Some Species Should Not Be Saved

Among other things under discussion at the Dana Point City Council meeting regarding land-use was the ecology of the “headlands.” All of us realize this is a crucial piece of property, but I couldn’t believe what I was hearing!

In speaking of the preservation of the ecology, under discussion was the preservation of an endangered species, the kangaroo rat.

As a child growing up in Hollywood, we lived on a street that was lined with palm trees--the kind with thick trunks. Every summer we moved to Balboa Island the day after school was out and didn’t return until the week before school opened in September. Among the things that were necessary to getting back into a winter mode was a call to the “rat man.”

Because the palm trees were a favorite habitat of kangaroo rats, they were full of their nests. With the coming of winter, they all abandoned their breeding grounds in the trees and sought shelter in the homes. So we, along with our neighbors, would call the friendly “rat man” to come and rid our basements of rats seeking the warmer clime next to our furnaces.

So you can imagine my dismay at finding that some people are interested in preserving these unwanted varmints. What kind of mentality do we have here that wants to preserve this species? Can cockroaches be next? Or what about garden snails, fleas and aphids?

Let’s have a little common sense in this age of ecological enthusiasm. There are some species that just don’t deserve preservation.

BARBARA McCARTHY

Capistrano Beach