Introduction to Coast Dairies
The Coast Dairies Property is approximately 7,000 acres and consists of six distinct watersheds, more than seven miles of coastal resources (including seven beaches) hundreds of acres of agricultural lands, 700 acres of redwood forest and other unique natural and cultural resources.
This land was purchased throught the efforts of the Trust for Public Land, Save the Redwoods and the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County. This is the most significant addition to public land to the North Coast since 1975.
The coastal side of Highway 1 was handed over to California State Parks on July 2006. The inland side (excluding the agricultural leases) will hopefully be handed over to the Bureau of Land Management by January 2008 at the very latest (hopefully!).
The Coast Dairies Management Plan recognizes the recreational opportunities for trails as long as the use is consistent with the goals of protection and preservation of natural and cultural resources. This is a beautiful place. The property offers high marine terraces, steep canyons cut by local creeks, a "virgin" second or third growth redwood forest and panoramic views of the coast and surrounding landscape. Unlike Wilder Ranch, the Pacific ocean is a dominant part of the background when on top of the marine terraces.
This land represents a significant recreational and cultural resource for Santa Cruz County. We will be active participants in the stewardship of the Coast Dairies lands so that we can protect and enjoy this treasure of public land for many generations.
A year ago, the 400 acres of the coastal side of the Coast Dairies property had been conveyed to State Parks. The remaining 5,700 acres of inland property was supposed to be transfered to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) but there have been some setbacks. Over the past couple of weeks I have had conversations with officials at the BLM about the status of the Coast Dairies Property.
One of the major problems which held up conveyance was a minor contamination issue from the CEMEX mining operations above the property. A canyon in the Coast Dairies property was used for waste rock and it was covering some pipes. There were concerns about leakage and BLM didn't want to take this area due to the potential long term liability of cleaning it up. We should note that there is no known contamination issue on the land. One proposal would be to sell the waste rock area back to CEMEX. However, the TPL and the County didn't really like this idea so it languished for a while. More recently TPL, the County, BLM and CEMEX finally came to an agreement to sell this portion of the land to CEMEX so the last major hurdle has been resolved.
All that needs to be done before conveyance to BLM is to do a new survey to draw up the lot lines and take care of other bureaucratic minutiae. The Field Manager felt that BLM will take possession of the property in October at the earliest or January at the latest. An interim public access plan will be in place soon after conveyance.
BLM has a mandate to protect and restore the natural habitat but the agency has traditionally been very recreation friendly. A trails plan will be drafted according to Chapter 7 in the Coast Dairies Long-Term Resource and Access Plan:
The Trails Plan will provide for a more extensive trail network on the Property than is described for the Interim Access Stage. It is likely that most of the trails specified in the Trails Plan will use the alignments of existing farm, ranch, and mining roads. However, not all of the existing roads on the Property are appropriate or desirable as recreational trails, and some trail alignments may use new routes or the alignments of old, abandoned roads.
The Trails Plan will include trail alignments, allowable uses for each trail, and targeted use levels. The Trails Plan will seek to balance the goal of allowing recreational access to the interior of the property with the goal of resource protection by specifying appropriate trail densities, uses, and design standards.
MBOSC is looking forward to a partnership with the BLM and will be participating in the trails planning process. We will be active participants in the stewardship of the Coast Dairies lands so that we can protect and enjoy this treasure of public land for many generations.
About 400 acres of the approximately 7000 acres of the Coast Dairies properties have finally been conveyed to California State Parks. This conveyance represents the coastal side of the property. Most of the inland side - which represents the bulk of the property - have yet to be conveyed to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
Some news articles related to the transfer:
You all may remember the Coast Dairies Property. It is owned by the Trust for Public Lands. It consists of approximately 7000 acres located on the North Coast of Santa Cruz County. It starts just north of Wilder Ranch State Park, wraps the town of Davenport, includes lands leased for agriculture and quarry (Lone Star Industries), and continues up Swanton Road to agriculture research lands owned by Cal Poly. TPL has been developing a joint management plan which will have State Parks managing the land and recreational access from Highway 1 to the ocean, and the Federal Bureau of Land Management managing the land and recreational access from Highway 1 inland.
