Spring 1994 Watershed Newsletter, Cambria Land Trust

8/3/2019 Spring 1994 Watershed Newsletter, Cambria Land Trust

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/spring-1994-watershed-newsletter-cambria-land-trust 1/6

PublishedBv

The Cambria Land Trust

Vol. I, No. 1Spring/Summer,1994

Committed o conseraation f Cambria'screek,

forestand openspacefor fiture generations

Greenspace SantaRosaCreekHealth ReportMembership ContinuedAbusesCould SpellTiouble

for Residents, griculture, SpeciesNears400

GrassRootsMovementGains Momentum

Following a year-long member-ship drive, Greenspace, he Cam-

bria Land Trust has morethan 360members,makingit oneof the arg-est community service groups inCambria.

Approximately 95%of the mem-bers eside n Cambria.

Since twas formed sixyearsagoby a group of builders and con-cernedcitizens,Greenspaceassuc-ceeded n attracting a largeand di-versegroup of supporters.

Greenspace,The Cambria LandTrust is a non-profit, public benefitcorporation ounded in 1988. t isdedicated to consensusbuildingthat will insure conservation ofCambria's creek, forest and openspace or future generations.

Seeelsewhere n this newsletterfor information on becoming aGreenspacemember.

Watershed 1-sf,ed'). 1:a,ridge :'

\. . i Y ' ,

stretchof high land dividing fu areas,

#* #dfiqrstems. .U,ru rct iUt*;a Ot " river

;;*;+#u*#l; -**rui[ffifi1ii$Hi *,".*";;;*.iiii$.$ +,\M tffi$.ffi wo ;#;;ffi *

Although SantaRosaCreek s showingrenewedsims of health,maiorproblems-remain hat, unless solved, riay cause r5uble for residerits,lsriculture and endansered lant and animal species.Tor the irst time n yEars,hecreekmaintaineha continuous water flow

throughout the1993-94 inter season, ue mainly to the heroicconserva-tion effortsof Cambria's esidents.

Even the Santa Rosa Creek Lagoon at

Moonstone Beach,which in recent yearshas been dry, maintained water poolslast Summer.

Outlook Not Positive

Yet, despite these encouraging signs,the long term outlook for the creek thatruns thiough the very heart of Cambriais far from"positive.

One maicir area of concern is the verysource of dhewater that eventually flowsdown the creek, into the lagoon dnd outto sea.

Durinq the past year Greenspacehas

again fo"und instances of abufo of theground-water basin and Cambria's wa-t=ershed,which supplies the whole re-gional area with water."

Unless watershed abuses are cor-

During the pastyearGiienspaci has aggin

foind'iistniiis ofabuseof the ground-urliaierbisii ii'd,aambrtiis watershed,*,!,i9!.,tuglie1thew h. L" ri gi a; ; l a:iea

with waten

rected,Greenspace nticipates hat agricultural production will decline,purity of drinking water witt Ueaffecte? nd the hibitat of nativeplant andanim'alspecieswJll be threatened.

Short Term Gains

In the short term,return of continuously flowing water tothe creekduring'93-'94has esulted n arenewafof nativewildlife in theriparian basin:

. As insect ife increased ue thepresence f water,birds

onceasain lourished n the ripariah forest.. ThETidewaterGoby,a smail ish that is now listed by theFederalGovemmentas n endangered pecies,asbeenfr5undin ever ncreasing umbers n thESantaRosaCreekLagoon.

. SteelheadT"rout have reappeared, using SantiRosaCreek o migrate o the upper watershed o spawn.

. The California Red-LeggedFrog, an animal currentlybeingconsideredor endan?-eredtaTus y the U.S.Deparf-menf of Interior, has ecentlvbeensurvevedbv a NationalBiological Survey team in ih" lo-"t Sinta i{osa Creek.Identification of frogs n the creekwill help to assurehat theywill beprotectedby federalauthorities.

