A petition to protect Lake Elsinore's historic wetlands is calling for additional action despite an existing allocation fund for cleanup.
What happened?
By July 24, nearly 500 people had signed Luis Cruces' Change.org petition that asked for the California city's historic wetlands to become a "protected regional nature park," Patch reported.
Cruces, whose home borders the wetlands, said the decline has unfolded in front of him and called it "devastating." In his petition, he described illegal fishing, off-road vehicles that are harming sensitive habitats, and an area "filled with illegally dumped trash, food and liquor waste, and drug paraphernalia, alongside large-scale unmanaged encampments."
"We call on Lake Elsinore city officials to transform this neglected space into a protected regional nature park, a resource our community can be proud of rather than one we overlook," Cruces wrote. "Let's not wait until it's too late to protect this cornerstone of our community."
By the following Wednesday, nearly 700 people had signed his petition. That number has now grown to nearly 750.
Why is this petition important?
For residents seeing that decline up close, the concern goes well beyond appearances and impacts on recreational spaces. It reaches public health.
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Wetlands help filter water, reduce flooding by absorbing rainfall, and provide habitat for birds, fish, and other wildlife. When they are overrun by dumping, vehicle traffic, and unmanaged waste, those benefits can quickly erode.
If contamination and habitat destruction continue, the effects can spread to nearby neighborhoods.
What's being done?
As Patch reported, Lake Elsinore Mayor Bob Magee acknowledged the concerns in a public letter, noting that the city has set aside more than $2 million each year to deal with "hundreds of tons of trash, waste, inoperative vehicles, and debris from sensitive habitat areas."
However, he also noted that the petition covers just one part of the wider wetlands network.
Lake Elsinore spans more than 3,000 acres with 14 miles of shoreline, including unincorporated areas. Despite an "aggressive" program to deal with illegal dumping and illegal camping, Magee said that is part of the challenge because it "invites trespassers down to the water's edge."
He added that city leaders had talks with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife more than 10 years ago about the Four Corners region, during which time the pollution was evident. He called on Governor Gavin Newsom to proactively engage with the community's concerns.
"We have county partners and federal partners, but we don't have a state partner," Magee said. "They chose to test our water routinely for contamination or threaten us with strict enforcement of government regulations without engaging in productive, solution-oriented discussions."
"In his latest budget proposal, Governor Newsom recommended the elimination of 87 positions within the California Department of Fish and Wildlife," Magee continued. "Not what you'd expect from someone who wraps himself around a green flag as a champion for the environment."
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