Coastsiders are invited to a public workshop on “Protecting Water Quality in Our Critical Coastal Area”, presented by the county Resource Conservation District. This public workshop is for people to find out more about the pilot project and help develop a plan to reduce pollution into the Reserve from surrounding lands.  Refreshments will be provided.

Saturday, October 4, 2008
2:00 p.m.- 5:00 p.m.

Pillar Ridge Manufactured Home Community
164 Culebra Lane, Moss Beach, CA 94038

The first 20 people to RSVP will be invited to join a free walking tour to better understand how pollution gets into the Reserve.  The walking tour will begin at 1:00 p.m., location to be determined.

The Draft Watershed Assessment describes the area and the opportunities to improve water quality. It will soon be available online at the web site for the RCD. Hard copies may be reviewed at the RCD, the Half Moon Bay Library, and the Montara Water and Sanitary District. Additional documents, including maps, data, and historical ecology can be found at the other web sites listed below.

RSVP: (650) 712-7765 or by September 24th

All Aboard! The tour will start at the beach end of Kelly Avenue in Half Moon Bay at 10am with a welcome from members of the board of directors of the Coastside Land Trust and Executive Director Jo Chamberlain.

• Toni Corelli, botanist, author, environmental consultant and Chairperson of the Rare and Endangered Plant Committee of the California Native Plant Society, Santa Clara Valley Chapter, will talk about the native plants found in the area.
• Gary Deghi, wildlife biologist, wetlands scientist and Sequoia Audubon board member, will describe the wildlife that inhabit that area and highlight bird species of interest.
• Deborah Ruddock, of the California Coastal Conservancy, will discuss the environmental significance of the RROW easement for the coast.
• Chris Hunter, former editor of the Pacifica Tribune and author of Ocean Shore Railroad, will talk about the railroad’s history.

End of the Line. The final stop will be at Poplar and Railroad Avenues across from the original Arleta Depot, which has been a private home for many years. We’ll hear from our speakers one more time, and they’ll answer question. The event will conclude at 12:00.

The Ocean Shore Railroad operated for the first two decades of the 20th century, bringing people to the then sparsely populated San Mateo coast and giving birth to the towns we know today as Pacifica, Montara, Moss Beach, El Granada and Half Moon Bay. 

Although the Railroad is gone today, in Half Moon Bay the Railroad Right-Of-Way (RROW) runs from Kelly Avenue south to Seymour Street between the western edge of the Arleta Park and Alsace Loraine neighborhoods, and a pristine open space bluff top overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The Coastside Land Trust (formerly Half Moon Bay Open Space Trust, or HOST) working with a group of coastside residents raised the funds for the City of Half Moon Bay to purchase the RROW from private owners in 2004. The Coastside Land Trust is the holder of the conservation easement over the RROW and is sponsoring the September 27 tour to familiarize the local community with the history of the railroad, wildlife and native plants that are abundant in the area.

There will be an opportunity for interested volunteers to sign up to help the Coastside Land Trust with a number of upcoming activities

The Coastside Land Trust is dedicated to the preservation, protection and enhancement of the open space environment including the natural, scenic, recreational, cultural, historical, and agricultural resources of Half Moon Bay and the nearby areas for present an d future generations.

Community members, scientists, and others interested in the water quality of Pillar Point Harbor, north of Half Moon Bay, are participating in an effort to identify the sources of bacteria in the harbor and develop a plan for remediation.  A critical component of this effort will be a circulation study to illuminate how pollution travels within and out of the harbor.  
 
The study will be conducted Saturday, September 27 through Monday, September 29.  Many volunteers will be needed for this effort, on shore and in boats and kayaks.
 
Click below for a description of the project. 

For more information, or if you are interested in volunteering to help complete the study:

• Visit the project web page, http://www.sanmateorcd.org/harbor.html. 


• Visit the Harbor District web page, http://www.smharbor.com/.


• Attend any monthly public board meeting of the RCD.


• Call the RCD directly at (650)712-8938.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service has issued a new proposal for designating critical habitat for the California red-legged frog.  While it’s ten times the size of their previous proposal—up to 131,091 acres in San Mateo County from 13,000 acres— it leaves out a lot of areas that are near existing development, including the city of Half Moon Bay, reports the the County Times. The new proposal was required by a lawsuit against the agency, based on interference by Deputy Assistant Secretary of Interior Julie MacDonald [Wikipedia].

“If you’ve got a house, a shopping center or a parking lot, a lot of those areas are not considered critical habitat areas, even if they lie within the designated area,” said Al Donner, a spokesman for the Fish and Wildlife Service in Sacramento.

Sounds confusing, but state biologists based their habitat maps on Geographic Information System models and the location of known red-legged frog breeding ponds, then looked at their range of movement (as much as a mile) and at other potential habitats they could occupy in the immediate area. They assumed no healthy colony of frogs could exist in the back of a subdivision, so they focused on rural areas instead. Many of these, like Crystal Springs Reservoir, are already protected from development.

Jeff Miller, a conservation advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity, called the proposal a “partial victory.”

