The Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors announced today, a joint effort to protect the Western Snowy Plover, a threatened species of shorebird that roosts at Dockweiler Beach. An enclosure of protective fencing made of orange plastic mesh, 100 feet deep and 300 feet long with an opening to the ocean, was installed at Dockweiler Beach to prevent people, vehicles, and animals from disturbing the habitat designated by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as critical for the recovery of the plover.
The protective fencing follows a three-year study by Audubon chapters of the roosting sites of Western Snowy Plovers on LA County beaches. Cooperating in the protections for the birds are US Fish and Wildlife Service; California Department of Fish and Game; Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors; California Coastal Commission, Santa Monica, Palos Verdes/South Bay, and Los Angeles Audubon Societies; and, biologist Tom Ryan of Ryan Ecological Consulting.
This effort will serve as a model for protecting sensitive resources while allowing appropriate beach access to the public that wish to surf and walk along the shore around the Snowy Plover enclosure. For information regarding Snowy Plover conservation, contact
tern@laaudubon.org