FreeLists / va-bird / [va-bird] Fw: [Tweeters] Tijuana Slough politics

["Kristin Stewart" <kristinstewart01@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

A bit far afield from VA, but of interest to us all...

Kristin Stewart
Olympia WA
VSO member and  former VA resident

 Original Message ----- 
From: "Connie Sidles" <csidles@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <tweeters@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, February 03, 2005 2:24 PM
Subject: [Tweeters] Tijuana Slough politics


> Hey tweets, On Monday, the Seattle Times reported a disturbing development
> regarding the Tijuana Slough. According to the Seattle Times (which picked
> up the story from the LA Times), the Bush Administration is proposing to
> take care of an illegal immigrant problem by filling up canyons with dirt.
>
> Here's a summary of the issue:
> A fence currently closes off access to the U.S. border from Mexico along a
> 3.5 mile stretch of land that borders the Tijuana estuary. However, due to
> erosion in parts along this stretch, the fence can be stepped over quite
> easily by illegal travelers.
>
> To improve homeland security, the federal government is proposing to fill
in
> some of the canyons with dirt from nearby mesas, then building a fence to
> block illegals. The proposal is being pushed very hard by Rep. Duncan
> Hunter, R-Calif. He is quoted as saying, "A true environmentalist would
want
> to close that gap [in the Border Patrol's fencing program]. The estuary
gets
> pounded by the traffic of folks being smuggled into the United Sates.
There
> have been hundreds of trails cut deep by the smugglers."
>
> Environmentalists, including the Coastal Commission, believe that an
> effective fence can be built without filling up the canyons with dirt.
They
> believe that Hunter's idea would be an ecological disaster in a very
> sensitive place.
>
> The Tijuana Slough is a world-class estuary, one of the few left in desert
> habitat in California. I have birded there and was entranced by seeing
> Clapper Rails rushing around in the slough, darting out to grab some food
to
> feed their miniature bowling ball babies. I know of no other site on the
> West Coast where you can see these rails so reliably and in such numbers.
>
> If you feel moved to object to Hunter's proposal, you can write to him at:
> Rep. Duncan Hunter
> 366 South Pierce Street
> El Cajon, CA 92020
>
> I would also plead for you to write to your own representatives to
motivate
> them to stop this action.
>
> Lastly, I would appreciate it if you would forward this email to other
> birder list servers. Rep. Hunter and the Bush Administration need to know
> that the Tijuana Slough does not belong solely to them, and that the
public
> at large has an interest in security without destroying the very values we
> are trying to preserve. - Connie, Seattle
>
> csidles@xxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> Tweeters@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
>


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