The Boathouse presents The Big Bang on the Bay
A fundraiser that's not fun for all - $50,000+ worth of fireworks explode so people can party while coastal
birds suffer and die and Alamitos Bay is polluted.
Coastal bird colonies are under threat from the July 3rd Big Bang on the Bay 2022 fireworks show, launched from a barge in the Alamitos Bay Marina in Long Beach. All birds who are able to, take flight in a panic. Abandoned eggs and young who cannot not fly are without warmth or food and exposed to predators.
The volume of the explosions; measured at 107.7dB(a), also traumatizes pets and people. Toxic chemicals and debris from eleven years of Big Bang fireworks shows have accumulated in the bay, harming marine life and water quality.
The trees on Oil Dock Rd, a few hundred yards from the fireworks barge, support the only remaining rookery for Great Blue Herons and Snowy Egrets in Long Beach. For the first time Great Egrets are raising chicks here. Ten years ago there were one hundred active Great Blue Heron nests on Alamitos Bay. In 2022 there are only nine nesting pairs that we know of, seven are on Oil Dock Rd., the last refuge of the Alamitos Bay Great Blue Heron Colony.
The morning after Big Bang on the Bay, 2021, three dead birds were found in the Marina parking lot, almost certainly casualties of the fireworks. Can we possibly prevent 2022 from being a repeat of last year, or even worse? What about 2023? The birds in this line of fire are at a tipping point, beyond which we will lose them forever.
We proposed a drone light show. No bang, no problem.
Not for birds; or pets, or vets, and no pollution of our bay in violation of the Clean Water Act.
Event promoter John Morris's response, in his own words, "If I have to have a drone show, I quit!
What do you say? Should the Big Bang stay or go?
Email:
John Morris, Event Promoter, owner of the Boathouse & Legends [email protected]
Tom Modica, Long Beach City Manager [email protected] Brent Dennis, Parks and Recreation Director
[email protected]
Suzie Price, City Council 3rd District suzie.price @longbeach.gov John Ainsworth, Executive Director, California Coastal Commission [email protected]
FIREWORKS
• Frighten some birds to death or cause them to panic
• Disorient them - they cannot find their way back to nests • Cause abandoned fledglings die of exposure and
starvation
• Terrify wildlife and pets
• Injure humans, including elevating PTSD in Vets
• Pollute land, water, and air with toxic chemicals, plastic, and other debris
• Use child labor in production
• Are made with materials that cause cancer and birth
defects