Beaches no longer for birds
Three beaches and a popular off-road vehicle site reopened Friday at Vandenberg Air Force Base as an endangered bird finished nesting.
Authorities closed or restricted access to Ocean Beach, Surf Beach, Rancho Guadalupe Dunes County Park and Oceano Dune State Vehicular Recreation Area near Lompoc for seven months to protect the Western snowy plover.
Some 420 birds were spotted at the base this year, up from 76 five years ago, says Nancy Francine, wildlife biologist at Vandenberg. The plover lays eggs on beaches from Washington state to Baja.
Local residents filed a lawsuit in January challenging the beach closures, but environmentalists filed a suit arguing for more protections. The cases are pending.
-- Charles Duhigg
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