Letter: Coastside Land Trust will tour HMB’s Railroad Right-of-Way, Saturday

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.

Whistle Stop. We’ll walk along the Railroad Right-Of-Way to the second stop at 10:45, at the corner of Central and Railroad Avenues. where we’ll hear a little more from our speakers about the formation about the plants, wildlife and history of the area.

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.