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Marina
Shores: wetland creatures at risk
The
Marina Shores East development project may
negatively impact endangered species and
proper measures must be taken to protect
this area of Southeast Long Beach.
This
is valuable wetland and the project may
also threaten the environment of the San
Gabriel River. It will make the traffic
on Pacific Coast Highway worse, as the development
is scheduled for the corner of PCH and Studebaker
Road. Representatives from the Fish and
Game Department must take steps to prevent
this.
The
Marina Shores development will be a commercial
center sporting two restaurants, two retail
buildings and 350 parking spaces, according
to the Long Beach Beachcomber. The center
is scheduled for development by the same
company that created the Marina Shores shopping
center across the way where Wild Oats Market
and Petco are located.
The
land where the development is scheduled
has been vacant except for seasonal pumpkin
and Christmas tree patches. Before that,
it housed the City Dump and Salvage, Inc.
of Long Beach, leased from the Bixby Ranch
Company. City Dump and Salvage, Inc. closed
the landfill one year after its lease because
the landfill was full.
The
center's development threatens some rare
species, including the Southern tar plant,
Coulter's goldfield, Heliotrope, Pickleweed,
Calif. wandering skipper and big-eyed flies.
Though many would argue that the loss of
a fly is nothing but loss of an annoyance,
every creature on Earth is connected and
the loss of even one tiny insect would create
a chain of negative consequences.
On
Aug. 12, environmental activists gathered
to protest, calling the attention of passing
cars and bringing to light the leaking of
a substance into the river from what was
once a dumpsite.
They
claim the site is conducive to being a wetlands
area and want it protected from development,
however, the site was a landfill and residue
may still exist.
It
is speculated that the leak is coming from
underground pipes. The city is requiring
the developer to run through a site assessment
before beginning the project, according
to Beachcomber. The site will also blossom
into a residential community, providing
much needed housing to the county. The development
will increase traffic along PCH, in turn
increasing pollution from cars and roadway
litter.
Marina
Shores is to be built over a span of 20
years, according to the Commercial Center
Planned Web site.
The
Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust claims
the area was part of the Los Cerritos wetlands
in times past. The group would like to re-include
the area next to PCH as Los Cerritos Wetlands.
Since the area was used as a landfill, the
soil has been contaminated. There is also
a potential gas leak into the land, creating
more problems. Environmental activist Ann
Cantrell
speculates that herbicide was sprayed in
the area, potentially endangering the rare
plant and animal life in the area.
Since
the area was a landfill for a short time
in the 1960s, it may never be safe from
environmental repercussions, and so the
use of the area as a natural wetland would
harm the life it was intended to protect.
Then again, using the area for commercial
development will only bring more air and
ground pollution, contributing to the overall
problem.
If
the area can be saved and preserved and
maintained as the wetland it once was, it
is important to do so for the sake of the
declining wildlife and receding natural
wildlife areas in America.
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