HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/9/2021 Item 4a, Cooper
From:Allan Cooper <allancoope@gmail.com>
Sent:Saturday,
To:E-mail Council Website; Purrington, Teresa; Hill, Robert; Hermann, Greg
Subject:Letter to the City Council
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To: San Luis Obispo City Council, Greg Hermann, Deputy City Manager, Robert Hill,
Sustainability and Natural Resources Official and Teresa Purrington, City Clerk
Re: November 9, 2021 Meeting; Public Hearing Agenda Item #4A - OPEN SPACE
WINTER EVENING HOURS OF USE AT CERRO SAN LUIS NATURAL RESERVE
From: Allan Cooper, San Luis Obispo
Date: November 6, 2021
Honorable Mayor Stewart & Council Members -
Mayor Erica Stewart, during the Council’s October 19th meeting, wondered aloud why we don't need just as
much protection for the wildlife during our daytime use of the trails as compared to our night time use of the
trails.
Here is the reason why. Of our mammalian relatives, nearly 70% are nocturnal. Owls, rodents, foxes and
badgers are nocturnal. Insects and animals that come out 1-2 hours after sunset are moths, bats, rabbits and
bobcats.
Moreover, findings, published on 14 June in Science, show that most mammals become on average 20% more
active at night in response to higher levels of human disturbance during the day. Human activities - including
day time hiking & biking - are driving mammals around the world to be more active at night, when they’re less
likely to run into people, according to a new study.
This finding confirms previous assumptions that animals tend to avoid people, probably because they perceive
them as a threat, says Chris Darimont, a conservation scientist at the University of Victoria in Canada. But the
study also produced some surprising results, he adds. One of them is that non-lethal activities including hiking
and agriculture elicit the same responses from mammals as lethal activities such as hunting. “It doesn’t matter
whether we’re having a picnic in a park or cutting down trees, the wildlife around us perceives us as a risk to
their survival,” Darimont says.
In conclusion, because of the potentially negative impacts of a more nocturnal lifestyle, it is critical that people
restrict certain recreational activities to specific hours of the day. Just because we don't see wildlife on a daily
basis doesn’t mean it’s not out there.
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