***........"What are they worth? Some people need to put a price tag on everything, I guess," Knisely said. "They are natural wonders, you could say. Maybe not as much of a natural wonder as a grizzly bear. But if they disappear, that means their whole beach habitat has disappeared. And so part of their significance is using these beetles to protect these natural cliffs."
Atop the cliffs at Grove Point, Twohy for the past six years has enjoyed living in retirement with his wife in a 60-year-old white ranch-style house with a broad porch and stunning views of the northern bay. He said he doesn't know how much respect to give the puritans that breed on his property.
"Frankly, I don't think they're very good parents, if they're going to put their children into a collapsing cliff," Twohy said, as he strolled past fallen trees along the 10-foot-wide beach at the base of his bluff.
He pointed to an electric utility pole at the top of the cliff, near his back door. It could topple any day, blacking out the whole neighborhood, tumbling down with his house and septic system into the water, he said.
Last year, a 15-foot-wide, 25-foot-deep chunk of his back yard, weighing an estimated 31,000 tons, thundered down all at once.
"I'm in favor of protecting the environment," he said, "but somebody's going to get killed here soon if we don't build something to stabilize this cliff." ...........***
And if someone does get killed they'll prosecute him for endangering the public...