Letter: Help Save Malibu Lagoon

By Pamela Finck, Pacific Palisades
Monique Kehoe and Nece Mills with The Surfer’s Coalition in Malibu, along with several environmental groups, are reaching out to the surf community. We remember lending our support in Save Trestles, and now we are desperate to raise awareness and support for Save Malibu Lagoon. Every effort to “fix the project before you fix the lagoon” is unfolding by the hour.
Even though Malibu’s City Council unanimously voted against the current controversial restoration project, California State Parks is moving forward. Fences have gone up and traps have been set to relocate animals before they begin de-watering 1.3 million gallons daily into the surf zone. Following that will be the bulldozers. Former Malibu city councilwoman Pamela Conley Uhlich recently pointed out the lunacy of spending over $8 million in bond dollars to bulldoze the lagoon at the same time that Gov. Jerry Brown will be closing 53 state parks, along with several off-highway vehicle sites, to save $22 million. The groundswell of outrage from the Malibu community has grown in the past couple of months. Due to the efforts of the city of Malibu and opponents, state parks finally submitted a new de-watering plan. However, State Parks claims that since the Coastal Commission already granted a permit, its new de-watering plan will be accepted. We would hope the commission will reconsider it, since it is a new plan to dump the water into the ocean as opposed to on the sand next to the ocean.
The Surfer