The process of getting the issues resolved so that the land can be turned over to the land managers has turned out to be more complex than previously anticipated by TPL. There are a variety of issues they are dealing with which must be resolved before the State and Federal land managers will accept the land and take responsibility for managing it. These are issues related to toxic contamination (pesticides, etc.), working out issues with current leaseholders (agricultural, quarry), etc. Current projections are that these issues will be resolved by late summer or early fall of this year.
Once the land is received by the public land managers, they will then begin dealing with issues of public recreational access. For both State Parks and BLM, this means developing a management plan and allocating budget resources to provide appropriate staffing for management.
Most of us know that for State Parks, this will be challenging budget wise. Currently, State Public Works is not allowing the conveyance of property to any state agency that requires additional operational costs without companion grants to provide for these operational costs. Coast Dairies is not the kind of property that State Parks can take on without additional resources. Until this issue is resolved, the anticipated conveyance May be delayed. Once the property is conveyed, State Parks will begin the process of developing and Interim Use Plan (IPU) for the property which will address specific public use issues opportunities.
BLM will have similar issues. Depending upon the timing of the conveyance, BLM will need to allocate resources for management in its next budget. Like State Parks, the addition of lands to the BLM system creates funding challenges for management, but they are planning to accept the conveyance once all issues are resolved and will try to provide public recreational access as soon as possible.
Both BLM and Ca State Department of Parks & Recreation are supportive of shared use trails where appropriate on the property. They will be looking to the existing road network as the initial locations for public access, and then working to develop a comprehensive trail system over time. We can expect to be included in this process as it proceeds. We can also expect that they will be looking to volunteers to assist where possible, for example, in the ways that our friends at www.trailworkers.com support keeping trails open by their work at local and state parks, SDF, etc.
Coast Dairies Property Transfer & Management Plan - March 24, 2004
We are pleased to announce that we have completed our work on the Coast Dairies Long-term Resource Protection and Access Plan. I would also like to give you an update about the transfer of the property.
Coast Dairies Property Transfer
We anticipate transferring the Coast Dairies property later this spring to the three agencies that will cooperate in its management:- State Parks will receive the approximately 400 acres coastside of Highway One and the historic Laguna Inn that may one day be the site of a visitors' center. State Parks will oversee the public's use of the popular beaches and will manage agricultural leases on the coastal side.
- The federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will receive approximately 6,000 acres on the upland portion of the property, including the grasslands, redwood forests, and lands leased for grazing and the cement quarry.
- The local non-profit group, Agri-Culture, will acquire the agricultural land inland of Highway One that was in agricultural production when the Trust for Public Land acquired Coast Dairies & Land Co. (CDLC) and its property in 1998 (approximately 550 acres).
Last December, the CDLC Board selected Agri-Culture to acquire this agricultural land. (We needed to find a third partner after the BLM announced that their agency could not accept the agricultural land because managing row crop leases is not consistent with their agency’s mission.) Agri-Culture, which is closely affiliated with the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau, has 14 years experience in agricultural education in Santa Cruz County which they propose to expand at Coast Dairies, and a proven track-record in creating farm employee housing by providing loans for site improvements.
Management Plan
This latest version of the plan, dated February 2004, is very similar to the June 2003 draft final plan that you may have reviewed last summer. Although we made some edits to correct errors, our principal work was to add these components to the plan:
- A “Reader’s Guide” which describes how the plan has evolved and what is new in this version.
- All of the public comments we received regarding the June 2003 draft final plan, including those submitted in writing and those presented at the July 31, 2003 community advisory group meeting. These are found in Appendix D. Because most of the public comments express support for polices that are more specific than the general level of policy described in this plan, we decided it would be best to include the comments in full for State Parks’ and BLM’s consideration as part of their future planning under CEQA and NEPA.
