Either Peter Douglas, executive director of the California Coastal Commission, is full of bologna or perhaps like we suspected of Andrea Hoch, Governor Schwarzenegger’s legal affairs secretary, he has naively fallen prey to the overstated rhetoric ghost written for him by Detroit casino syndicators.
In an op-ed bylined by Douglas and published in the San Francisco Chronicle this past Sunday, April 8, 2007; the Coastal Commission’s administrative chief writes:
"...on the pristine shores of Big Lagoon in Humboldt County"
"…unique unspoiled natural treasure…"
But then Douglas seems to contradict himself when he writes in the brief essay that annually “60,000 visitors come to the area [Humboldt Lagoons State Park] for recreation and relief from pressures of urban living.”
How is it 60,000 people can come and go and yet leave the Big Lagoon pristine and unspoiled? Those words imply something much different.
Webster's defines "pristine" as follows:
1 : belonging to the earliest period or state : ORIGINAL;the hypothetical pristine lunar atmosphere;
2 : not spoiled, corrupted, or polluted (as by civilization) : PURE;a pristine forest; b : fresh and clean as or as if new
Conservation, protection and restoration activities in the region have been at play for decades. Certainly Douglas knows that. Save The Redwoods League raises money for such efforts and for acquisitions because it indicates there are already a number of threats and challenges impacting the Humboldt Lagoons State Park:
· Contamination and pollution including chemical spills along highway, septic system failures, former Louisiana-Pacific mill site, and use of 2-stroke engines and MTBE-laced fuel in water craft.
· Enforcing water speed limit on for motorized vehicles to minimize noise pollution and accidents.
· Upstream erosion and sedimentation in streams draining to lagoons, and associated flooding in the Redwood Trails area.
For Peter Douglas to say the Big Lagoon and surrounds are “pristine” and “untouched” was nothing short of irresponsible – and either ignorant or intentionally manipulative.
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