The LA Times July 9th 2007 story on the miraculous return of the El Segundo Blue Butterfly has suspicious timing, as this sensitive issue was on the Redondo Beach City Council agenda.

Beach goers, at what is affectionately known as Burnout Beach, have never seen the butterfly and now it suddenly appears in considerable numbers in the mostly dead coastal buckwheat nectar that the El Segundo Blue Butterfly feeds on.
As the locals are well aware, this project which started in 2004 (partially funded by the State Coastal Conservancy) soon became an eyesore as the experimental garden was not tended to. Regular maintenance is a key ingredient in the success of any project, especially when involving very sensitive California flora. True local flora should not require an irrigation system, it is supposed to thrive naturally.

California plant life survives on what little rain there is. However, once man comes into an area the animal life will relocate to a remote area where they will have a better chance to survive. Trying to create a haven for such delicate life as the El Segundo Blue Butterfly is a well meaning heartfelt task that is risky and costly while causing such problems as erosion which dirties the beach and nearby homes. Another unfortunate by-product are the dead plants that have not been tended to on a regular basis.

The photos below were taken May 8th, 2007 and show what the locals of Burnout Beach have been seeing since 2005 with exposed black hoses and dead plants that catch the trash from blowing into the rusted fence.

The million dollar question is: When will this problem be corrected? The photos taken 50 yards south of Burnout show the water conservation friendly and hearty ice plant as an inexpensive way to restore the harmony of the beachscaping. We live in such a beautiful place and its a shame that our beach does not reflect that. Most of us are embarrassed to show our beach to out of town friends.

If you want your voice to be heard please email our District 1 Councilman, Steve Aspel. When he gets a sizeable amount of emails he will forward them to the man in charge of the LA County Beaches. The fact that we are in a period of drought makes it even more relevant in bringing back the water tolerant and erosion resistant ice plant to Burnout Beach.