Ventana Chapter - Conservation Issues > Coastal Dunes Resort Update

Old Baldy, Canada | photo by Cameron Schaus

Conservation Issues of the Ventana Chapter | monterey county

Sierra Club Files a Notice of Intent to Sue for Violations of the Endangered Species Act from Construction and Operation of the Monterey Bay Shores Development

August 2016

Western snowy plover chicks are severely threatened by proposed Monterey Bay Shores Resort in Sand City dunes.

Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, National Audubon Society and Monterey Audubon Society filed a 60-day Notice of Intent on July 27 that Security National Guarantee (SNG) will violate the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and its implementing regulations by moving forward with constructing and operating the Monterey Bay Shores Resort (Project), which will result in “harassment, harm, injury and mortality” of western snowy plovers on and adjacent to the Project site.

The Project calls for a 1.34 million foot mixed-use resort and residential units to be constructed in 39 acres of beach front dunes in Sand City. This development will entail approximately 680,000 cubic yards of grading, utility extensions and infrastructure, including roads, parking lots, signs, and lights. The chief concern is the long-term presence of breeding western snowy plover on this site.

The Notice states that this project will violate the “take” provisions of the ESA and if SNG continues to move forward with construction of the Project as it is currently proposed, these conservation groups intend to commence a civil action against SNG for violations of section 9 of the ESA.

The Endangered Species Act affords broad protections to threatened and endangered species. The ESA is the most comprehensive legislation for the preservation of endangered species ever enacted by any nation. Its fundamental purposes are “to provide a means whereby the ecosystems upon which endangered species and threatened species depend may be conserved [and] to provide a program for the conservation of such endangered species and threatened species.” (To view a copy of the Notice of Intent, click here)

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