San Mateo County Coast Railroad Right of Way and Depot Tours

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Half Moon Bay Greenway Tours

Two Nature and History Events Coming Up — April 18 & 19

April 18, 10 am: Tour of Railroad Right-of-Way in Half Moon Bay — free

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, there is an area in Half Moon Bay called the Railroad Right-of-Way (RRoW) which is still vital to the town of Half Moon Bay. The 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 HOST, or Half Moon Bay Open Space Trust) worked with a group of coastside residents to raise 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 April tour, which is designed to familiarize the local community with the history of the railroad, wildlife and native plants that are abundant in the area.

The tour will start at 10 a.m. across from the original Arleta Depot (which has been a private home for many years) at the corner of Poplar St. and Railroad Ave. in Half Moon Bay. Members of the board of directors of the Coastside Land Trust and Executive Director Jo Chamberlain will welcome participants and discuss the environmental significance of the RRoW easement for the coast. Native plant specialists Avis Boutell and Nancy Frost will speak about the California native plants found in the area. Gary Deghi, a professional biologist, will describe the wildlife that inhabit the area and highlight bird species of interest. Local historian Liz Allison will talk about the railroad's history.

Participants will walk along the Railroad Right-of-Way with our native plant, wildlife and history guides who will tell us more about the richness of the area at each of the successive three "stops": Central Avenue and Railroad Avenues at 10:45 a.m; Miramontes Avenue and Railroad Avenue at 11:15 a.m.; and the bluff edge at 11:45 where we will view two endangered plant species, view ocean-dwelling birds and hear more about the Ocean Shore Railroad history. The event will conclude at 12:30.

April 19, 1 pm: Tour of Railroad Depots — $25 per person, under 18 free

Join us as we retrace the path of the famed Ocean Shore Railroad. Participants will meet at the Vallemar Restaurant (a former depot), 2125 Coast Highway in Pacifica, where we will view two models of the famed railroad and enjoy numerous photographs showing the Railroad and period coastal views. Following an overview of the railroad's history by tour conductors, participants will drive to see one of the remaining railroad cars, which is housed in Pacifica, and several of the remaining depots in Pacifica, El Granada and Half Moon Bay.

Space is limited and pre-registration is suggested by visiting CoastsideLandTrust.org and making a $25 donation.


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


Jo Chamberlain
Executive Director
840 Main Street #B2
Half Moon Bay, CA 94019
650-284-5056 office
650-346-3775 mobile
joc@coastsidelandtrust.org

Power Lines through the Sutter Buttes?

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Proposed 500 Volt Transmission Lines Through
Sutter Buttes and Central Sacramento Valley

Dear Middle Mountain Foundation Supporters,

4/13/2009--Recently, we at the Middle Mountain Foundation learned of a project to construct new electric power transmission lines with proposed routes near and in the Buttes. I made contact with TANC, the company responsible for the project, and they are very willing to reroute the power lines away from the Buttes. What they need are constructive suggestions from concerned citizens about the best alternative routes for the lines.

There are public meetings scheduled for this week that will allow us to get our comments on the record. Tomorrow night's meeting is being held in Williams, at 5:30 at Granzellas Inn (451 6th Street, Williams). For all information regarding this project, including maps for the proposed routes, please visit:

See the Proposed Transmission Lines Route:

http://www.tanc.us/content/blogsection/7/48/

With your positive input and creative suggestions, we can ensure this project has the best outcome for all concerned.

Thank you,
Cory D. Wilkins
Executive Director
Middle Mountain Foundation

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Todd Ranch adds 738 acres to Knoxville Wildlife Area

4/1/2009---After 15 years, the Land Trust of Napa County has completed efforts to purchase another 738 acres for the Knoxville Wildlife Area north of Lake Berryessa. $3.37 million in Funds to complete the purchase came from the California Wildlife Conservation Board.

http://newspherenapa.com/2009/04/todd-ranch-adds-738-acres-to-knoxville-wildlife-area/

http://www.napalandtrust.org/frameland.html

http://rare-earth-news.blogspot.com/2008/07/total-of-8648-acres-of-california.html

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Acquisition of two land parcels in southern Sierra Nevada will protect two ecologically rich areas in Tulare County

http://www.landtrustalliance.org/community/Regions/west/success-stories/legacy/

The Wilderness Land Trust just took a major step forward in creating a wilderness legacy in the Southern Sierra Nevada Mountains with the acquisition of two ecologically rich parcels of land.

