I went to the Morro Bay Museum of Natural History; a great education on conservation of the lands and wildlife. It was so peaceful out on the observation deck as my friends and I watched all the migrating birds. We spotted a boat with three men in camouflage out in the estuary. We asked and were told they were hunters. We were horrified. They were so close, and in what I thought was a protected area. As we were leaving, we heard a loud pop and then several more, and worst of all, screaming birds. The sound was deafening! I looked down on the shore where there was a class of young schoolchildren. Their heads were all turned toward the gunshots … nice lesson, huh?

Help me out here, anyone: Why would hunters be in this sanctuary, and so close to human population? Are we alone in thinking this isn’t right, totally senseless, and out of place? I count on nature to calm the uneasiness of world problems, only to be saddened by yet another inhuman act literally slapping me in the face.

Karen Lyga

Oceano