Save the dunes 

Leaving New York in my adult life has brought me great appreciation for the Earth’s natural resources, and the distressing realization of their rapid disappearance. Along interstates across the United States, strip malls and tract homes have paved over fertile farmland and wilderness, displacing or killing plants and animals.

It is a tragedy to see vehicles leave their destructive wake in the State Vehicular Recreation Area (SVRA) of the rare and beautiful Guadalupe-Nipomo sand-dune complex for nothing more than self-serving “recreation”. The dunes are an extremely fragile ecosystem that can be disturbed just by human foot, let alone gas-guzzling machines.

To the California state parks department’s credit, the land adjacent to the SVRA surrounding Oso Flaco Lake is flourishing with native wildlife thanks to years of rehabilitation efforts. It is high time we realize the value of such natural resources and preserve all the dunes from human folly.

I hope your community expands conservation efforts and educational outreach on behalf of the dunes, and stops the devastating OHV traffic that is wrecking the precious land.