Otay River Valley Habitat Protection

With $2.6 million from the Coastal Conservancy, the City of San Diego will acquire eight parcels, totaling 90 acres, in the Otay River Valley for habitat protection and public access. This acquisition will consolidate public ownership of most of the habitat along the river between I-5 and I-805. The valley links coastal habitats with inland hills and lakes, creating a corridor for wildlife and recreation. In 1999, the state legislature appropriated $3.25 million to the Conservancy for Otay Valley Regional Park, responding to a strong effort by Assembly Member Denise Moreno Ducheny and Senator Steve Peace.

The parcels to be purchased lie in the wide, thickly vegetated river floodplain from just east of highway I-805 to I-5, bordering heavily urbanized land in the Cities of San Diego and Chula Vista. The habitat will be a critical part of the City of San Diego's Multiple Species Conservation Program (MSCP), through which the City plans to establish a 172,000-acre wildlife preserve in southwestern San Diego County.

The City's MSCP is one of several sub-regional plans in San Diego County that comprise the County's part of the state's Natural Community Conservation Planning (NCCP) program. The NCCP program is intended to protect endangered habitats and species and promote continued regional biodiversity by creating a network of large, interconnected habitat preserves throughout southern California. The acquired properties will be managed by the Cities of San Diego and Chula Vista.

The Coastal Conservancy has been working with local agencies and citizens to protect and restore the Otay River Valley since the late 1980s, and has previously provided over $4.7 million for planning and property acquisitions.

Los Angeles River

The 51-mile-long Los Angeles River flows through 16 cities. Some 10 million people live in its watershed. The Coastal Conservancy's work on the river began in 1993, when it produced an inventory of riverside recreational opportunities. In 1997, the legislature appropriated $2 million to the Conservancy for use in access and habitat development projects. Three projects were approved in February:

The City of Paramount will acquire about one acre beside the River, between Ralph C. Dills Park and San Antonio Avenue, with the help of $400,000 from the Conservancy, matched by $500,000 from the City and the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority. This property will become part of the Park and a staging area for public access to the riverside Lario Trail, which links the San Gabriel Mountains and the Rio Hondo and San Gabriel River bike trail systems. This project is part of an effort to create a greenway along the river.

Friends of the Los Angeles River will implement a River Watch Program, with the help of $55,000 from the Conservancy, matched by about $64,000 from the Water Resources Control Board and the City of Los Angeles. The program will gather basic information on habitat and water quality. No comprehensive ongoing evaluations of river biota, water quality, or of trash in the river exist now.

Despite its degraded state, the river and surrounding natural areas provide habitats critical to wildlife in the region. The Conservancy is funding the biota component of this effort.

Long Beach will prepare feasibility studies for two potential restoration sites along the lower river with a Conservancy grant of $300,000. One site of about 60 acres extends about a mile south of DeForest Park. The other, at Sixth Street, lies next to a city park and around an overpass.

Cambria Challenge

The Coastal Conservancy in March provided a $3.5-million challenge grant to the American Land Conservancy toward the purchase of the 400-acre East West Ranch in Cambria, San Luis Obispo County, for public access and natural resource restoration. The Conservancy's funds will be matched by $1.5 million from the Cambria Community Services District and more than $2 million in expected private donations.

Development plans for this land have long been controversial. The Land Conservancy has until December to raise the rest of the money needed for the $10.7-million purchase. It plans to transfer the ranch, now used for grazing, to the Cambria Community Services District for long-term management. A local nonprofit organization will hold a conservation easement. The Conservancy has received more than 600 letters of support for this acquisition.

Irish Hills

The Conservancy granted $85,000 to the Bay Foundation to prepare a conservation plan for the Irish Hills, 50,000 acres of beautiful coastal land in San Luis Obispo County. The plan will identify major scenic and natural resources of the area, which is largely undeveloped, and will set out a long-range preservation strategy. It will also evaluate public access potential.

S.F. Bay Trail Keeps Growing

The Coastal Conservancy approved a total of $1.2 million in April to advance the completion of the half-finished San Francisco Bay Trail, a 400-mile shoreline trail network. The funds will go to the Association of Bay Area Governments, which administers the Bay Trail Project, and will enable nine local governments to construct, improve, and prepare new trail sections. Recipients will provide almost $3 million toward these projects.

The Conservancy’s funds come from a $2.5-million addition to its budget authorized by the legislature and governor in 1999. It is expected that the remaining $1.3 million will be allocated later this year. These projects were approved in April:

To the City of Mountain View, $30,000 to complete a feasibility study and pre-construction planning for a 0.75-mile trail extension across the northern end of Moffett Field, from Stevens Creek to Crittenden Marsh, on Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District land.