(Cont'd Page2- SeeSANTA ROSA CREEKREPORT)



(SANTA ROSA CREEKREPORT Cont'd from Page1)

On a negativenote, he creek s ncreasinslvbeinsuseda,san iile.gAdump site (seeaccompanyingitbry on"creekclean-up).

Complaints Filed

During the past year,Greenspaceound it necessaryofile complaint^s gdinst llegal land grading, certainbuild-ing activitiesandremovalbf riparidn veqdtationwith theCounty ResourceSpecialistand Departirent of Fish andGame.Suchabuses ontinue o havea negativempactonCambria'swaterbasedhabitat.

Graffiti Clean-up atBurton Dr. Bridgu

During the Annual CreekClean-up,Greenspace ol-unteersdiscoveredagreat dealof new graffiti under theBurton Drive bridge.ChuckMcMillian, owner of Cam-bria Hardware Center, generously provided Greens-pace volunteers with the painf rollers and brushesnecessaryo obliterate he graffiti.

Lot Donation YieldsOpenSpace,ThxBreak

Cambriaproperty ownersNealand DianeGreenhavedonated a wooded lot onnated a wooded lot on Lodge Hill to Greenspace.

The parcel will be preserved forever as a nelghbor-

flliirii;r.l:....l;lilllllilll[ifll!:..::..,.Fufuresuccessinpre-servins the healtfi of

santaosareeksdependent"?f,:"#9":li*,?tLTcontinued support of the CambriaCommunity

Creek EnhancementPlan

Thepreservation f TheSantaRosa's nique loodplainand #gely intactripariancor:ridorsthe ocirsof theSantaRosaCieek Enhaniement Plan preparedby Greenspace,under agrant from the CalifomilaCoastalConservancv.

Cambiia has one of the southernmost free flowing

creeksstill in existence n California. By takine step!now to protectwhat we have we can avoid irrev"ersiblledamage o this preciousresourceand costly restorationprojects n the future.

Restorationof the nation's creeksand wetlands hasbecomea nationalmovement.Cambriastandspoised oserve as a model of responsiblemanagemehtof anirreplaceable reasure.

Cambria is fortunatethatSantaRosaCreek sstill relativelypristine ora waterwav that runsthroughthdcenterofanurban-area.Manvcom-munities in Califomiaand throughout theUnitedStatelarespend-ingbitlionsof dollars oremoveconcretebanksand restore heir creeksto a relatively naturalstate.

hood park site or nativeplant preserve.

Greenspaces currentlyworking to placea benchon the property, possiblyin cooperationwith TheWalkingGroup.

In addition to reducingfuturebuilding density nCambria,donors like theGreensare able o realizea substantial ax benefit.

The Greens also pro-videdGreenspacewithanendowment fund to pay

In'aA"dttionift;t#a

taxesand maintenancen perpetuity.Donation of land to Greenspace rovides a gilt thatkeepson giving. The community gains much neededopen spaceand the donors saveon taxes.

6thAnnualArt AuctionSept.17Greenspacewill hold its Sixth Annual Art Auction

Sat.,Sept.17at the Cambria Vets Hall.Last year nearly 200 ocal artists and merchants do-

natedworks that helped Greenspace ross n excessof$11,000. ll funds raised go toward the organization'sconservationefforts in Cambria.

Morethan500attended astyear'sevent.The auctionnow attractsa sizeablenumber of out of town visitorswho come.to buy local art while helping supportGreenspace'sonservation fforts.

"We needvolunteersfor a variety of jobs at the auc-tion," said Richard Hawley, GreenspaceExecutive Di-rector."Any contribution of time is appreciated,even fit's only a few hours."

A committeehas formed to plan this year's auctiorLwhich promisessome new features,such as entertain-ment,drawings, rafflesand other surprises.

