GARRAPATA CREEK WATERSHED COUNCIL (GCWC)

GENERAL MEETING MINUTES – 1/13/02

Held at the Stone House at the Garrapata Beach, the home of Carol Fisch. Approx. 34 people attended

Agenda

Welcome and Updates - Ken Ekelund - 2 pm

PWA Road survey – Danny Hagans and Todd Kraemer from Pacific Watershed Associates (PWA)

Social Time - 3 pm

Updates from Ken Ekelund

- An update newsletter was prepared for this meeting by Martha Diehl and was passed out to all assembled. A copy is included with these minutes.

- Ken briefly talked about the council’s schedule: The PWA road survey is under way; PWA will work for a week and then come back in early Feb to do more parcels. (Note: work happened the first two weeks of Feb and PWA will return in late April to do a few more pieces of land. There is still time for landowners that would like to take advantage of this free service. Our funding runs through March 2003!)

Presentation by Danny Hagans

Pacific Watershed Associates (PWA) received a grant on our behalf to do a survey on the roads of landowners in our watershed.

Danny started by explaining the source of the funding, which is through the California Department of Fish and Game. Though this program has been around for about 5 years, there has been a huge increase in funding since the new steelhead rules (called the 4 (d) rules) went into effect in September 2000. These rules, give increased protection for steelhead (and their habitat). Instead of increasing the number of agents to enforce the rules, the government has decided to fund cooperative efforts to improve the fish habitat by working with landowners in places where the fish live such as our watershed. Since roads have historically been a big factor in hurting the steelhead, we can take advantage of the money to support their protection. Roads hurt the fish by covering their eggs with sand and mud from road runoff; this sediment also reduces the surface water for young fish to live in.

The PWA method, which was developed over 20 years of working on forest and rural roads throughout Northern California, uses their professional judgment backed up by measurements on the road to predict the likelihood a section of road will fail or at least cause a large amount of sediment to go into the creek. They have worked for private landowners and have also gotten funding through government grants. Danny reiterated that we can’t stop it all of the sediment from going into the creek; since there is a natural process from landslides that puts sediment in the creek. Like most watersheds, the problem we have is the additional amounts from poorly designed roads. Many of the roads we use are old logging roads, which were not well placed. We need to keep many of these roads open so it is up to us to find a way to try to prevent unnecessary damage to our creek.

The biggest problem areas on the roads are where large amounts of water cross the road during large storms and also places where road material have been pushed over the side; these piles of loose material cause slides when it gets saturated and slip down the hill. Many of these problems are avoidable.

He explained this company’s role in the restoration funding process. He is the landowner’s advocate and represents the landowner to ensure that the information they collect is properly presented. Danny pointed out that when a landowner volunteers to do the road survey that shows that they are trying to deal with their problems and is a sign of good faith that the owner is doing what they can to prevent problems which impact their neighbors or the creek.

The road restoration is not just for the fish. Good road grading procedures produce a better and safer road, and require much less maintenance over the long run. It will save the landowner considerable money in the long run. It is entirely voluntary. PWA WON’T GO ON ANY PROPERTY WITHOUT THE PERMISSION OF THE LANDOWNER.

The survey is free. The council provided the matching money so there is no need to pay anything.

As we move to the next phase, which is to get funding to do road repairs, landowners who decide to participate will probably have to put up a small percentage (10-15%) of the costs. (Ken pointed out that there are many ways to meet this “match” amount and the actual amount owners will pay will likely be smaller than this). Even if you sign up for the road and change your mind at a later date, you can pull out at any time without obligation. This is a voluntary program with a capital ”V”.

If you have any questions about the road survey or how to join the effort to get funding for road repairs, please give Ken a call. At the present time this program is only open to land owners in the Garrapata Creek Watershed.

For those who are not interested in getting funding, we still want to encourage good road grading practices. We have the “Manual for Forest and Ranch Roads” that was written by PWA. It is a very complete guide to maintaining your roads. It is easy to read and full of illustrations showing their methods. Give us a call. We have about 8 copies in stock.

The official meeting was concluded at 3:30 and everyone retired to the traditional Pot Luck meal.

Thanks to Carol Fisch for the use of her beautiful house for this meeting

/Ken Ekelund

28 March 2002

P.S

We are still looking for donations to fund the council’s activities and buy more scientific equipment. Please consider donating to keep us going. (Donations are tax-deductible).

Checks should be made out to the “Garrapata Creek Watershed Council” and sent to:

Garrapata Creek Watershed Council

35811 Highway 1

Monterey CA 93940

Next general Meeting is Saturday 11 May 2002 at 2:00 pm (we start gathering at 1:30); location will be the main house at the Glen Deven Ranch (Mudd Ranch). We will get a briefing by Chief Cheryl Goetz, Mid-Coast Fire Brigade on disaster preparedness and the Big Sur Land Trust on their future plans for this property.

Check our web site at http://www.garrapatacreek.org for updates or call Ken at 625-9621.

This web site has been generously donated by NetPipe !!! We would like to express our thanks.

This page was last updated on April 10, 2002