- The scientific reports describing stream flows in the Coast Dairies creeks (Appendix E) and the study of the San Vicente pond (Appendix F). We hope these reports will be helpful in the County’s work to secure water rights and permits to build off-stream storage ponds at Coast Dairies.
a) Printed copies of the management plan will soon be available at the Santa Cruz City Library, the Davenport Resource Center and the Santa Cruz Law Library. CD copies of the ECR will accompany each printed copy.
b) The management plan is posted on the Trust for Public Land's website. It can be accessed by going to www.tpl.org and selecting "California" in the "Find by State" drop box or directly entering the URL www.tpl.org/california and then looking in the Publications box on the lower-right hand side of the page. Please click on the top link for the "Coast Dairies Long-Term Resource Protection and Access Plan (February 2004)" to access the document index. The Existing Conditions Report will be posted on the website soon.
c) CD copies of the management plan are available for purchase for $11.00 each or printed copies for $83.00 each. (Although our cost of reproducing the CDs is lower than it was last year, the cost of reproducing the printed plan is higher because this version contains additional colored pages, primarily in Appendices E and F). The CD version of the “Existing Conditions Report” is also available for $11.00 each. (This is the same version of the ECR that was published last June.) Please write us describing which report and format you want and include a check or money order made out to “The Trust for Public Land.” The price includes shipping and handling. If you have any questions about ordering, please /contact Stephanie Davidson at Stephanie.Davidson@tpl.org or at (415) 495-5660 x 343.
Thank you for your interest in and contribution to Coast Dairies. If you have questions about Coast Dairies or the planning process, please contact me.
Sincerely,
Catherine Elliott
Project Manager
Coast Dairies
116 New Montgomery, 3rd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
catherine DOT elliott AT tpl DOT org
Coast Dairies Interim Access Plan - Sept 24, 2003
Dear Mr. Beehler –
I have been a participant in the Coast Dairies planning process since the first public meeting held by the TPL. When we were studying different aspects of the property, I was on the Habitat Preservation subcommittee. I had the pleasure of touring the property with TPL’s land manager Bern Smith, who was very knowledgeable about the property, the existing road system, and areas where, with minimal work, road and trail connections could be established to greatly enhance the existing system. I hope you will have access to Mr. Smith as an information resource.
I support the opening of all existing roads and trails in Coast Dairies to public use, and specifically to access for mountain bikes, wherever the roads are stable and safe enough to be open for this use. Santa Cruz has a large mountain biking population, and existing experience is that this population will make frequent use of any new trails which become available. A tour of the property discloses that there are many good roads and trails in existence, which have been used by farmers, hunters, animals, and for recreational use over the years. In addition, there is potential for the expansion of the road and trail network to provide recreational access to the public.
The habitat on the property is diverse. The property is so huge that the recreational access on roads and trails is not likely to impinge on habitats, or prevent appropriate measures to protect them for sensitive species. In addition, because of the proximity of the property to farms, the town of Davenport, and residential areas such as Bonny Doon, it is important to prevent certain species from proliferating to the point where they will become problematic for Coast Dairies’ neighbors. While we all want a place for the deer, wild pigs, birds, coyotes and mountain lions to live, we do not want their populations to explode to the point where they will present safety hazards to recreational users or park neighbors. There is a balance to be achieved. An over zealous approach to habitat preservation can yield undesirable results, when parks become a safe haven for species that cause problems to the surrounding private lands. An approach which denies access to recreational users prevents access to the very users who are intended to benefit from the park lands.
The presence of mountain bikers can also enhance the safety of the park. Hikers tend to make most of their use in the areas that are located a 30-45 minute walk from parking areas. The relatively lesser number of hikers, joggers, etc., that go into the deeper reaches of the park will, in many cases, feel safer with the presence of others. This is especially true of female joggers, who have expressed that safety is a significant concern in parks, and that the presence of other users enhances the feeling of safety.
Any existing roads and trails which are suitable and safe to open for hikers should be considered appropriate for mountain bikers. I hope that you will move forward promptly with the development of additional trails and access roads on the property. To that end, you should be informed that Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz has worked closely, over the years, with land managers in the area to assist in the opening and maintenance of trails. In Gray Whale Ranch, for example, MBOSC representatives sat on the Advisory Committee that worked with State Parks & Rec to develop the proposed trials plan for the addition to the park. MBOSC representatives developed a GPS map of the proposed trails and participated in discussions regarding alignment, maintenance, safety, etc. In addition, for many years, MBOSC has sponsored the First Sunday of the Month Trail Work Days in Wilder Ranch State Park. Our membership looks forward to establishing a close working relationship with BLM to make Coast Dairies a success.