Please onta"ct reenspacef you woold like to volun-teer for this year's Art Auction.

page2

PhotoContestGreenspacewill sponsora photo contestwith the

themeof "CambriaOpenSpace."It is tentativelyplanned that color and black and

white photoswill beaccepted nd that therewill be

ffiffi*a cashprize for first place.Secondand third place will receiveawards of merchandise or ser-vices donated by local merchants.

Winning photos will be pub-lished in TheCambrian.Detailsand deadlineswillbe announcedshortly.



VolunteersNeededGreenspaces a volunteer organization hat de-

pendsorfmembers and conceired citizens. f weall do a little bit, we can make a big difference nkeeping_Cambriahe specialplace -t s. This year,we hee-d olunteersfoi the following proiecis:

. Sixth Anrrual GreenspaceArt AucEory'Sept,17

. Annual GreenspacePhotoContest.

.4*r4Greenspace CreekCleanup,Oct.15.

. GrantWriting TeamsTo volunteer contact Rick Hawley,9274964.

Greenspace, ardenOubsIoin Fotres o StabilizeSarrta

RosaCreekBankVolunteer ffortPreoentsurtherErosion

Tool to ResolveResourceCon-flicts in the SantaRosaand San

SimeonCreek WatershedsBecausewater is the single most critical issue affecting

planning and developmeht in the Cambria area, aneticooperative approach is being developed that will pro-mote consensus.

What is a Land Tlust? (CRMP) s aCoordinated Resource Management and PlanningIRMP) is a resource plannine,-problem solvine, anillanning, problem solving, and

;ponsoredby the ResourceCon-anagementprocesssponsoredby the ResourceCon-servationDistrict. It would allow for directparticipation

s non-profTtorganizations,and trustsprotect

landfor its nafural, recr6ational,scenic,historicalor produc-tive value. Some and trusts purchaseor acceptdona-tions of land. Or they arrange conservationeasements,which allow owners to conlinue using their land, withrestrictionson future development that provide themwith tax savings.

With morethan900currently in existence,and trusts areAmerica'sfastestgrowing conservationmovementandhave helped protedtalmolt 2 million acresnationwide.Tax Advantages:Donationsto land trusts like Greens-pace may qualify donors of land or conservationease-ments or considerableax savings.LandAcquisition: ThroughGreeri6pace'sax exemptsta-

tuswe accepteasementsroutrightcontributionsofprop-erty. We wbrk with landowneriduring their estateplah-nirig process o provide permanentprotEctionof theirland.Land Restoration:Greenspace estores and that hasbeendamaged hrough long term neglect,or as mitiga-tion for new constructionprojects.Working with local,stateand federalagencies,wsoversee herdstorationofnative veqetationdnd specieshabitats.Land Stewardship:WhbnGreenspace ssumes espon-sibility for apropelrty,we preparedocumentationof thehabitdt and wildlife indiienbus to the property, thenconduct on site visits to maintain thos6qulalities.Wetake our stewardship obligations very s6riously andpreparea budget forbngoiig maintenince.

of all thoseconcernedwith natural resource m;rnage-ment in a given planning area such as the Santa RosaCreekWatErshedand Sai Simeon Creek watershed.

The conceptunderlying CRMP is that coordinatingresourceuses results ln rmDroveo resource manaee-ment and minimizes con-flictamong land users, arid-owners/governmentalagencies, nd interestgroups.

Using his approackr,eSource roblemsareaddressedand solved much more effectively because hey arebasedon resourceboundaries and-arenot constriinedby individual, agency,or political boundaries.Greenspace's

gbal is to drotect,enhanceand maintaintheSantaRosa ieekwateished. t isto everyone's enefit

to developand car4t forward a unifiedprotl'am

of actionfor resourceuseand management hat ri-riniinizesconflict,is consistentwith land andwater capabilities, nd is sup-portedby all peoplewhose nterestsare affected.

