MARSHA MEDINA, Dana Point
The fact that there is a blufftop preserve is due to the two endangered species living there. There are only remnants of the Southern California blufftop Coastal Sage Scrub ecosystem, because so much of it has been developed.
The Center for Natural Lands Management is tasked with protecting, as well as learning more about the two endangered species. The Dana Point Preserve is not a public park; it is a Preserve set aside to preserve a small piece of wilderness.
The damage to the blufftop along the city trails is extensive due to people ignoring signage, climbing fences and trampling native plants to get to the edge of the bluffs. This would happen to the CNLM-protected area as well if the trail was open to the public without supervision, further threatening the endangered species.
The city is suing a nonprofit agency for doing their job. It would be nice for the Dana Point councilmembers to visit the Nature Center to learn about the Preserve and what it protects rather than suing the CNLM because they are inconvenienced.