We hope that you will open all trails and roads to shared uses from the outset. Opening the roads and trails to shared uses will help get all users on the right foot, by learning to share the trails right from the beginning, and not setting up a situation where the subsequent opening of trails to shared use will cause people to believe that they are losing or giving up something. In addition, significant studies show that there is not a significant difference in impact of user groups on properly designed trails. We would be glad to provide you copies of these studies if you desire.
Coast Dairies, like Fort Ord and Wilder/Gray Whale Ranch, has the potential to be a model for how shared use trails can work.
We are aware that a number of North Coast and Santa Cruz residents are opposed to any access to the property until more studies are done, greater staffing levels can be attained, and that many oppose shared use trails. We hope that you will realize that there is a large population of folks who recognize that with limitations on funding there will be challenges, but do not want these challenges to prevent the opening of the park and access to this wonderful resource. Santa Cruzans have not participated for all this time to prevent development of the Coast Dairies property and get it into the public domain, only to see recreational access denied for an indefinite period of time. For those who want to prevent access to the property, there will always be another reason and the systems for property management will never be good enough. Those who truly want to see the public have access to the property will expect that the project be approached with reason, within the capability of the administering agency, that the property will be opened soon, and that the management of it will evolve and improve over time.
In summary, we want to see this property open and in use as quickly as possible with as extensive a trail system as possible open to mountain bikes.
Thank you.
David Green Baskin, Treasurer, Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz
Coast Dairies - Aug 1, 2003
As you are all well aware, MBOSC supports the opening of trails at Coast Dairies to mountain bikes. I will not belabor the many points in support of shared use trails, as I believe that you are well aware of our position on this. I would, however, like to address a few points briefly which I believe warrant attention:
1. Recent reports in the press indicated that BLM may be planning to open trails on the inland side of Hyway 1 initially to hikers only, and then later to shared use. If this is correct, then I would like to state our unequivocal opposition to this discrimination on the basis of use, which we believe is unsupported by any science. There are numerous trail studies which indicate that mountain biking on properly designed and maintained trails has no significant adverse effects, and that mountain bikers as a user group have no worse effect than other trail user groups on trails. Many of the studies and related information can be obtained at the website of our national affiliate, the International Mountain Bike Association, www.imba.com. Of course if this is inaccurate, and the plan is as was previously stated, to open the existing road/trail use system to shared use as soon as possible, and there will be no discrimination against cyclists, then please disregard this comment.
2. MBOSC sponsors the first Sunday of the month trail work days at Wilder/Gray Whale Ranch State Park, and has for many years. The trail work is coordinated through our friends at www.trailworkers.com. The local trailriding community is interested in working with you both on the development and maintenance of the trail network at Coast Dairies. We believe that CA State Parks can easily confirm our participation on the Gray Whale Ranch Advisory Group. Our members went out and developed a GPS accurate map of all the trails under consideration and then participated in the Advisory Group discussions that let up to State Parks Trails plan to open additional trails in the park, currently under consideration. We believe that involvement of volunteers, especially in this time of tight funding, is essential to getting the park open and functional. We stand ready to do our part for Coast Dairies.
3. We are very concerned that an over zealous approach to habitat and resource protection will be advocated by opponents of shared use trails as a smoke screen to hide their real agenda, which is to prevent shared use trails. Coast Dairies is a huge resource. In the face of the studies which indicate that the impact of trails is the same regardless of user group, and given the virtually thousands of acres of habitat and resources as compared with a minuscule area that is taken up by trails, it is almost impossible to conceive of the presence of properly designed shared use trails having a negative impact on habitat or the preservation and management of resources. In addition, we believe that the best way to keep users from going off trails and into unauthorized and fragile areas is to have a trail system that presents sufficient opportunities and diversity of recreational access.
MBOSC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to promote mountain biking in a healthful and environmentally sound manner. Many of our members are members of and support other environmental protection organizations; personally I am a member of the Sierra Club, the Nature Conservancy, the League of American Bicyclists and Rails to Trails, among others. All of these organizations have common elements to their missions, which we support.
We look forward to working with you on Coast Dairies. We consider this property to be an important part of the overall parks and trails network of Santa Cruz County for the present and for generations to come.
David Green Baskin
Acting MBOSC President