Greenspacemembersare currently participating inefforts to-initiate the CRMP process n the neir futirre.Watch for details n the nextGreenspaceNewsletter.

page3



GreenspaceCreekEnhancementPlan SetsBenchmark or Fufure

Development, ConservationGreenspace'sSanta Rosa Creek EnhancementPlaru

funded by a $25,300grant from the California Coastalconservancy,sbeingseds

i,*#t?il?t

rl'tit

, CCSDand the Army"ii*i,io hasa rare Corpsof Engineers.i/pirtunlty to preseraeit ,Key elementsof the

its creek:in iiitaaaeti PranareoPenspace c-,--,rr;,i,, -:-';_-'t :.i: ii;:--r quisition, restorationof

i',{i,i#,,T;r1:#;,";J;1"lit.ffy?i.,1;fuictions: Mai:y,,,co:m.; livestockaccess ontrol,mini,lies.stuitjb;rai.;utith watershed improve-seriouslydegyailed, ; ment and developmentiirepiirs'afldsigfid'aiii of passive recreational

TTf#i:i:i!:;iffiT"-- -:"- -.',---"1:: '2 --. goinsimplementationof';::::::':;I',#;;"l,Tln',,**la"*tr1?..".k:

mmt'Plan'1"993 ,;,;,, munity leadership nd:.., conset .tt buildinlg.

teeorhe lanepresenteo'"";H::ff:tl"?iiTil'i;thecommunity, ncludingrepresentativesrom TheTrustfor PublicLand;StateParksand Recreation;heSanLuisObispo County Department of Parks and Recreation;the County Department of Planning and Building; theCalifornia State Department of Fish and Game; theCambriaChamberof Conunerce; nd heCambriaCom-

munity ServicesDis-trict.

A public meetingwas held to presentthe plan and Execu-tive Director RichardHawley has madepresentationsbeforethe Lions, CambriaGarden Club, theUniversity Womenand wiil continue tospeak before other

groups throughoutthis vear.Greenspaces also

committed to estab-lishment of a conser-

',.,, "sd.itnnis'i ii"itr

"ii' i rti.tji it, intact,Wiita l, ioffini.ti

strian,find helpprotpct i

for future genErfltionsi;t''.'Santa,RosaCrcekEn-hqi'cementPIan,1993

vation corridor alongSanta Rosa Creek from the ocean to the Main Streetbridge, maintenance in perpetuity of a healthy steelheadspawning habitat and preservation of the fragile interre-lationships of the habitat ecosystem.

Copies of the Santa RosaCreek Enhancement Plan areavailable at the Cambria Library or from Greenspace ata cost of $10 per copy.

Page4

Greenspacemembershipdonationsare tax deduct-ible. MembersreceiveGreenspace ewsletters andother information on our conservation activities.Checkcategoryand payment method below:

D Family $25 O Contributing $500 Sponsoring 100 0 Pakon $250

fl Sustaining$500 O Benefactor$1000DNewMember flRenewal

D I can'tbecomea memberat this time. Enclosed smy $- donation.Please endnewsletters.

Name

AddressCIty/State/Zip

GIFT MEMBERSHIPS

I'd like to sive a Gift Membershin o:

NameAddressCIty/State/Zip

Please endacknowledgmentto the recipientI want my grft membershipto beanonymousBill me nextyear to renew this grft membership

PAYMENT

O CheckEnclosed O ChargemyVISAorMCCard #

SignatureExp.Date

I'D LIKE MORE INFORMATION ON:

Deferred Giving - "Giftsthatkeepon giaing"

Conservation Estate PlanningTax Advantages, Conservation Options forLandowners

Send o:Greenspace, he CambriaLand Trust

PostOffiCe Box L505. Cambria, CA 93428805-9274964

JoJ

Joo



President'sMessage CALPANATBallot MeasureWould Allocate

$4.5Million for CambriaOpen Space

Greenspaces a unique organization made up ofpeople with djverse backgroundsand points of view,wo,rking ogether o ensur6 hat Cambrii will alwavsbea cleanand beautifulplace o live and work.. Thisyearpromisesobe hebestever orGreenspace. ehavemet many of our goalsby completingand distribut_ing the SantaRosaCreEkEnhancementpTan,oreanizineand conducting demonstrationsor proper lot"clearinEtechniquesn cooperationwith the CambriaCommunitVServicesDishict (CCSD),holding our first annualWild-

