Several nonprofit organizations are waiting to receive acceptance from the city for the donation of a steel cable barrier that will protect the seals during pupping season at the Children’s Pool beach in La Jolla.
The Sierra Club, the San Diego Marine and Wildlife Sanctuary Association and San Diego Animal Advocates have raised more than $2,000 in donations from La Jolla businesses, as well as the San Diego Coast Keeper and the Earth Island Institute, and hope to work with the city in purchasing materials for the beach, according to Patrick Lee Hord, a member of the San Diego Marine and Wildlife Sanctuary Association.
“This project has really energized a lot of people all over San Diego to get involved in civic conservation and it’s a way to express support for the harbor seals,” Hord said.
The Sierra Club and other organizations have enough funding to purchase the materials, but have not yet moved forward with that process, according to Hord. The groups are also hoping that the city will let them provide additional signage at the beach, which warns spectators to keep a distance from the seals.
The city attorney’s office requested several weeks ago that the steel cable barrier donation be placed on the Natural Resources and Cultural Committee (NRCC) agenda, according to District 6 City Councilwoman Donna Frye, who is also chair of the NRCC.
“I see it as something that hopefully we can work out because I think it’s awfully nice that these folks want to help and are concerned,” Frye said about the steel rope donation. “And I certainly appreciate the volunteer effort.”
The San Diego City Council voted on Dec. 5 to place a rope barrier at the Children’s Pool beach 15 days earlier than scheduled and take it down 15 days later in order to protect baby seals during pupping season, according to Frye. However, the type of rope to be used was not discussed in the council session, she said.
Although it was scheduled for Friday, Dec. 15, the rope barrier was installed Saturday, Dec. 16, according to Bill Harris, deputy press secretary and spokesman for Mayor Jerry Sanders.
Because the Sierra Club hasn’t yet purchased a steel cable, the city’s Parks and Recreation Department used the same rope as last year, which has been in storage, according to Frye.
The rope has been vandalized in the past and is beginning to weather, which is why the organizations want to purchase the steel cable, Hord said.
But city council’s top priority was getting the rope up at the correct time, according to Frye.
“The bottom line is this: it’s better to have something than nothing, and the details of what to put in place can always be brought to the council in the next year,” Frye said. “But, hopefully we can work it out through the mayor’s office before that happens.”
Hord hopes the groups can continue raising money for additional materials and maintenance for the barrier once it is implemented. He said he’s grateful for the council’s vote to implement the rope, since it’s a major victory for seal activists.
“This is not a conflict anymore ” the rope is going up,” Hord said.