Community Corner

Dune Plant Discovery Reignites Debate

Some residents say the dune should be closed to workouts so the rare flower can flourish, while others insist exercise and ecological preservation can coexist.

The discovery of a plant in Sand Dune Park that is purported to be a rare member of the daisy family has renewed debate over the city's decision to reopen the park's dune to exercisers this summer.

"Orcutt's yellow pincushion is a flowering plant listed as rare and endangered," said resident Patricia Ware, who favors turning the dune into a nature preserve. "It is growing only on the sand dune's north side. Why? Because foot traffic has obliterated it and all other vegetation on the south side."

The plant was discovered last month by Robert Roy Von de Hock of the Playa del Rey-based Ballona Institute. His finding will delay by at least several weeks the city's plan to reopen the dune's southern section to visitors under a restrictive reservation system.

Some neighbors of the park are urging the city to use the opportunity to reevaluate the effect outdoor exercise is having on ecological preservation.

"Obviously, the new discovery does underscore what some people have been saying for a while about the advantages to totally re-purposing the dune to native foliage," said resident Gary Osterhout. "Certainly this brings forward that there is a unique ecological, micro-environment aspect about the dune that hasn't been yet vetted in respect to the alternative advantages that can only be provided by a dune atmosphere."

Exercise opportunities, on the other hand, are available in many other areas of the city, he said. "I don't believe the council has yet answered the compelling need question in respect to why the dune is so important to the exercise requirements of the community, why only the dune can provide that for that need, and whether there is an adequate causal link between that unquantified need and what is served by their reservation system."

Osterhout also suggested that the El Segundo blue butterfly habitat could be extended to the dune "with the correct native plantings, if such is valued more by the community."

But environmental preservation and use of the dune for exercise are not mutually exclusive goals, said Jake Rome, who is co-founder of Citizens for Outdoor Recreation and Exercise (CORE), a group petitioning the city to reopen the dune under less restrictive measures than those decided on at an April City Council meeting.

"It seems clear that playing and exercising on the portion of the dune historically used for that purpose is entirely consistent with maintaining a suitable habitat for the pincushion plant," said Rome. "A solution that would please both environmentalists and dune users would be to restore the southern portion of the dune, from 26th Street to 30th Street, an area that is little used and would make a suitable habitat for these native plants."

Rome said he wouldn't be surprised if some neighbors who have called for closing the dune due to quality-of-life issues—increased noise, litter and traffic—became overnight environmentalists and "pincushion advocates" upon hearing of the plant's discovery.

"Their reasons for wanting to close the dune and even their language have evolved as many reasons have been found to be unsupported," Rome said. "Early on, they were very clear that they wanted to 'close the dune,' before later adopting the intentionally ambiguous 're-purpose the dune' phrase.

"CORE has been consistent from day one," he said. "The dune should be open to all for exercise and play without overly restrictive reservations or severely restricted hours."

But 30th Street resident Mark Kemple suggested that it was CORE and its supporters who prompted the city to turn the dune into a "caged-off workout facility for a select few," thereby removing the "public" from the public park.

"There is absolutely nothing 'natural' or 'green' about the man-made and diesel-powered amusement ride that CORE proposes," said Kemple, who called the pincushion's appearance a "gentle reminder" of this. "Many rally to CORE's call, persuaded by logic that runs no deeper than 'exercise is good.' To them I say, 'we neighbors don't want to close this public park—you do.' "

Others took aim at the city's green reputation and a City Council compromise that has left both sides dissatisfied.

"On its Going Green web page, the city says our local government is making Manhattan Beach the most environmentally responsible city it can be," Ware said. "Are these merely words for show or do the city's words truly have meaning?"

Osterhout said that because the city has yet to adequately make its case as to why a restricted workout facility is the best use of the public space, "the possibility that rare micro-environment flora and fauna could exist on the dune absent exercise seems a good reason to explore that possibility as soon as possible."


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here