Although a planned closure of Point La Jolla to separate people and sea lions is not expected until May 25, guides from the Sierra Club Seal Society stand guard daily with signs telling people to keep their distances from pinnipeds.

The methods used by the volunteers have been questioned, with beach access advocates accusing them of yelling at those who have legal access to the cliffs on which the sea lions go to rest. Docents have also been accused of blocking the top of the staircase which is the only recognized access to the cliffs.

“Civil unrest and incivility in Point La Jolla is already spiraling out of control and the next closure isn’t for a few months,” said beach access advocate Kurt Hoffman. “Tourists like to walk around the Point… and take their silly selfies. Part-time guides and rangers cannot and should not try to prevent people from accessing public coastal lands [when the closure is not in effect].”

Hoffman told the La Jolla Parks & Beaches Board of Directors at its Feb. 28 meeting that a Seal Society docent “grabbed a lady by the arm and … another lady told me that she had been reprimanded for bringing her child to the Point”.

Docents “shouldn’t act as policemen or rangers,” Hoffman said.

Swimmer Dennis Downie said docents yelled at him and asked, “Why do you hate sea lions?” when trying to access Point La Jolla.

Bodysurfer Tom Keener said: “Some docents are very civil and polite and some are crazy and aggressive.”

On Saturday, February 26, a group of beach access advocates were among many who used the stairway to access the cliffs, but were met by scholar and Seal Society President Robyn Davidoff at the top of the stairs and docent Carol Archibald downstairs, asking them to stay back.

“Sir Sir !” Archibald shouted as the visitors headed for the cliffs.

“We are allowed to be here,” one replied and continued walking.

“We want people to stay for the safety of the people and for the safety of the sea lions,” Archibald told the Light of La Jolla.

Just because the cliffs are open to the public doesn’t mean people have to access them, she said. “It’s not something that can be managed – once one person goes, everyone goes.”

Davidoff added that the guides are trained “to be respectful and say, ‘Hey, would you mind watching them from the sidewalk? We have a nursing mother [sea lions],’ or ‘As you head down, would you please stay on the upper cliffs?’”

She said having guides at the top and bottom of the stairs is to “connect with anyone who wants to go down there so they know how to keep their distance”.

Davidoff also said she cites a recommendation from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that people stay 50 yards away from pinnipeds, which would put visitors on the sidewalk.

Seal Society guide Carol Archibald stands guard on the Point La Jolla cliffs.

(Ashley Mackin-Solomon)

City of San Diego officials did not respond to the Lightrequesting feedback on what guides are allowed to do regarding crowd control.

At the La Jolla Parks and Beaches meeting, Seal Society docents addressed concerns about their conduct.

When the guides arrived Feb. 26, “some people were petting the sea lions,” Davidoff said. “We don’t want to control the area, we want to educate people about sea lion behavior, cubs, mating and that kind of stuff. But we’ve been put in a situation where we can’t sit idly by. when people harass sea lions.”

Docent Carol Toye said: ‘We are here to educate visitors about seals and sea lions. On Point La Jolla, where visitors can approach sea lions, we talk to people to encourage them to keep their distance of security. This is for their safety and that of the sea lions. …

“The problem is that on weekends we have 300 people per hour in the area, and there is little presence of rangers or city officials. There are so many people that you have to control the crowds, which is not what our guides want to do. We know that some people oppose our approach of keeping people and sea lions at a safe distance.

Docent Ellen Shively said she recognizes the area is open to the public, “but the same goes for national parks, where there are behavioral regulations to protect the habitat and the animals… as well as the visitors. Wild animals can be unpredictable, but human behavior can be changed when educated.

The City of San Diego recently filed a permit application with the California Coastal Commission for an annual seasonal closure of Point La Jolla. It would be in effect daily from May 25 to September 15, for much of the sea lion whelping season, which is generally recognized as June 1 to October 31.

City spokesman Tim Graham said the Point La Jolla closure “is to protect both the public and the sea lions during whelping season.” … Sea lions, especially mothers nursing and feeding their young, can become aggressive and cause bodily harm when they feel threatened by visitors who are too close.

The proposed closure would be similar to the emergency closure that took place for five weeks last year in that it would include posted signs, a K-rail barrier and a chain to cordon off the access stairs to the beach on the border of Point La Jolla and La Jolla Cove.

The annual closure area, known by some as the “pork chop” for its shape, would include Point La Jolla and some of the bluffs overlooking adjacent Boomer Beach. ◆