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Seagulls were a factor in collapse of California's iconic Santa Cruz wharf
KSBW ^ | Dec 30, 2024 | Sam Mauhay-Moore

Posted on 12/30/2024 1:27:58 PM PST by nickcarraway

After part of the iconic Santa Cruz Wharf collapsed into the ocean amid powerful waves on Monday, feathered culprits have been found to factor into the pier’s damage: seagulls.

Specifically, environmental requirements meant to protect the birds during their nesting season delayed necessary repairs to the 110-year-old structure, the Mercury News first reported.

Santa Cruz Wharf to remain closed indefinitely after partial collapseSanta Cruz Wharf to remain closed indefinitely after partial collapse A 2021 repair and maintenance plan for the wharf published by the California Coastal Commission states that repairs and maintenance are needed on the structure due to its “age, location, and construction material.” The plan also states that since seabirds like western gulls and pigeon guillemots are known to nest in the wooden columns that support the wharf, major repairs should take place outside of the birds’ nesting period, which occurs from mid-February to the start of September.

That means major repairs — including the replacement of the pier’s wooden columns — must take place during what are generally the stormiest months of the year.

Santa Cruz Wharf collapse: Bathrooms that washed up onshore being removedSanta Cruz Wharf collapse: Bathrooms that washed up onshore removed “Our work window is a very narrow six months over the winter time when we tend to have storms and big waves,” Tony Elliot, director of Parks and Recreation for the city of Santa Cruz, told the Mercury News. “The wharf is a 110-year-old structure, and it requires a lot of work. … It takes more than six months out of the year to maintain it effectively.”

Those maintenance needs directly conflict with protections for the seabirds, which are upheld by the Coastal Commission. A memorandum included in the commission’s wharf repair plan said the birds are “sensitive during their reproductive life history phases” and wharf repair processes “have the potential to significantly disturb nesting seabirds and affect nestling survivorship.”

Santa Cruz Wharf damaged drone video. Video Gallery: Damage caused after Santa Cruz Wharf partial collapse

The memorandum continued, “There have been discussions recognizing that the unique nature of the wharf environment itself is unlike typical seabird nesting sites and therefore warrants special consideration, and the City has continually expressed concern that protections for the nesting seabirds impose conflicts with the needed wharf maintenance and repair.”

Concerns from the city regarding the need for repairs to the wharf caused the Coastal Commission to modify its requirements in February, allowing some repairs to be made during nesting season. Per the changes, workers were required to stay 300 feet away from nesting birds and only work for a maximum of four hours a day. But the changes “didn’t change the dynamics” of the repair schedule, Elliot told the Mercury News.

Santa Cruz wharf collapse prompts safety warnings due to debris

Monday’s damages to the pier caused the closure of multiple beaches in the area due to debris washing up on local shorelines. A high surf warning remains in effect in the region through Sunday morning.


TOPICS: Local News; Pets/Animals; Weather
KEYWORDS: california; coastalcommission
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1 posted on 12/30/2024 1:27:58 PM PST by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

Not Climate Change?.................


2 posted on 12/30/2024 1:28:55 PM PST by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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Yeah: when you don’t want to blame lack of maintenance, blame seagulls.


3 posted on 12/30/2024 1:29:17 PM PST by Olog-hai ("No Republican, no matter how liberal, is going to woo a Democratic vote." -- Ronald Reagan, 1960)
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To: nickcarraway

animal-sentimentalism is being carried to insane levels.

Sea gulls are extremely common, and are often pests.


4 posted on 12/30/2024 1:30:23 PM PST by marktwain (The Republic is at risk. Resistance to the Democratic Party is Resistance to Tyranny. )
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To: nickcarraway

No. Seagulls did not play a factor. Idiot enviroweenie policies did.


5 posted on 12/30/2024 1:30:38 PM PST by IYAS9YAS (There are two kinds of people: Those who can extrapolate from incomplete data.)
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To: nickcarraway

Summary: “Seagulls are why we can’t have nice things.”


6 posted on 12/30/2024 1:31:46 PM PST by ProtectOurFreedom (Marxism is a politics for the ugly, unwanted, uneducated, unhealthy, and insane.)
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To: nickcarraway

Interrupting nesting season. Of about how many seagulls? 20? 30? 50?

Seagulls are not exactly an endangered species. This wouldn’t have even been a blip on the radar of the breeding population.


7 posted on 12/30/2024 1:32:19 PM PST by BBQToadRibs2
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To: IYAS9YAS

No. Seagulls did not play a factor. Idiot enviroweenie policies did.

tru dat.


8 posted on 12/30/2024 1:32:41 PM PST by teeman8r (Armageddon won't be pretty, but it's not like it's the end of the world or something )
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To: Olog-hai

They must have had some fat seagulls.


9 posted on 12/30/2024 1:32:51 PM PST by nickcarraway
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To: IYAS9YAS

Exactly.


10 posted on 12/30/2024 1:33:04 PM PST by nickcarraway
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To: Olog-hai

Did you read the article? State law says that nesting birds must be protected. That required maintenance to be done only in wintertime when the biggest and most powerful storms hit. Do you want to do maintenance work when the pier is being ravaged by 15 foot waves?


11 posted on 12/30/2024 1:33:41 PM PST by ProtectOurFreedom (Marxism is a politics for the ugly, unwanted, uneducated, unhealthy, and insane.)
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To: BBQToadRibs2
Where did the seagulls mate before the wharf was there?

Are seagulls like pandas?

12 posted on 12/30/2024 1:34:20 PM PST by nickcarraway
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

So blame the seagulls because of government policy?


13 posted on 12/30/2024 1:34:48 PM PST by Olog-hai ("No Republican, no matter how liberal, is going to woo a Democratic vote." -- Ronald Reagan, 1960)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

I am pretty sure seagulls were nesting and mating long before that wharf was built in 1914. What’s next Viagra for the seagulls?


14 posted on 12/30/2024 1:35:42 PM PST by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

Seagulls are not in short supply...why do they need special protections?


15 posted on 12/30/2024 1:37:37 PM PST by rottndog (What comes after America?)
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To: nickcarraway

The seagulls were not a factor in that case. The bone-heads who postponed repairs on account of seagulls were.


16 posted on 12/30/2024 1:42:12 PM PST by GingisK
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To: nickcarraway

Seagulls weren’t.... Democrats were.


17 posted on 12/30/2024 1:42:37 PM PST by DesertRhino (2016 Star Wars, 2020 The Empire Strikes Back, 2024... RETURN OF THE JEDI..)
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To: nickcarraway

It’s never the fault of people.


18 posted on 12/30/2024 1:43:15 PM PST by SpaceBar
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To: GingisK

It’s just another case of pass the beak.


19 posted on 12/30/2024 1:43:59 PM PST by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

If this were Massachusetts, the pier would be completely gone.


20 posted on 12/30/2024 1:49:56 PM PST by ComputerGuy (Heavily-medicated for your protection)
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