Action Team Formed in Response to Pescadero Flooding

The annual flooding of PCR at Butano Creek is a serious problem which puts the safety and welfare of the local community and visitors to our community at risk.

While it is a widely held assumption that restoring the marsh will solve this problem, it is also accepted that this has been and will continue to be a difficult process.  Progress toward a solution may be further encumbered by the law suit; Coastal Alliance for Species Enhancement v California, Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation and Fish and Game.

Local opinions about how to proceed are fractured.  While there is a small group of citizens who believe the solution is to dredge Butano Creek back toward its headwaters.  Dredging would require constant maintenance and is environmentally insensitive.

Waiting for the marsh to be restored is not an option.

We need action now.

We absolutely need an overall strategy and action plan to restore the marsh as an environmentally friendly habitat for all the species that do or did reside, feed and thrive here.  At times, it is uncomfortable to be a political leader during a time when species are facing extinction and the safety of our citizens is at risk.  Bickering about solutions is unacceptable.

After listening to much oral history, reviewing documentation and considering actual field observations, I believe that there are several opportunities available to reduce the amount of flooding and thereby protect our citizens.

I believe it is our duty to formulate coherent and logical plans and present the plans to San Mateo County and the various agencies of the State of California.  As PMAC Chair I have formed an Action Team which will address the problem of annual flooding on a tactical basis.

Greg Bonaparte
PMAC Chair