“We are grateful for the vision and effort that the Wilderness Land Trust has put into the acquisition of these two significant properties”, said Tim Smith, BLM Bakersfield Field Manager. “The initiative that the Wilderness Land Trust has taken to work with willing sellers to conserve these lands will greatly benefit the public in the preservation of wilderness and resource values into the future.”

The land trust acquired two properties; a 200-acre inholding in the Domeland Wilderness and a 2,435-acre property adjacent to the Sacatar Trail Wilderness. An inholding is privately owned land inside the boundary of a national park, national forest, state park, or similar publicly owned, protected area.

Both parcels are in Tulare County east of the Sierra crest and will be passed on to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which will manage the areas as wilderness. Both parcels support rich archeological resources, numerous springs, and opportunities for hiking into the rugged backcountry. The Domeland Wilderness inholding is situated along a major tributary to the South Fork Kern River. The parcel is within a quarter-mile from the Pacific Crest Trail and supports lush riparian habitat and Pinyon-Juniper Woodlands that are surrounded by rugged granitic peaks.

The 2,435-acre property adjacent to the Sacatar Trail Wilderness includes expansive wet meadows straddled by Pinyon-Juniper Woodlands and an isolated stand of Joshua Trees that occur at an elevation just over 7,000 feet.

"We are delighted that the Wilderness Land Trust could step in and work with willing sellers to protect these important wilderness properties," said Trust President Reid Haughey from the organization’s home office in Carbondale, Colo. "We have the opportunity to decommission several miles of roads and remove fences and other wilderness intrusions that will restore the lands to their natural state."

The Domeland Wilderness inholding will automatically be incorporated into the surrounding wilderness area. The 2,435-acre ranch adjacent to the Sacatar Trail Wilderness will expand the adjoining wilderness area as per the 1964 Wilderness Act, which says lands adjacent to congressionally designated wilderness areas can be annexed to those wilderness areas through administrative means if the lands are donated to the federal government.

Founded in 1993, the Wilderness Land Trust is a non-profit, publicly supported charity that works to purchase private lands (inholdings) within wilderness. All of the lands acquired by the trust are transferred to public ownership through voluntary mechanisms that respect landowner property rights and values. The trust has protected nearly 30,000 acres in more than 60 different wilderness areas across California, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Montana and Colorado. To learn more about the work of the Wilderness Land Trust, visit their Website at http://www.wildernesslandtrust.org

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Assorted Goodies on Calif. WATER POLITICS:

Delta fish get new environmental protections

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/center/articles/2009/san-jose-mercury-news-03-04-2009.html

San José Mercury News, March 4, 2009

The Fish and Game Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to list the longfin smelt as a threatened species under the California Endangered Species Act.

Commissioners also voted to classify the longfin's cousin, the tiny delta smelt, as an endangered species, moves hailed by environmentalists as a victory for the fragile ecosystem and its bellwether species.

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Lawsuit Looming Over Bay-Delta Fish Protection

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2009/smelt-03-24-2009.html

3/24/2009--While the state of California is moving (slowly) toward safeguarding two of the San Francisco Bay-Delta's most imperiled fish, the longfin and delta smelt, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has stalled on responding to petitions for protection -- so this week, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Bay Institute filed a notice of intent to sue. In 2007, the Center and allies petitioned the federal government and California to protect the longfin smelt, but the Bush administration didn't make a decision on protection by its August deadline. Way back in 2006, the Center petitioned to upgrade the delta smelt's federal and state Endangered Species Act status from threatened to endangered -- but 23 months after a decision was due, the feds still haven't responded. Luckily, California has been a bit more proactive, designating both fish as candidates for greater protections. But meanwhile, thanks to degraded conditions in the Bay-Delta caused by water diversions, pollution, and introduced species, both the delta smelt and the Bay-Delta population of the longfin smelt are fading fast. The "smeltdown in the Delta" -- as the extinction trajectory of Bay-Delta smelts is known -- is on fast-forward, but despite court orders to clean up their act, federal and state water agencies are still mismanaging California's largest and most important estuary. Check out all the details in our press release and learn more about the delta smelt and longfin smelt

