For the past few days beach-goers have enjoyed some pretty cool tide pools.
Patricia sent us this picture of her kids checking out the exposed sea creatures. Beach Naturalists from the Seattle Aquarium were out with the crowd answering questions and doing some show-and-tell. We spoke with Belinda at the Carkeek Park Environmental Learning Center who says that the low tides will stick around this week. Tomorrow the lowest tide is at 12:38 p.m. with a -3.59 tide, Thursday is at 1:25 p.m. with a -2.81 tide and Friday is at 2:12 p.m. with a -1.56 tide. Beach Naturalists will be back out again on July 5th from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Low tides at Golden Gardens this week
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Dead Low Tide. A great but short lived Seattle rock band…that actually rocked. *Sigh*
be sure to bring your stupid dogs to the beach to crap and pee on all the sea life!
really Eric, I hardly think that dogs do that much damage to the beach.
although I don't currently have a hound, I always thought that $500 fine for canines on the beach was a big fat joke.
the real culprits that might prevent me from having a good time on the beach are those that leave broken glass and other garbage. any self-respecting dog tends to bury his business.
relative to industry, etc. dog impact on aquatic life is < 1%
and children, when playing in the sand, are immunne to that crap?
listen, i know you and your dog are totally special and precious; why else would you let your pet crap on a public beach/park? i mean OMG! look how cute!
what does this post have to do with dogs crapping on the beach? get a grip
could the real problem be the lack of water access for dogs in seattle?
many dogs love water. to compare the beach with the off-leash area up on the bluff is ridiculous. as is driving to magnuson park or edmonds when there's water all around us.
I seriously doubt dogs do anywhere near the damage to beach/sealife as people do.
when I had a dog, I always took him to more remote parts of the beach and ALWAYS cleaned up after him. I would do the same with another dog.
as per usual, the problem is really PEOPLE.
Hi.
This post has to do with dogs because at the low tides, lots of marine life is exposed and at risk. When dogs trample around in the tide pools, plants and animals are damaged. Unlike humans, dogs do not look down and carefully step around starfish like the beach naturalists do. As someone who loves the beach and wants it to remain intact, I have asked people to at least leash their dogs on low tide days. Nobody listens to me and most people have been very rude, or flat out told me they thought their dog's fun was more important than the environment.
After talking to the beach naturalists I learned that while they do not approve people illegally taking their dogs to the beach, they are instructed by the Aquarium not to confront those who break the rules. Apparently in the past these interactions have not gone well.
I know a lot of people who read this won't believe that unleashed dogs have contributed negatively to Golden Gardens. I have been so dissapointed with the carelessness I have seen when at the beach at low tide.
But consider this: Golden Gardens and many other urban beaches used to be safe places for seals to to leave their pups on the beach while the mothers went out and hunted for food. The scent of dogs on the beach and in the water has contributed to the departure of seals from these urban beaches to more isolated spots.
I was a bigger MCD fan though.
Me too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hx_i9_INvGs
yes, PEOPLE who feel that they are owed some special place above the laws and rules that don't work for them.
its unsanitary for people (kids especially), for sea life and it is against the law.
there really isn't a counter arguement besides “i am a speshul snowflake and i like to take my dog to the beach so there.”
anyway, this has prompted me to put in daily reports to the park dept website….the city could make thousands of dollars per hour down there.
I still see the seal pups at Discovery Park, which I definitely prefer to Golden Gardens because there's less dogs and people.
It is always nice to have a scape goat especially when we have so much to blame ourselves for. Eric its awesome to know that you like to blame dogs for the problems of the world and pretend like you appreciate other life forms. I bet your a big Deadliest catch fan. As human beings take up more space and sprawl out and put train tracks over the beaches and leak oil all over the parking lots and pollute our water sheds, not to mention run huge ships from commercial to pleasure in and out of Elliott bay dumping gallons and gallons of fuel, trash and co2 into our waters and atmosphere. You blame dogs… Pretty cool. I guess you are pro to irradiating another species from existence from this world because you cant figure out how to coexist. Only you deserve to have access to the beach. Not the native Fox or the Alaskan Wolf, they too should be eliminated because they do too much damage.
The issue is much bigger then this: I suppose if there were more places for dogs to enjoy beaches it would cut down on the dense animal trafficking in one area. It is difficult to be a dog owner in this City if you love your pet and want it to enjoy the freedoms its ancestors enjoyed like being able to take a walk not enslaved to its owner. Well from Ballard it is a trek and a huge event to get your dog to a park with water access. People can take the time to train there dogs to be obedient. I have seen dogs do what ever the owners ask. Pet owners are responsible for there animals waste and need to carry out that responsibility. But I don't think that eliminating dogs from this beach is the answer. Dogs need places to play just like people do. If we are such a smart race we should be able to come up with a better solution then this. We have taken up all the land from the locks to Golden Gardens with Fancy restaurants, Boat storage for the wealthy, condos, anything but beach… Remind me why dogs are the big problem… I don't see the seal pups there, unless Anthony's is chumming the water. But then again they help pull more sea life from the water then you could fathom.
The city is not the place to go tho see sea life anyway big guy. We have wrecked this part of our planet in a big way. If you want to see some nature you are going to have to leave the city and find a place that animals don't smell humans and feel safe.
PET OWNERS: ACT RESPONSIBILITY AND LOOK AFTER YOUR PETS OR YOU WILL RUIN IT FOR EVERYONE AND YOUR PETS….
I think what we need to keep in mind is that Eric is lonely and bitter.