To the City of Sunnyvale, $55,000 to open one mile of trail on a levee west of Sunnyvale Baylands Park. This project could become a catalyst for a link between Sunnyvale and Mountain View, through Moffett Field.

To Santa Clara County, $150,000 to build trails and improve public access facilities at Alviso Marina County Park, including a new boardwalk across the silted-in old marina.

To the City of San Leandro, $60,000 to plan a 300-foot bicycle/pedestrian bridge and a 600-foot bicycle/pedestrian path on the northern end of Oyster Bay Regional Shoreline.

To the Port of Oakland, $250,000 to construct 1.1 mile of Bay Trail consisting of bicycle lanes on Doolittle Drive and a separated path along Airport Drive and around the west side of Lew Galbraith Golf Course. This new trail segment will connect to the trail along the Martin Luther King, Jr., Regional Shoreline and run south to Oyster Bay Regional Shoreline.

To the City of Richmond, $400,000 to build five miles of Bay Trail from Marina Bay to Wildcat Creek and a spur trail to a staging area at Miller-Knox Regional Shoreline. The alignment for this piece of the Bay Trail is along city streets. The project includes landscaping, signing, improvements to streets and sidewalks, and creation of bike lanes.

To the East Bay Regional Park District, $100,000 to construct a 0.5-mile stretch of the Bay Trail in Pinole and Hercules, linking Pinole Shores Regional Park and San Pablo Bay Regional Park. The new trail segment will consist of a paved pathway along a levee, bike lanes, and a bridge over Pinole Creek.

To the City of American Canyon, $15,000 to develop a conceptual plan for realigning 2.7 miles of Bay Trail along the edge of the bay wetlands, avoiding sensitive habitats along the east side of the Napa River. This would replace the current alignment, along Highway 29.

To the City of San Rafael, $140,000 to build and landscape 1,000 feet of Bay Trail in Shoreline Park. This project will include an asphalt path along the bay, a parallel gravel jogging path, and landscaping.

Many of the grant recipients will employ the California Conservation Corps to build, landscape, and maintain the trails.

Steps toward the Humboldt Bay Trail

The dream of a trail circling the entire Humboldt Bay shoreline moved toward realization in April when the Coastal Conservancy approved $107,000 to the Redwood Community Action Agency (RCAA) for a comprehensive study of such a trail, as well as other potential public access opportunities along the 48-mile Bay shoreline.

There are trails along Humboldt Bay now, totalling about 15 miles, but they are not continuous. Getting from one to another generally requires a car. A regional Humboldt Bay Trail would provide for non-motorized recreation and commuting and promote associated recreational improvements that would support the region's economy.

The Humboldt Bay Trail study, which is expected to take 18 months to complete, will look at trail options atop levees, railroad right-of-ways, streets, and roads. It will consider urban walkways, bike paths, and facilities for camping and picnicking. There will be public meetings in several communities. A wide range of local organizations, educational institutions, and government agencies will participate in the planning process.

The RCAA study will build on other regional public access efforts, including extension of the Hammond Coastal Trail, existing trails around Arcata Marsh, the Manila Dunes Trail Plan, the Humboldt Bay Area Bike Map (developed by the RCAA), and the trails component of the county's general plan.

OTHER NEWS

Summer on the Coastal Trail

This year again, Coastwalk is offering a range of shoreline hikes to promote the enjoyment of the coast and encourage the completion of the California Coastal Trail. Among the options are an unhurried family walk—with lots of swimming opportunities—in San Diego County, a weekend excursion in Point Reyes, and a 40-mile hike along isolated beaches and through ancient redwoods in Del Norte County.

On Saturday, June 3, Coastwalk will lead a special four-mile hike across the Golden Gate Bridge, from the Marin Headlands to San Francisco's Baker Beach, to celebrate the new honor bestowed on the California Coastal Trail. The National Millenium Trails program has selected it as California's Millennium Legacy Trail. For information contact Coastwalk: (800) 550-6854; or coastwalk@sonic.net.

Follow That Duck!

You can track northern pintail ducks day by day on their spring migrations from California's Central Valley if you have access to the internet. As part of a study by Ducks Unlimited, the California Waterfowl Association, and the U.S. Geological Survey, female pintails have been fitted with backpack satellite transmitters. Check out the Discovery for Recovery web site: www.werc.usgs.gov/pinsat/. The site also features a biologist's journal and an online forum. More about all this is at www.ducks.org/news/pintail_study.asp .