Greensr:ace, fi?xH.*,t*::*tlr

i+rffiff#ffiffi.[*'.{rfi{s,-j*["41f€#?g',,fffp:"'lXLfiHl""*$fff;#if.fi:,"n.1;'"

, t'?*tttifr,six years,

,nicnard,,rrawtevr, Green-space.haslrown

E;;driltiiiiu#rnuentiarorganizationwtthneaffi8$;tKit?r1"tfl1frto your financial support and volunteer efforts, we aremakinga differencen Cambria.

DevelopmentReducesCambria'sMonterey PineForest

by More Than One-ThirdThe Cambria stand of Monterey pines has beenre-

9y.ul Uy 19 percent n_rec_enteirs, according o theMonterevPineForestWatch.

Within Cambria'surban reserveine, the argeststandof MontereyPines s on LodgeHill, where c5ntinuingdevelopment is transf,olmingthis rare stand of pineiinto an urban areawith little?hance of reforestatibn.

With remainingstandsoutsideCambria'surban"reserveine cur-

| . . thi fllture rently beingconsideredor devel-of Cambiria's opment, the future of Cambria'siti,tlaii, native MontereyPine oresthabi-Manteieu, tat is in question.

iii*10:iii;,,' urban and suburban develop-

,,'iiffi ;:0,r,,0,,"',''ril:#"?ll:trff'"*ffi;:l;qf tesf lon, ,1" , inginthedi rect lossof foresthabi -:fff:f"'J1?n:T?131t*j',':[

forest.Fragmented ections f orestbecomeusceptiblEto invasion of non-nativespecies uch asscotchbioom,German vy and pampasgrass,which displace he na-tive torestunderstoryand species abitat.

Additionally, witli the forest divided into smaller,separate egments,heremaininghabitatsupports ewerspecies nd their populationsare more susceptibleodisease nd extinction.

CALPAW'94 , theCalifornia parks and Wildlife Irritia-tive,hasqualified or inclusionon theh:nel994ballot.

If approvedby thevoters,his

tffSffi'l|3atf,j3t3#;poi*"nt

efthefor openspace roje'cts. J : ,boadi,wiII cornei.,Dueto the efforfsofGreens- "

fro,m kb stttii,i:pace/ $4.5 million of the : penriiifiina.'ilitni,,'

;ffa?J#"'"":fi[K#,t'€SJ,:'i':,i

tifhi,xit"il?'*li'1ff:li,""iffi;;.; *"'"Y:;;:;f:#Cambriapineforest,wetlands ', ' moith:and othei coastal resources.

According to the Planning and Conservation Leasue.which isspe-arheading he cainpaign for the initiative, siatetnnds_fo^rp_en paceprojectshave declined by 91 percentsince1989.Corsequently, stateand local soveinmints areqg..tly running

out of honey to proteci California,s di-mrrushlng nafural resources.CALPAW will not meuul new taxes. pavment of the

bonds will come from the state'sgeneral furid, with a costof approximately 50 centsper hoirsehold per month.

SavingCambria'sRareMontereyPineForest

Did you know thatCambria'sMontereypineforest soneof onlythreend genous tan sof thiseridangeredreein theUnited States?'

The CambriaForestAdvisory Committee(CFAO. astanding committee of Greenspace,s dedicatbd to theenhancement, scientific rfudy and'the regeneration ofrurd.rruerlrerrr/ bctenurlc sruov ano tne regeneratron oCambrias MontereyPineForbst PinusRadiataD. don).

