Opponents to the plan to reshape the Malibu Lagoon planned to hold hands and encircle the lagoon, but a lower-than-expected turnout of between 30-50 people changed the plans.
By Jimy Tallal / Special to The Malibu Times
On Saturday, opponents to the California State Parks plan to reshape the Malibu Lagoon gathered at Surfrider Beach for a much-publicized last-minute protest. Called “Hands Across the Lagoon,” organizers originally planned for hundreds of protesters, enough to hold hands in a ring around the lagoon, but ultimately only 30 to 50 protesters showed up.
The event was organized primarily by a group called “Surfers Coalition to save Malibu Lagoon,” which has 100 official members according to spokesperson Nece Mill.
One press release issued by the Surfers Coalition said the project would “kill animals and destroy habitat that is home to birds, fish, weasels, rabbits and more than 72 species, including the nearly extinct Tidewater Goby, currently thriving in the Malibu Lagoon. More than 88,000 cubic yards will be ripped out and much of it trucked away on PCH.”
Another press release promoted the protest as an all-day picnic-like event being held at the Malibu Lagoon State Park from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. At least five celebrities were reportedly slated to appear, including actors Robert Downey, Jr., Pamela Anderson and Daryl Hannah and singer Anthony Kiedis. At 2:00 p.m., protesters were scheduled to hold hands around the entire lagoon to form a human chain.
Friday afternoon, the day before the event, Mills said in a telephone interview that the event had been changed to 11 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; and that the speakers would be Councilmember Pamela Conley-Ulich, three of the current candidates running for city council (Hamish Patterson, Skylar Peak and Missy Zeitsoff), a couple of scientists and a pastor. The “human chain” would walk around the lagoon once or twice, chanting “Jerry Brown, Jerry Brown, please help us save our town.”
On Saturday, the actual Hands Across the Lagoon event was moved from Malibu Lagoon State Park over to Surfrider Beach.
There is some disagreement regarding why the protest was moved.
One protester said it was because the organizers didn’t want to pay the state’s $12 per vehicle parking fee. However, Marcia Hanscom of the Wetlands Defense Fund wrote on a local website that the venue was changed because State Parks officials “would not allow news media to be present.” Hanscom did not return a phone call from The Malibu Times to verify which State Parks official said this.
Mills could not be reached for comment after the event concerning why the original plans had changed so much and why so few protesters actually showed up.
The protesters, which included city council candidates Peak, Lyon and Patterson, created handmade signs in the Surfrider Beach parking lot and then stood next to PCH and waved them at passing vehicles. Many signs said “Honk if you want to save the lagoon.” The group first stationed themselves on PCH near Surfrider, and then moved to the PCH bridge across Malibu Creek. The group achieved “Hands Across the Lagoon” by holding hands across one side of the bridge across the lagoon.
The second stage of the Surfer’s Coalition press release involved planning a big turnout for the Malibu City Council meeting Monday night, along with the Malibu Surfrider and Save Malibu Lagoon nonprofit organizations. The City Council ended up voting to write a letter to Gov. Jerry Brown opposing the project and exploring legal remedies at the Monday night meeting.