During March and April the Conservancy approved numerous projects along the coast and on San Francisco Bay, almost all funded by Proposition 12, the $2 billion park bond bill passed by voters in March 2000 as the Safe Neighborhood Parks, Clean Water, Clean Air, and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2000. Several of these projects are featured in this issue of Coast & Ocean. Others include:

The Conservation Fund expects to acquire the Lost Coast Ranch, a 225-acre property south of the Eel River Delta, about five miles west of Ferndale, in Humboldt County, with the help of $1 million approved by the Conservancy in March.

The ranch includes a large, relatively flat blufftop, a series of ponds, dramatic cliffs, and a pocket beach at the mouth of Guthrie Creek. Once part of a much larger dairy and beef cattle ranch, it was subdivided into seven parcels in the 1980s, and several of these have been developed as home sites.

A study prepared by the Conservancy and Conservation Fund last year discovered that there was strong local interest in developing public access on the ranch and continuing its use as cattle grazing land. Pedestrian access to the beach at the mouth of Guthrie Creek will be available down an unpaved trail. Grazing is expected to continue on the blufftop, with the cattle fenced out of wetland and creek areas. The open grassland, creek, and wetland habitats on the property support several species of wildlife, including steelhead trout in Guthrie Creek, northern red-legged and foothill yellow-legged frogs, golden and bald eagles, bobcats, coyotes, and mountain lions.

Granite Rock Dunes

The sand dunes along Monterey Bay are a signature feature of California’s central coast. Extending southward from the mouth of the Salinas River to Monterey Harbor, they rise to heights of 50 to 100 feet and shelter a unique assemblage of plants and animals, some so rare that they occur nowhere else in the world.

Public agencies have long sought to protect the Monterey Bay dune complex by acquiring privately owned sections for the benefit of the public and of wildlife. But when the opportunity arose to buy the 51.26-acre parcel known as the Granite Rock property, none could meet the short option period offered by the seller.

This property is in the City of Marina, in the heart of the dune complex. It borders on land owned by the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District to the north and the newly built Marina Dunes Resort to the south. The owner, a sand mining firm, never mined these dunes. If this extraordinary property, with its wide sandy beach, was not acquired for conservation, it was sure to be targeted for development. The City of Marina has considered it as the site for a hotel.

The Big Sur Land Trust had been talking with the landowner for years. Unable to secure funding commitments from public agencies before the option expired, it combined its own cash reserves with a bridge loan from the Packard Foundation and bought the parcel for a price it agreed not to disclose. It was, however, a bargain. Since the landowner accepted an appraisal, eight lots of record were discovered on the property, steeply raising the potential market value. In April the Coastal Conservancy agreed to reimburse the Land Trust for $2 million.

Mckinleyville Land Trust in Humboldt County has acquired 74 acres near the mouth of the Mad River, with a beach, dunes, coastal bluffs, grasslands, and spruce forest. The Coastal Conservancy approved $625,000 in February toward the purchase. Known as the Hiller-West property, this land is on the ocean side of the McKinleyville business district. It will be combined with Hiller Park, a community park that adjoins it to the east, and is linked to the Hammond Trail, a segment of the Coastal Trail. The Conservancy is now working with the Land Trust on a management plan, which will include a stairway to the beach and wheelchair access to the forest and blufftop.

Rosie the Riveter Park

The Conservancy approved $500,000 for the design of the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park visitor center and the installation of educational signs nearby, along the San Francisco Bay Trail in Richmond. During World War II, Richmond was a major shipbuilding center. The need for wartime labor created unprecedented opportunities for women and minority workers in factories and shipyards. President Clinton signed legislation last October creating Rosie the Riveter National Historical Park.

Bel Marin Keys Purchase

The Trust for Public Land (TPL) has provided $750,000 to help repay the Conservancy’s loan for the purchase and restoration of the 1,613-acre Bel Marin Keys V property in southeast Novato, Marin County. The Conservancy purchased the property for $16 million in January using, in part, a $9 million loan from the State Water Resources Control Board.

The land was once part of a system of sloughs and tidal marshes that extended from Corte Madera to Vallejo along San Pablo Bay. The Conservancy plans to restore tidal flow to most of the former wetlands, working cooperatively with the Army Corps of Engineers, as part of the planning for wetland restoration in neighboring Hamilton Army Airfield.
TPL’s funds to repay the Conservancy come from the Unocal Fund that was established following a 1990 settlement between the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund (renamed Earth Justice Legal Defense Fund) and Union Oil of California. TPL received money to set up a fund to buy, restore, and enhance wetland properties and fund environmental education and interpretation programs for San Francisco Bay.

