A group of residents that winters at the El Morro Village mobile home park emerged Monday as the latest obstacle to the state's plan to turn the south Orange County park into a campground.
They stand about ankle high, go by the formal name of charadrius alexandrinus nivosus and are being defended by a conservative commentator and lawyer who has never been confused with an environment crusader.
Hugh Hewitt told a federal judge Monday in Santa Ana that the well-being of the Western snowy plover -- an endangered migratory shorebird -- would be disrupted by the removal or demolition of the beachfront trailers.
"The species is desperate," Hewitt pleaded.
The legal tactic is a reversal of the norm in which environmentalists cite the presence of an endangered species in an effort to block development. In this case the attorney for the trailer park residents, who were to have abandoned their trailers Dec. 31, is hoping the small seashore bird will protect a development.
Hewitt, who has represented developers in the past and argued against endangered species laws, asked the judge for an injunction to prevent the state from forcing the El Morro tenants he represents to comply with orders to remove or destroy their homes.
He argued that parks officials had not adequately assessed the threats posed to the snowy plover and therefore were putting his clients at risk of violating the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
"What happens if there's a snowy plover dead on that beach when we blow up those pilings?" Hewitt asked, later acknowledging outside the courtroom that "I am not a species guy. But I don't want my clients going to jail for doing the state's dirty work."
State lawyers argued that the state Department of Parks and Recreations had obtained all the necessary permits and assurances. They described the latest move as a subterfuge, saying El Morro residents had no interest in protecting the environment but rather were digging deeper into a bag of legal tricks at the eleventh hour to try to extend their leases.
"That's why we're here," Deputy Atty. Gen. Hayley Peterson said. "This is their last-ditch effort.... This is a delay tactic."
U.S. District Judge David O. Carter did not issue an immediate ruling. The state had previously agreed that no action would be taken for 15 days following Monday's hearing.
