter; the noisiest ones should not be allowed. My family has lived in Ocean Beach on land subdivided in 1887, before man could fly. They moved here in the early 1920s before jets, before Lindbergh Field. I was born in1938 and well remember the time before jets. I think it is time that the Airport Authority represents the people of San Diego and sets noise limits. They should charge any carrier that exceeds the set limits with significant enough fees to compensate those of us who are held prisoners in our homes or caught outside with our fingers in our ears. The answer is quieter planes. Robert Burdette Jr., Ocean Beach