Open Space Alliance Projects
Collaborative Habitat Restoration at High Ground
Representatives from OSA, Natural Resources Conservation Service, California Department of Fish & Game, Watsonville Wetlands Watch, Santa Cruz County Resources Conservation Service, and Stephen Pedersen, owner of High Ground Organics, are working together on restoration and management strategies for the 18.5 acre parcel upon which OSA placed a natural resource conservation easement prior to the sale of the property to the current owners. This parcel adjoins Harkins Slough and has oak woodland habitat closest to the slough and grassland in the upper portions adjacent to the farm.
The property is habitat for native species such as red-legged frogs, California oat grass, and Santa Cruz tarplant, however non-native plant species such as poison hemlock and annual and perennial grasses have encroached into the grassland habitat. The goal of the coalition members is to restore native grassland and oak woodland and to enhance growing conditions for the federally listed threatened Santa Cruz tarplant. A population of the tarplant was previously recorded on the property by botanist Dean Taylor and a seed bank may still exist within the soil.
Various aspects of restoration, including removal of non-natives and creating suitable habitat for native species through grazing, mowing, weed whacking, and flaming as well as subsequent management of the restored habitat were discussed in detail. Each organization will play a role in some aspect of the project. The next steps will be to map the area for species and community locations, to propose options for long-term management, and to determine costs for the proposed management regimes. The members of the OSA board are delighted to be working with these agencies and the farm owner on this very special property which OSA preserved.
Laura Kummerer, restoration project manager, is leading the effort in ongoing habitat restoration. Download a flyer to learn more about the HGO success story.
Water Quality Monitoring in Harkins Slough
Working in partnership with the Coastal Watershed Council, the OSA will begin a year-long water quality monitoring program in the Harkins Slough Watershed, starting in June. The overall goal of the project is to assist in evaluating the effectiveness of habitat restoration and resource enhancement activities on High Ground Organics, in particular, and also to assist in water quality improvements in the South Harkins Slough portion of the Watsonville Slough System. The project involves collection and analysis of monthly water samples from three locations in the Harkins Slough watershed and processing of results to make them available to the public and management agencies. The Coastal Watershed Council’s “Clean Streams” program is the model for this project which will involve recruitment and training of citizen volunteers. The OSA has received a grant from the County Fish and Game Commission to pay for laboratory analysis of pathogens and nutrients, which will greatly enhance the usefulness of the data obtained. Interested volunteers should contact The Open Space Alliance.
Nisene to Sea
The 142 acre Koch Carmichael property, a green swath of open space that connects New Brighton State Beach to the Forest of Nisene Marks State Park, contains oaks, redwoods, and valuable native grasslands. It has traditionally been heavily used by the public year round to access the western side of Nisene Marks from Cabrillo College and adjoining neighborhoods. Nisene 2 Sea, a grassroots organization with a mission to preserve the Nisene 2 Sea corridor, has been active for many years in an effort to preserve the Corridor, and more recently the Open Space Alliance and The Trust for Public Land have been assisting in an effort to reach that goal through seeking to purchase the property.
On April 5, 2004, the County Board of Supervisors declined to consider the appeal by the property owners/developers of the 142-acre site from a denial by the Planning Commission of a proposed home, barn and long driveway partially on steep slopes, citing inconsistencies with the County General Plan.
The property owners submitted a new application in 2005 to the County Planning Department for essentially the same project on the hillside denied in 2004 which now will be considered by the Board of Supervisors on April 8, 2008. The property owners/developers are arguing that they have now satisfied all County requirements that were not addressed in the earlier application and are continuing with their efforts to further develop this key mid-county open space.
Karen Frankel of the Trust for Public Land, has stated that TPL is still interested in acquiring the property if terms can be agreed upon. “It is definitely a piece of property that has great conservation value for the public,” Frankel said. The Open Space Alliance will continue to work with TPL to achieve the goal of preserving the Nisene to Sea Corridor as a worthy addition to the open space lands of Santa Cruz County.
Pajaro Valley Farmlands and Wetlands
Pajaro Valley agricultural lands have been identified as one of the most significant land conservation needs remaining in Santa Cruz County. The OSA is partnering with the Wild Farm Alliance on a mapping project in the Pajaro Valley to identify environmental resources (riparian and endangered species habitats) in proximity to existing organic farms. OSA is being assisted by Joanna Johnson, an environmental studies graduate student from San Jose State University, who is preparing a data base and maps that will further OSA’s goal of protecting Pajaro Valley farmland and wetlands on the model of our successful High Ground Organics project.