Although the legislature appropriated $16 million to purchase and restore the property, $10 million of those funds require at least an equal match from sources other than the state government or they can’t be used. The Marin Community Foundation contributed $500,000 for the project at the time of the sale. Marin Baylands Advocates has contributed or promised almost $70,000 through its Marin Baylands Fund since the sale. The Conservancy and its partners are trying to raise an additional $3.5 million from private sources, along with funding from federal agencies, to match the state’s funds and repay the loan.

Solano County Ranch Lands

With the help of $2 million approved by the Conservancy in March the Solano County Farmlands and Open Space Foundation will buy almost 1,100 acres of the King and Swett Ranches. This grant follows one of $1 million from the Conservancy in 1999, which enabled the Foundation to purchase 500 acres of the King Ranch.

Eventually, the Foundation expects to acquire and protect a total of 3,800 acres of the King, Eastern Swett, and Vallejo Swett Ranches, all now owned by the Pacific Gas & Electric Company. The scenic open space in these ranches is in an area bounded by Highways I-80, I-680, and I-780.

The ranches provide habitat for many species of wildlife and contain potential corridors for the Bay Area Ridge Trail and many connecting trails. Over 20 miles of public trails are planned for the ranches, linking Suisun Marsh, the Carquinez Strait, Mount Diablo, and Suisun Marsh.

The Conservancy’s funds will be matched by over $950,000 from the Tri-City and County Joint Powers Authority, the City of Vallejo, and the Foundation. The Foundation will continue to seek contributions from public and private sources to purchase the remaining ranch properties.

The nonprofit Solano County Farmlands and Open Space Foundation, incorporated in 1986, works to preserve and protect farmlands, wetlands, rangelands, open space, and wildlife habitat. It holds fee title or easements on, or manages, over 6,000 acres, including Rush Ranch in Suisun Marsh, Lynch Canyon, and the Jepson Prairie vernal pool reserve.

Suisun Marsh Habitat Improvements

Helping to improve waterfowl habitat in Suisun Marsh, the Conservancy approved $160,000 to Ducks Unlimited in March. The grant will extend for two years a program that reimburses landowners up to 75 percent of habitat improvement costs.

Such improvements include projects to improve water circulation and drainage, install water control structures, enhance upland nest cover, and develop brood ponds to provide summer habitat for hens and ducklings. Projects are selected by biologists from Ducks Unlimited, the Suisun Resource Conservation District, and the state Department of Fish and Game.

The highly successful program, which has included the participation of more than 70 landowners, was oversubscribed by about 50 percent last year. Approximately 80 projects are expected to be funded during the next two years.

The 116,000-acre Suisun Marsh is the largest contiguous brackish-water marsh in the United States. The marsh includes approximately 43,000 acres of privately managed wetlands and is habitat for more than 200 species of birds and 43 species of mammals. These managed marshes are maintained with extensive levees and water conveyance systems. Salinity control and vegetation management are critical to preserving habitat and require ongoing investment by landowners.

Projects funded by the program particularly benefit pairing, nesting, and brood-rearing habitat for waterfowl, including mallards, cinnamon teals, and gadwalls. The projects also serve the needs of other resident and migratory wildlife such as wintering northern pintails, short-eared owls, peregrine falcons, and loggerhead shrikes. Additional funding for the program has been provided by the state Wildlife Conservation Board, the Dean Witter Foundation, and the Harvey L. Sorensen Foundation.

Before opening a four-mile link of Ridge Trail through its 1,039-acre Lynch Canyon property, the Solano County Farmlands and Open Space Foundation is creating a stewardship program. Volunteers will be trained to lead hikes, work on erosion control and habitat restoration, and build the trail. The Conservancy approved $236,400 to the Foundation in April for these efforts and related public access improvements. The grant will also fund the first three years of a program that will bring K–12th-grade children to Lynch Canyon for science and environmental studies. A similar program at the Foundation’s Rush Ranch has served 2,500 students this year.

Wheelchairs for Imperial Beach

The Conservancy approved $11,000 to enable the City of Imperial Beach and the San Diego Unified Port District to install two motorized beach wheelchairs for disabled users at Imperial Beach. These will be the first publicly owned self-propelled balloon-tired beach wheelchairs on the California coast. Several other communities provide manually operated chairs that require someone to push them. The Port District will match the funds for ongoing maintenance, and the City will provide storage and personnel. If the project is successful, the Port District plans to expand the program to its other four member cities.