“Not even close to everything within those areas will be protected as critical habitat,” he said, referring to sites across the entire state. “They’re including a lot of areas that we know have good frog habitat but it doesn’t include all the areas that were historically occupied by red-legged frogs.”

The 60-day public comment period ends Nov. 17. To read the proposal online, go to http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/E8-20473.pdf. To make a comment or request a public hearing, visit http://www.regulations.gov and follow directions there. 

Jan Garrod, general manager of Garrod Farms and Cooper-Garrod Estate Vineyards in Saratoga and president of the Santa Clara County Farm Bureau, has joined the Board of Directors at Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST).

All of us want to thank all the pilots who flew continuously low over us today; displaying very clearly their numbers to be documented.

So they continue to give us the evidence we need for their continuing illegal flying.

They just might want to talk to the manager of the San Carlos Airport to update themselves.  Would be a shame if they weren’t being educated about the ongoing process to protect our locals.

Remember the saying: “what goes around; comes around”?  Still true.

The San Mateo County Resource Conservation District (RCD) needs volunteers to conduct a circulation study to understand how pollution travels within and out of the harbor September 27, 28, or 29.

What would I do?

Volunteers in kayaks, rowboats, canoes, jet skis, or small motorized boats will collect water samples at a series of buoys that will be set up in the harbor.

What supplies or equipment would I need?

A beach coordinator will provide volunteers with tools to collect water samples and record observations. Volunteers are encouraged to provide their own kayaks/ boats/ jet skis, protective clothing, and safety gear if possible. If that is not possible, the RCD will provide a kayak, paddle, and personal flotation device. The RCD will provide snacks and drinks as well.

How long will it take?

Volunteers will arrive an hour before their first shift for training and to get to the first buoy. Water sample collection will take place over a two-hour period. Why not sign up for more than one shift and enjoy a break at a local waterfront restaurant? ?

Where do I sign up?

Visit the project web page, http://www.sanmateorcd.org/harbor.html. Email the RCD at . Or call the RCD at (650)712-7765. 

People of all ages can help make San Mateo County cleaner and greener by scouring beaches and watersheds on September 20 during California Coastal Cleanup Day, the largest volunteer event of its kind in the state.

Coastal Cleanup Day is sponsored by the San Mateo Countywide Water Pollution Prevention Program and California Coastal Commission. This is the 24th year thousands of Californians will work together along beaches, shorelines and inland waterways to clear cigarette butts, cans, bottles, plastic bags, grocery carts, old tires and other debris.

Last year, more than 2,000 volunteers in San Mateo County removed 19,983 pounds of trash and 4,050 pounds of recyclables. Statewide, more than 60,000 volunteers hauled off nearly 1 million pounds of trash and recyclables that would otherwise soil the state and threaten the health of wildlife.

The vast majority of the debris wasn’t dropped on beaches or tossed into a watershed. Instead, most of the debris started out as garbage on urban streets and was carried by storm drains or blown by the wind.

Volunteers are encouraged to show up at any of the following cleanup locations in San Mateo County at 9 a.m. on September 20. Most cleanups end by noon.
For more information about the San Mateo Countywide Water Pollution Prevention Program or clean-up sites within San Mateo County, visit http://www.flowstobay.org or call (650) 372-6200. For information on statewide locations and this year’s corporate sponsors, visit the California Coastal Commission at http://www.coast4u.org.

Click below for a list of Coastside locations

The Coastside Land Trust is holding our monthly restoration event at our Francis Beach properties this coming Saturday, September 20, 12:30 to 3 pm.  We will spend the day identifying native and invasive plants, discussing the strategy for fall blooming by some native species, pollination strategies, and methods used for seed dispersal, as well as removing invasive plants to help our natives thrive.

Did you ever think of Coyote Bushes as sexy?

Coyote Bush (Baccharis pilulari) is the brush that covers our coastal hillsides and terraces. It is also called tick or deer brush, and is the primary plant in our coastal chaparral. It is the first plant to colonize grassy fields, and is host to many plants and animals. Coyote bush provides shelter and cover for animals and creates an environment welcoming to other plants. If you look closely, you will see blackberry vines, reeds, aster, dock, and other plants taking advantage of the shade and wind protection provided by the sturdy coyote bush.

This time of year, September to November, it becomes apparent that not all coyote bushes are alike. Some have blooms with tight flowers that stick to the plant (this is the male) while others have a fuzzy bloom that, when mature floats to the ground and through the air much as thistle seeds do (this the female). Plants like the Coyote Bush with separate plants for the male and female are called dioecious, a Greek/Latin word meaning two houses—specifically having the male and female reproductive organs borne on separate individuals of the same species.

Please join us. Check in at the Francis State Beach kiosk at Kelly and the Pacific Ocean, and proceed north on the maintenance road to the maintenance sheds. Our properties are on the east side of the maintenance road. Refreshments, good humor and appreciation are provided for all ages and abilities.

Jo Chamberlain

There will be a cleanup at Montara State Beach Saturday September 20, from 9am to noon.  Visit http://www.montarabeach.com for full details.