CFACassistedhe SLOCountvplanninon"nartrnei-rFACassistedlheSLOCounWplannineDepartmeirt:viewinga newly published ebortentifed F'easibilitv$ re;rreying a3ew.ly pqblished repo4 entifed F'easbility

rest tvtanasemdftProgramfor Cambria,California. Aiil,199[:-

Active in forest restoration and educatioruCFAC isassistinghe county n developinqa ForestManasementPlan and has establisheda seed"bankof this r#e sub-species,which differsslightly from other Monterev pines,at University of Califomia, Davis. For more infoimationaboutCFAC call9274964.

What's a Pine TLeeWorth?Theannualvalueof a50yearold Monterevpine tree

is$273 1985 ollars)acco"rdingo aSanLtiis ObispoCountystudy.This valuereflec-tsheannual mpacfofa ree n relation ocontrolof airpollution ($50), ^rrntrolof erosionand storm water ($7S),air ionditionins($73) nd wildlife shelter$75.Totil valuedurine thEtree's ifetime,compounded t5% nterestor50v"ears,equals$53,15L. his calculationdoes not considervalues hat aremore sublective, aesthetic, ocialandpsych.ological)hichcoritribute ubstantiallyo qual-ity of life in theCambriaarea.

page5



Annual CreekClean+rpOct.L5Greenspacewill hold its 5thAnnual Community CreekCleanup onSat.,

Oct .15.

support curbsiderecycling n Cambria.Greenspace as proposed a cooperative

effort with the CCSD o provide communitydumpins davs. In this way citizens coulillegaliy rId tfiemselvesof things not easilydiipobed of, like old tires,at a cintral collei-tion point.

ResponsibleWeedAbatement Techniques

to be on Videotape

Greenspaceheld its annual WeedAbatement Field Demonstration re-cently n Cambria andwill soonmakea videotape of the techniquesavail-able to the public.

Greenspace ponsors he sessioneachveai in cooperationwith theCalifdrnia Depariment of Forestryand Fire Proteition and theCambrihCommunityServicesDistrictFireDe-oartment.'

CCSD AssistantFire Chief SteveBitto and biologist Linda WarrenSeek articipateif n thisyear'sdem-onstr^ation,roviding detailsand an-sweringquestions.

The ilemonstrationprovides con-tractorsand members-of the publicwith specific echniquesand guide-lines orprotectionof nativeplant spe-ciesduring annualweed abatement.The videoiape s beingpreparedwiththe assistanceof Cambria LeamingSystemsproducer JamesKelty andwill be availableshortly.

Lastyear,more than 40 Greenspacemembersand volunteerswalked theentire iength of the creek from the ocean o the Main St. Bridge (near theintersectionof MainSt. and SantaRosaCreekRd.)

"Unfortunately,SantaRosaCreek sused or illegal dumpingof all typesofrefuse," aidRichardHawley,ExecutiveDirectorof Greenspace.e noted hat

Greenspace emoved enough trash to fill four dumpsters to overflowing.Fumituremattresses'automobiles'ffi;HBffi ;"X*H.H,i,*a*:**ere removedby Greenspace olunteers.

Hawley added that if Greenspace id notremove fhe refuse t would be s,vept down-streamby the winter rains, damaging creek-side properties and harming wildlife andriparian vegetation before collecting in thelagoon at MoonstoneBeach.

Since Greenspacebegan monitoring theyearly clean-upof the creek, herehas beenhn alirming increasen the volume of recy-clable itemi found, which would seem to

'i,'1t . .

@ Copyright Greenspace,The Cambria Land Trust 1994 Original Cartoon CourtesyArt Van Rhyn

PostOffice Box 1505

Cambria, CA93428Telephone 805927 9 64

U.S.Bulk RatePAID

PermitNo.7SanLuisObispo,

cA 93401

The Cambria Land Trust

Spring 1994 Watershed Newsletter, Cambria Land Trust

Documents

Transcript of Spring 1994 Watershed Newsletter, Cambria Land Trust