Up with goats, down with skateboarders Responding...

Up with goats, down with skateboarders

Responding to two letters in the May 6 Coastline Pilot: Bill Jihn

doesn’t like the goats that eat up the excess hillside vegetation. He

doesn’t like the stinky schmutz they leave which may have seeds from

mysterious alien vegetation. He’s worried the goats might trample

some other weeds that they don’t munch. He doesn’t want them down in

South Laguna and he thinks the rest of us in Laguna should go along

with him and kick the goats out. Not me, I like the goats, I like the

happy goats jumping around on the hillsides.

Dan Shapero wants to kick out the dog park, and bring in the

skateboarders from all over South County instead. Bad trade -- the

dog park is a precious resource for our canine friends.

Message for busybodies Jihn and Shapero: Leave our critters alone,

and go away!

MATT SMITH

Laguna Beach

Hillside brush

a dense issue

[The following was sent in response to the Coastline Pilot’s April

29 question, “Should grazing goats continue to be used to reduce

wildfire danger in the city?”]

I don’t think so. I’ve seen men in white suits with containers of

chemicals on their back spraying invasive plants in the hills above

Laguna. These plants thrive since the native chaparral was destroyed.

Some of the effects of the destruction of the chaparral is the

loss of habitat of the gnatcatcher, and other animals. We experienced

an invasion of rats in our garden after the chaparral was gone.

The poisons that are sprayed on the invasive species, like the

wild artichoke, just to name one, wash into the ocean. Additionally,

opening up the area to dog walkers gave them carte blanche to let the

dogs do whatever they want to do, wherever they want to do it. The

number of dog owners who keep their dogs leashed and clean up after

them is small. Apparently the dog owners cannot read the signs which

clearly state that dogs must be leashed and their feces must be

picked up by the owner.

JACK SCHWARTZ

Laguna Beach