Attention birdwatchers, history buffs, nature lovers, and scenery junkies—there’s good news from the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes National Wildlife Refuge. Once facing closure to the public for the next decade and a half, the refuge will remain open thanks to a recent U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decision.
The announcement was made on Aug. 19 that the refuge would stay open, however a plan was finalized on Oct. 13.
Last March, the Fish and Wildlife Service announced that the refuge could close for the next 15 years due to budget constraints, particularly related to the expense of paying for a refuge manager. Glenn Greenwald, the last manager, retired in February 2015.
Michael Brady, who’s leading the refuge project for the Fish and Wildlife Service, said the agency decided to keep access the way it is now, but with certain programs and without the addition of others.
Access to the refuge is open for at least half the year, except for snowy plover nesting season, which lasts from March 1 to Sept. 30, although Brady said that special interest groups, such as the Dunes Center, could still access the refuge during this time period with a special permit.
There was hope that the Fish and Wildlife Service would be able to add a trail system and a non-invasive footpath that would’ve gone through plover habitat, Brady said, but there’s just not enough money.
Also, Brady said they weren’t able to hire another refuge manager. However, he added, the refuge was able to implement programs to control feral swine in the area and protect the endangered plovers from predators.
“It’s not pretty, but it’s the best plan,” Brady told the Sun. “The way our budget is, it just doesn’t add up right now.”
The 2,553-acre refuge is only a portion of the 18-mile stretch of sand dunes that runs along the coastlines of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. But it’s of particular importance to the Central Coast because it serves as a protected habitat for many endangered species—particularly the snowy plover—and is an attraction for those who come to the refuge for research or recreation.
Before it was a refuge, the area was a filming location for at least three dozen movies, including The Ten Commandments produced by Cecil B. DeMille, according to Doug Jenzen, the executive director of the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center.
Two years ago, Jenzen and the Dunes Center led an excavation of some of the movie props, which became buried in sand over the last several decades.
Jenzen is currently raising funds for a second dig sometime in the near future in the hope that the elaborate plaster props can be restored as pieces of art.
“I think it’s a win for the public,” Jenzen told the Sun, “because they’ll continue to have access to the property and the magnificent scenery.”
The refuge is also home to unique natural structures, such as Lunar Crater.
“It really does look like you’re on another planet,” Jenzen said. “It’s not something you could see in very many places on Earth.”
This article appears in Oct 20-27, 2016.