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2009/smelt-03-24-2009.html

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http://www.water.ca.gov/deltainit/maps0309.cfm

bay delta conservation plan EIR EIS page—with maps of peripheral canal routes

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http://aquafornia.com/archives/7770

http://westchesterparents.org/?p=2128

structure discriminate against families?">Does L.A.’s proposed water rate
structure discriminate against families?

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http://www.norcalwater.org/

fans of Sites reservoir

http://www.norcalwater.org/images/sites_green.jpg

map of it

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http://www.argentco.com/htm/f20041001.885710.htm

10/2004--Third District Appeals Court Finds Counties May Regulate Private Reservoirs
Delta Wetlands Properties v. County of San Joaquin

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Court Battle is soon over Santa Barbara Coastal Oil Drilling

Paredon Goes to Court on April 21

http://edcnet.org/

from EDC 4/6/2009--For the past three years, the Environmental Defense Center, Carpinteria Valley Association, Citizens for the Carpinteria Bluffs, Get Oil Out! and the Sierra Club Los Padres Chapter, along with hundreds of Carpinteria residents, have participated in the City of Carpinteria's review of the proposed Venoco oil drilling project known as "Paredon."

On February 2, 2009, Venoco, Inc. notified the City of Carpinteria that the company intended to circulate an initiative petition regarding the proposed Paredon oil drilling project. Although it pretends otherwise, Venoco's initiative would completely circumvent the City's normal public planning and environmental review processes, and would deny the community access to critical information. It would discourage informed public dialogue and community engagement, vital and necessary components of any planning process. In addition, the oil company has drafted an initiative that violates the California Constitution and a host of other state laws. The City is charged with upholding the law and preserving the public welfare, and Carpinteria officials acted responsibly when they requested a judicial ruling on the legality and appropriateness of Venoco's oil drilling initiative.

The Carpinteria City Attorney's complaint lists six causes of action against Venoco, including charges that the initiative contains provisions that are unconstitutional and illegal under state law. For example, voter initiatives may only propose legislative, or law-making, acts; administrative acts, such as issuing development permits, may not be proposed by voter initiative. The complaint further describes how the initiative is inconsistent with Carpinteria's General Plan, how the initiative is "unconstitutionally vague, misleading and contains false statements," how it conflicts with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and how it would "impair essential government functions" of the City of Carpinteria.

None of the City's claims impedes or disparages public involvement or community decision-making; the City is actually working to protect these citizen's rights. The City's case will is currently scheduled to be heard in Superior Court on April 21 (date may be subject to change: stay tuned).

EDC and our clients support the City of Carpinteria in its efforts to preserve the public planning process.

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Water Agency Threatens Mokelumne River

http://www.friendsoftheriver.org/site/PageNavigator/FOR%20pages/California%20Rivers/FORCalRiversMokelumneRiver

4/2009--Friends of the River and other conservationists have worked for years to improve flows in the Mokelumne River for fish, wildlife, and recreation, as well as to enhance recreational access. A proposed reservoir expansion threatens to drown these recent environmental and recreational gains.

The East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) is proposing to expand the existing Pardee Reservoir to increase the reliability of drought year water supplies for its service area.

The issue really comes down to fear. The fear of future water shortages is being used as pretext to attack California’s free-flowing rivers. In this case, some at the East Bay Municipal Utilities District (EBMUD) are advancing a plan to enlarge Pardee Reservoir, a move that would drown an additional two miles of the Mokelumne. The threatened river is loved by many for its beauty, for its beginner kayak runs and year-round angling. This would be needless river destruction.

