Editor:
Supervisor Joel Engardio’s handling of the Upper Great Highway closure is a case study in political betrayal.
After campaigning for “Yes on K” with images of the vulnerable western snowy plover to evoke sympathy and win votes, he has now turned his back on both the bird and the Sunset community. His last-minute plan to rebrand the closed stretch as “Sunset Dunes,” with zero community input, is not just misguided – it’s dangerous.
Let’s be clear: The western snowy plover, a federally threatened shorebird, is being actively harmed by this so-called “pedestrian paradise.” These tiny birds depend on quiet dune areas to nest and feed. Since the closure to vehicles, human activity – jogging, biking, off-leash dogs, kids playing – has surged directly in the plovers’ fragile habitat. Despite posted signs, most people don’t realize these birds are nesting just yards away. The increased disturbance is causing nest abandonment, chick deaths and long-term habitat loss.
Ironically, the Upper Great Highway used to act as a buffer. It allowed people to access the coast while keeping them on the pavement, away from the plovers. The closure has backfired. By pushing all foot traffic into the dunes, we’ve created a high-traffic wildlife hazard zone.
And what has Supervisor Engardio done? Nothing. Since Prop. K passed, he has dropped all mention of the plovers. Instead, he has shifted his focus to upzoning and increasing density in the Sunset – goals that, while debatable on their own, have absolutely nothing to do with protecting wildlife or preserving coastal ecosystems.
The “Sunset Dunes” rebranding only makes things worse. It encourages people to treat a sensitive ecological zone as a park or playground. Visitors unknowingly trample potential nesting areas, bringing unleashed dogs and crowds right into federally protected habitat. And the plovers, once used as poster animals for a campaign, are paying the price.
We need a real solution, one that balances environmental stewardship with practical needs. The weekday reopening of the Upper Great Highway would serve multiple purposes. First, it would restore a critical commuter route for westside residents, relieving pressure on already-congested streets. Second, it would redirect foot and bike traffic back onto the pavement during the plover breeding season, reducing disturbance and giving the birds a fighting chance. Weekends could remain car-free to support recreation and public enjoyment.
This is a reasonable, science-based compromise that benefits both people and nature. It’s not about choosing between conservation and access. It’s about managing both responsibly. True environmentalism requires nuance, not slogans.
If Supervisor Engardio truly cares about the Sunset, it’s time to listen to his constituents, not dictate to them. We deserve better than a bait-and-switch campaign. We deserve a plan that protects our community and our coast – wildlife included.
Raymond Wong, Outer Sunset Resident.
Categories: letter to the editor
Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon 
Too true!
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You’re concerned about protecting wildlife, so you demand the right to go vroom vroom right next to their habitat and belch exhaust and tire particulates at their nests? Come on. Just how stupid do you think people are?
Do you cite the SF Estuary Institute’s report, part of a series of studies laying out how to care for Ocean Beach to protect it for future generations, that “closing the roadway to cars entirely has the greatest and most immediate ecological benefits?” What about the positions of the Sierra Club, Nature Conservancy, California Academy of Sciences, California Coastal Commission, and the Golden Gate Bird Alliance in favor of the park? Indeed, you aren’t able to cite any source at all for your scientific claims.
Even before the park opened, the city put up fencing and educational signage around sensitive habitat areas in the dunes. In my experience, this has greatly reduced the number of people walking and bringing dogs into these areas and has worked pretty well. It’s not perfect of course—human beings don’t always obey fences and signs—so perhaps you have actual creative suggestions for how to better revitalize and protect wildlife habitat? I’ve certainly never seen an actual wildlife conservationist anywhere in the world suggest that the best way to protect endangered species is to destroy a park and put in a highway.
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Mark, I did some research for you. The data is clear, human activity from on foot and with off-leash dogs harms nesting snowy plovers. In fact, studies show that when people enter these sensitive areas, it often causes the birds to abandon their nests.
Maybe you should take a walk down the Great Highway and see for yourself how people are using the dunes.
Why would Supervisor Joel Engardio and his lobbyists draw attention to the dunes if not to encourage more foot traffic? I thought they claimed 10,000 visitors daily. Have you seen the trash they left behind? That’s essentially an open invitation for tourists and locals alike without knowledge to trample through a fragile bird habitat.
And let’s be honest—was any environmental study done before Engardio decided to permanently close the Great Highway for what he calls a “park”? No. That’s not responsible leadership; it’s political theater at the expense of real conservation and transportation needs.
https://richmondsunsetnews.com/2025/04/17/letter-to-the-editor-why-did-sierra-club-endorse-prop-k/
https://www.sfbbo.org/uploads/1/1/6/7/116792187/wspl_and_clte_monitoring_in_the_sf_bay_annual_report_2023_final__01-24-24_.pdf
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Kick Westside Traitor Joel to the curb and Open the Great Highway!
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There have been people worrying about the survival of the snowy plover since I started walking on the beach in the 1970’s. It was said that people bothered them, dogs bothered them, the Turkey Trot foot race bothered them. I even saw the US Forest Rangers going through their habitat on dune buggies (they have stopped that after the dog walkers made fun of them). Yet somehow the plovers have survived. So don’t blame Joel Engardio for the demise of the plovers. It is just too ridiculous.
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