California Coast & Ocean

Progress toward Carmel River Parkway
The Big Sur Land Trust will purchase 8.1 acres from two private owners for the proposed Carmel River Parkway with the help of $3.5 million approved by the Conservancy. Of the total, $2.5 million is a three-year loan, $1 million is a grant.Landowners who participate will be required to restore and manage the ponds and the 300 acres of rangeland surrounding each of them to accommodate the habitat needs of the threatened California red-legged frog and California tiger salamander. Other animals, including western pond turtles, San Joaquin kit foxes and Alameda whipsnakes, will benefit from the habitat restoration as well.

The Parkway Plan, developed by the land trust in 2005 with community input, envisions a connected network of protected lands and waters reaching 18.5 miles upstream from the lagoon at the river mouth to San Clemente Dam. The Plan also calls for restoring 264 acres of floodplain habitat and 6.4 miles of the Carmel River, improving five wildlife corridors, removing invasive species, and planting native plants.

The three-acre Quail property, on the river’s south side, will link Valley Greens Drive and Palo Corona Regional Park along a two-mile utility road that will become part of the Parkway trail. A two-bedroom house on the Quail property, currently used by the Santa Lucia Conservancy as office and visitor center, will become an educational center. A small parking lot will provide for Parkway users and visitors to the center. The 5.1-acre Howe property, on the river’s north side, about 1.5 miles from its mouth, will be used as a staging area, with parking, equestrian facilities, and trailheads for both the Parkway and Palo Corona Regional Park. The access road to this property is a critical connection between Rios Road and the river.

The Parkway Plan focuses on first developing the mid-valley stretch of the parkway, then eventually extending it into Los Padres National Forest. (See more on plans for this region in the next issue of Coast & Ocean.)

A "Green" Center for Environmental Education
Salmon Creek School, on Salmon Creek in Sonoma County near Occidental, has 420 pupils in kindergarten through the eighth grade, and is known for the excellence of its environmental education program. Children watch and monitor the creek from an observation deck, grow native plants in a greenhouse and nursery, and participate in activities that include recycling and composting programs and an annual harvest celebration.

Soon the school will get a new "green" environmental learning center that is expected to become a model of sustainable design, meeting the rigorous criteria of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. The 6,150-square-foot, single-story structure will be built with nontoxic, resource-efficient materials and will be heated by a passive solar energy system backed up by an under-floor hydronic heating system. It will include a photovoltaic electrical generation system and a rainwater collection system. The new center, which will highlight the diverse ecosystems within the school’s 67 acres, will include classrooms, an auditorium, a cafeteria, and habitat gardens.

Students from other schools in Sonoma County are expected to participate in Salmon Creek School’s environmental education program after the new center is built. High school and university students, teachers, and community organizations will be invited to visit.

The Conservancy approved $750,000 to the Harmony Union School District to help build the center. Earlier, the Conservancy helped to build an outdoor classroom at the school.

Lighthouse Upgrade
Pigeon Point Historic Light Station State Park will use $305,000 allocated by the Conservancy to relocate and expand the station's parking lot, install a public restroom, construct trails overlooking the ocean, and create a scenic gateway for the lighthouse and neighboring parklands.