The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District has public meetings coming up to discuss its Good Neighbor Policy and its Master Plan for La Honda Creek.

Good Neighbor Policy
Final Draft Policy Presented
Wednesday, November 8, 2006
7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Skyline Field Office
21150 Skyline Blvd.

La Honda Creek Master Plan Workshop
Thursday, November 16, 2006
6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
La Honda Elementary School
450 Sears Ranch Road

The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD) recently developed a draft policy for livestock grazing and contracted with an agricultural consultant to help manage grazing on the District’s 5,000 acres of grasslands.  The grazing management policy will help restore native grassland ecosystems, reduce the risk of wildfire, and sustain the local agricultural economy.  Seeking additional input on the policy, the District presented a draft to the San Mateo County Farm Bureau in early October. A final draft will be presented to the District’s Board for adoption in January 2007.

"Grazing accomplishes two goals for us: management of non-native grasses and fire fuel reduction," said Kirk Lenington, Resource Planner for the District. "Cattle feed on the non-native grasses, providing more opportunity for native vegetation to grow.  Grazing is also more effective in reducing wildland fire fuels.  Mowing 5,000 acres on really steep terrain is simply not possible, and it’s challenging to meet all of the criteria to conduct a prescribed burn."

The Chronicle has good story on the San Francisco YMCA’s plan to log the forest around Camp Jones Gulch.

YMCA officials on Friday told some of their most vocal critics that the nonprofit would work with them to allay their concerns.

"We are the stewards of some remarkable land," President and Chief Executive Officer Charles Collins told activists, who gave him a petition signed by 554 people urging the YMCA to kill the plan. "What we want to do, and what we are doing, is postponing any action on this (plan) to get more public input."

But reaching a consensus could be difficult, as a vocal contingent of activists wants the YMCA to kill the plan entirely and adopt one they feel would ensure greater protection for the forest and cause less harm to the land.

"We would like to see them withdraw the (plan) and show they will be better stewards of the land," said Patty Mayall, an environmental activist and La Honda resident who was among those who presented the petition.

Logging opponents want the YMCA to grant an conservation easement, and the group has said that it would examine the option. The public has until Nov. 15 to comment on the plan. 

Farmers are fighting a California Department of Fish and Game demand that they remove dams from the Frenchman’s Creek watershed. The Department says that seasonal dams prevent steelhead smolts from reaching the ocean. Farmers have won a temporary restraining order, according to the County Times.

Jim Green, head of the Frenchman’s Creek Water District, said he and the other plaintiffs in the suit had no idea they needed a special permit to operate the dam in his backyard until the Department of Fish and Game told them to remove it in 2004. The landowners, who collectively farm 140 acres of flowers, all received a permit from the State Water Resources Control Board to extract a certain amount of water from the creek.

When the Department of Fish and Game intervened, residents removed the 71/2-foot dam and tried to use wells and other alternative water sources to grow their flowers.

Those sources are now drying up, said Green, who has let 40 percent of his own fields lie fallow for lack of water to cultivate them.

The League for Coastside Protection is sponsoring an After the Pumpkin Festival beach clean-up at Francis State Beach, Half Moon Bay on Saturday, October 21, from 10am to 1pm. Their goal is to remedy the mess left after the crowds are gone. Volunteers receive a free Commemorative T-shirt.

Print and bring this flyer [PDF] with you, and parking at Francis State Beach lot is free. Picnic tables and BBQs are available if volunteers want to bring a lunch. The organizaters recommend wearing closed-toe shoes, layered clothing, hat and sunscreen. High school student volunteers get Community Service credit.

Lana Ellis

At Half Moon Bay High School, students gathered to get other students into the spirit of the beach clean-up  October 21, 2006. Students in the photo left to right:   Rachel Graham, John Kimsey, Natalia Walicki, Garrett Rogren.  Parent:  Dana Kimsey.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has released for public comment the draft management plans and proposed regulations for Cordell Bank, Gulf of the Farallones and Monterey Bay national marine sanctuaries and a joint draft environmental impact statement. The plans are the result of several years of study, planning and extensive public input.

One substantive boundary change is proposed as part of the joint management plan review. NOAA is proposing to add a 585-square nautical mile area around the Davidson Seamount to Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

There will be a public hearing on the plan Dec. 6, 2006, 6:30 p.m. at the Community United Methodist Church, 777 Miramontes Street, in Half Moon Bay.

You can download the plans from the agency’s website.

At a special meeting last night, the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District appointed Curt Riffle, a long-time resident of the area, to represent Ward 4 (Mountain View and Los Altos), the seat vacated by Deane Little’s resignation in August 2006. Curt Riffle was one of four finalists in the second-round of extensive interviews at the special meeting. Riffle will serve the balance of the term, which expires in November 2008.

County officials have gotten a $2 million grant to explore installing a sewer system in Pescadero, reports the County Times.

Pescadero residents would have to form a public utility district to manage the new wastewater plant and would eventually have to pay back 18 percent of the grant with some help from the county, according to Dean Peterson, director of the county’s Environmental Health division. Peterson put the total cost of the project at $2 million to $5 million and said it could be completed as soon as 2010, provided a site could be found for the plant and there was enough community interest to spur it forward.

The new sewer system would improve the town’s ability to add and improve businesses in its historic downtown as well as help families wanting to expand their homes.

OceanFest, an annual celebration of our ocean backyard, features sustainable culinary seafood delights cooked up by such celebrated San Francisco restaurants as Chez Panisse, Farallon, Hog Island Oyster Company, Slanted Door, and Zuni Cafe, in addition to local brews, fine wine, music and family activities. The Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association (FMSA) holds its annual free event Saturday, October 7, 11 a.m-4 p.m. at the Farallones Visitor Center, West Crissy Field Beach, in the Presidio. A gourmet meal from a top Bay Area chef, or a wine or beer tasting is only $10. 

OceanFest supports the Marine Sanctuary Association’s environmental education programs for Bay Area children and volunteer programs that protect marine life.  Teeming with whales, birds, sharks, puffins, and other marine life, the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary protects 1255 square miles of open ocean, bay and wetlands off the shore of San Francisco. 

"OceanFest is a perfect event—happy and unpretentious," says Judy Rodgers, chef/owner of San Francisco’s renowned Zuni Cafe and FMSA board member, who is participating in her fourth OceanFest. "OceanFest reminds us that we all need to care about the ocean, which is filled with surprises and treasures."

Rodgers will be preparing her OceanFest delicacies in the company of many of the Bay Area’s other top chefs: Phillip Dedlow from Chez Panisse, Parke Ulrich from Farallon, Charles Phan from Slanted Door, and hot dogs from Let’s Be Frank—to name a few.  All the chefs are volunteering their culinary talents to promote the delicious and environmentally sound qualities of sustainable seafood, which is donated by Monterey Fish Company and Osprey Seafood. 

The event also features live bands, kids’ music by ZunZun and other family activities, 20 exhibitors including the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s "Seafood Watch," and the Shark Mobile (everything you wanted to know about white sharks, which thrive in our local waters, especially during "Sharktoberfest"). Win a Baja kayak trip, a year of FlexCar, a Half Moon Bay getaway weekend, Jerry Rice day 49ers tickets, Farallon Islands whale watching, dinner at Greens or other restaurants, and other prizes in the OceanFest raffle.  Thousands attend this annual event, which is handicapped accessible and coincides with Fleet Week. Public transit (511.org), cycling or carpooling are encouraged.

For more OceanFest information, visit www.farallones.org or call 415-561-6625, x314.