Sample Letters

From Adults:
Letter 1 - PDF Version
Dear

Thanks to City Council and the Mayor for helping change the wording of the 1931 Tidelands Grant.  We now hope you’ll create a marine mammal park to give the seals more protection and make Casa Beach a place where everyone can enjoy seal watching without disturbing the animals.    Please close the beach during pupping season and at night.  For the rest of the year, it would be wonderful to have the rope line up.  Seals are wild animals and we can’t expect them to rest peacefully when people go on the beach.

You can make great things happen for San Diego and the City can become a world-class tourist destination.  The City could also benefit economically from increased tourist dollars.  If planned well, an increase in the number of tourists doesn’t have to mean mass congestion of local La Jolla streets.  Please do right by those who live in La Jolla so it can maintain its current character. 

We applaud you for past efforts, but there is still much that can be done in City Council chambers.  Please represent your constituents, the majority of whom want the seals to be protected.

Sincerely,

Name, Address, Phone Number

Letter 2 - PDF Version
Judge Taylor’s ruling on November 13 dismissing the O’Sullivan case and vacating the order to dredge the beach was a great victory for children, seals, San Diegans, visitors from around the world, and the City of San Diego.

Thanks to the State Legislature for amending the 1931 Tidelands grant to include a marine mammal park at Casa Beach.

The creation of the park rests in the hands of our City Council. Shared use must be re-examined as the policy will only continue to cause conflicts between beach vs..seal advocates, often requiring police intervention and the daily disturbances by people standing within a few feet of resting seals. The rope placed during pupping season should be left up all year. 

 NOAA should replace signs indicating a 50’ distance from the seals is recommended. Other improvements could include installing telescopes for close-up viewing, and closing the beach at night. Casa Beach Marine Mammal park could become a world-class tourist destination, if planned correctly.

SB 428 will become law on January 1. Decisions made now can allow harbor seals greater protection in their natural environment.and end the conflict at the beach.

Name, Address, Phone Number

From Children
Letter 1 - PDF Version
Dear

I like to watch the seals play in the water and rest on the beach.  I like to see the seals with their pups.  They aren’t much different than babies who rely totally on their mommies. 

Please do something to make sure they are protected and can live happy lives in their home. 

Thanks,

Name, Address, Phone Number

Letter 2 - PDF Version
Dear

I love going to the beach with my parents to see the seals.  We don’t have other places to see wild animals except at the zoo where they are kept in cages.  Their home is at the beach and we would never want to hurt them. We don’t like it when other people go on the beach and scare them.  They need to rest too.

Please think of me, my brothers and sisters, and all the other kids who love the seals.  You’re the only ones we can ask to protect them.

Thanks for reading my letter,

Name, Address, Phone Number

Letter 3 - PDF Version
Dear

I’m so glad the State changed the law to let you create a marine mammal park.  I was really excited too when I heard the judge decided the seals can stay and the beach won’t be dredged.

I’ve learned a lot about the seals by going to different websites and hope the controversy is finally over. What a waste of the City’s money.   Every time I go to see them, I tell my friends and classmates how cool they are… basking on the sand, crawling like little worms on the beach, and swimming so gracefully in the water. 

We are so lucky in San Diego and have the seals. Every time friends and family visit, the first place we go is to Casa Beach.

Now that everything is going well and the City can protect them, please pass some laws to keep people from bothering them.  I hate it when I go to the beach and no seals are there.  Then someone tells me some people went on the beach and scared them all away.

Sometimes nature can fend for itself, but when it lives so close to people I think we have a responsibility to lend a helping hand.  They can’t help it that there home is in an urban area.  I know they’d do the same for us if it were the other way around.  I’ve heard about lots of wild animals who have saved people when they were hurt or about to die.

Lots of people think politicians are bad people, but I don’t think that’s true.  I think what politicians do today can help shape the future.

Sincerely,

Name, Address, Phone Number