The key word is needless. EBMUD does not need to drown more of the Moke to get the water they need. As a matter of fact, alternatives have already been laid out for the EBMUD Board (some of who support the alternatives, but some still need to be won over).

http://www.foothillconservancy.org/pages/ws_maps.cgi

http://calrivers.blogspot.com/ for the Friends of the Rivers' news blog

Development of Delta island stopped...

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UPDATE: RENEWED FIGHT AGAINST DELTA DEVELOPMENT IN Contra Costa co.

10/1/2009--Great news! Greenbelt Alliance won its lawsuit to protect farmland in the City of Oakley, a fight that began in 2006. In an important decision announced October 1, Superior Court Judge Barry Baskin ruled against the Contra Costa County town, denying its request to move forward with its plan to build 5,000 houses in an unsafe area on important farmland. In a strong statement, he repealed the environmental impact report for the East Cypress Corridor project, effectively blocking the development and ordered Oakley to address the loss of agricultural land.

"This is a huge victory for the Bay Area and the state, because cities will have to pr

http://www.greenbelt.org/regions/eastbay/camp_oakley.html

http://www.greenbelt.org/resources/press/clippings/clip_2009oct2_CC.html

Oakley must now re-evaluate its environmental impact report for a second time to show how it will offset the loss of 828 acres of farmland in the Hotchkiss Tract.

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Greenbelt Alliance Fights Delta Development

http://www.greenbelt.org/resources/newswire/2009aug.html

On July 24, 2009, Greenbelt Alliance pressed ahead with its lawsuit against the City of Oakley to block plans to build more than 5,000 new homes below sea level.

With Eastern Contra Costa County already hard hit by foreclosures and underwater home values, the proposed development on a Delta island is unnecessary and unsafe. If built, air quality would suffer and more than 1,600 acres of agricultural land would be lost.

In 2006, Greenbelt Alliance prevailed in its litigation against Oakley, and the City was ordered to address the loss of farmland. Unfortunately, it later readopted the plan without compensating for the lost agricultural land. Greenbelt Alliance is asking the court to order Oakley once again to set aside its approval of the plan. The hearing is set for Thursday, August 6.

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from Greenbelt Alliance April 2009 newsletter--On March 10, Oakley approved the sprawling 3,585-acre East Cypress Corridor Project along the delta. Much of this unwise and remote development sits five feet below sea level on farmland. Climate change and predicted sea level rise of nearly five feet, as reported in the San Francisco Chronicle, make this a foolhardy plan that poses a grave risk to the lives and property of its future residents.

Greenbelt Alliance sued over the project in 2006, winning a requirement for the City to mitigate for lost farmland and poorer air quality. The lawsuit forced the City to redo its environmental analysis but unfortunately, the requirements were unheeded. This senseless development should not go forward.

Read the full story here: http://www.greenbelt.org/resources/newswire/2009april.html#subheading3

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1295 Acres of Ranches were Saved with easements in 2008 in Marin County Preservation Deals

http://www.malt.org/news/easements.php

7/14/2008--on 585 acre Dolcini ranch easement

http://www.malt.org/news/easements_panfiglio.php

on 810 acre Panfiglio ranch easement. Located north of Point Reyes Station near Highway One, the easement links two other ranches protected by MALT easements, providing a permanent wildlife corridor. It becomes part of a contiguous band of protected lands totaling more than 7,600 acres. The property also serves as the headwaters of Grand Canyon Creek and Walker Creek.

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Assorted news on the Klamath River in Siskiyou County:

http://www.klamathriver.org/comments/sb670/

Klamath riverkeeper

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KlamBlog: Major new opposition to the Klamath Dam Deal emerges; Siskiyou County will negotiate over Klamath Dams’ fate.

http://klamblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/major-new-opposition-to-klamath-dam.html

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ownership map of Klamath River Basin in Oregon and California

http://klamathbasin.info/kbmap2.pdf