Our first general meeting was held June 3^rd 2000. 18 people attended this meeting, which was only publicized by word of mouth.

At the June 3^rd meeting, we asked for volunteers to commit to meeting monthly as a planning group, which would research and suggest specific actions to be taken by the Council. The general Council would then meet on a quarterly to consider the recommendations of planning group. Our planning group has been working hard and reported our progress at the July 23^rd 2000 general meeting. 38 people attended this meeting. Click here for the minutes.

At our meeting on July 23, 2000 we discussed the effects of siltation from roads on the health and well being of native steelhead, which have been listed as a threatened species under federal law. Sand and silt destroy crucial steelhead spawning grounds and do harm to the fish. Other concerns that were voiced were possible pollution problems from inadequate sewage systems and the threat non-native plants such as Cape Ivy pose to our watershed.

At the end of the meeting we asked for and got concurrence to proceed with a grant request to fund a watershed assessment. This assessment will identify problems and help us create a locally driven plan to repair the damaged habitat while ensuring that our members are heard by government. People will only come onto private land of those who have signed a letter of permission.

We also had a meeting with Monterey County Public Works on September 20 to talk about road maintenance procedures on Garrapatos Road. The road has been graded in such a way that it is not durable and runoff from the road has dumped huge amounts of silt into the Creek. We discussed the grant proposal that the county submitted for money from the Salmon Habitat restoration program. The proposal is for $250K. We will keep you informed on its progress.

On 16 December 2000 we had a general meeting at "The Big House" on the Garrapata Trout Farm. After the updates since the last meeting, we got a presentation from Dr. John Williams on our steelhead. Later at a break-out session that was facilitated by Jonathan Berkey (Carmel River Watershed Council) and Daniel Mountjoy of the Natural Resources Conservation Service we generated a list of Issues and Concerns. Here is that list.

On 17 March 2001, we met at the Stone House at Garrapata Beach. Members of the Planning Group gave short briefs and then Jeff Norman gave a terrific presentation on non-native invasive plants. It was a great meeting with several new families in attendance.

On 17 June 2001, we met at the home of Bill and Bette Nelson. The topic was History of the watershed and nearby community.

On 15 September 2001, we met at the home of Ken Ekelund and Martha Diehl. There were updates and the Kliessner family gave a terrific presentation on their property.

On 13 January 2002,  we met at the Stone House at Garrapata Beach.

On 11 May 2002, we met at the Glen Deven Ranch now owned by The Big Sur Land Trust.

On 28 September 2002 we met at the home of Molly Williams and Tom Davies. Minutes will be posted soon.

Our Next Meeting is January 2003. Location : TBD

Minutes

General Meetings	Planning Group Meetings	Board of Director
23 July 2000	4 Nov 2000	12 June 2002
16 Dec 2000	6 Jan 2001	7 October 2002
17 March 2001	11 Feb 2001
17 June 2001	2 March 2001
15 September 2001	8 April 2001
13 January 2002	17 July 2001
11 May 2002	13 October 2001
28 September 2002	18 Nov 2001
	11 Mar 2002

Here is a list of future meetings.