Month: October 2013

Andrew Molera prescribed burn

Andrew Molera State Park Prescribed Burn 10/2013

What: California State Parks is planning to conduct a prescribed burn in Andrew Molera State Park in Big Sur.

When: Burning will occur after enough rain has fallen that the majority of the vegetation within drainages surrounding the burn plots will not carry fire, but grasslands and some coyote brush will burn at a low to moderate intensity. If meteorological conditions are favorable, this will occur during the second half of October through the first half of December.

Why: We are burning this project area in order to manage for native grasslands (Coastal Prairie) that exist within Andrew Molera State Park. This very diverse plant community is rare in California and has been largely replaced by European annual grassland, coastal scrub and chaparral. Our intent is to slow the growth of coyote brush and non-native grasses in parts of northeastern and southwestern Andrew Molera State Park (see map), where healthy stands of Coastal Prairie exist.

Who: This prescribed burn will be conducted by the California State Parks Central Coast Prescribed Burn Team. This crew has extensive prescribed burning experience in parks throughout the central and northern California Coast. Support will also be provided by at least two of the following agencies: Cal Fire, North Tree Fire/El Sur Ranch, U.S. Forest Service and Big Sur Fire Brigade.

Where: The 350 acre Molera Native Grasslands Restoration site is divided into 12 burn plots, which have been burned or will be burned separately (see map). This year we hope to burn Plots 6, 7, 8, 9 on the east side of Hwy 1, a total of approximately 70 acres.

More information: A Cal Fire Burning Permit, a Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District Smoke Management Permit, and a Coastal Development Permit have been issued for this project. In addition, a Mitigated Negative Declaration, a Biological Survey Report and several plant and animal surveys have been completed. If you have questions or comments, please call Jeff Frey at 384-0956.

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Sudden Oak Death research

UC Davis, Sudden Oak Death Researchers recently published a paper in the journal Ecology which describes how coast redwoods are nearly four times more likely to die during forest fires in SOD-infested forests than in non-infested forests. Since the paper was published it has received some publicity. Check out this article on the National Science Foundation’s web site, complete w/photos:
http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=128879

And there’s also a brief paragraph of our findings in the September Newsletter of the California Oak Mortality Task Force:

http://www.suddenoakdeath.org/news-and-events/current-newsletter/

The results appear in: Metz, M.R.; Varner, J.M.; Frangioso, K.M.; Meentemeyer, R.K.; and Rizzo, D.M. In press. Unexpected Redwood Mortality from Synergies Between Wildfire and an Emerging Infectious Disease. Ecology.

The abstract can be found here: http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/13-0915.1.

A full copy of the article can be provided by contacting Kerri Frangioso (kfrangioso@ucdavis.edu). A copy will also be available at the Big Sur Library.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kerri Frangioso
Big Sur, Sudden Oak Death Project
University of California Davis
P.O. Box 693
Big Sur, CA 93920
831.620.1098
c530.219.1575

Condor Webcam

**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**
October 21, 2013

Oakland Zoo and Ventana Wildlife Society Install First
California Condor Webcam in the Wild

Big Sur, CA – On October 17, 2013, Oakland Zoo and Ventana Wildlife Society will turn on the first ever LIVE streaming webcam to monitor California condors in the wild. For more than a year, teams at Ventana Wildlife Society, Oakland Zoo, CamZone, and FedEx have strategized how to secure funding for the camera and install it into a remote area of Big Sur, California, only accessible via a treacherous service road. The months of hard work paid off in the end. As of today, field biologists and the public are now able to see the largest North American land bird up-close from the convenience of their desktops.

“We at Oakland Zoo are thrilled about this project,” said Nancy Filippi, Managing Director at Oakland Zoo. “There was a time when we honestly didn’t know if installing this camera would be possible. It took nearly a year of trouble shooting with phone companies and local wireless support, traveling to Big Sur to survey areas, and working diligently with CamZone to make this happen. We are invested in educating the public about California condors, and this camera is an outward display of our conservation mission.”

This webcam will become a vital tool to Ventana Wildlife Society as it will allow wildlife biologists to zoom in on birds, check tags, look for signs of medical issues, and easily monitor what is happening. Prior to having the webcam, biologists had to drive an hour and a half to the Big Sur location to check in on the birds. Now, they are able to cut three hours out of that process and can simply move the camera with remote access from their office computers.

“This new webcam allows viewers to see condor conservation through the eyes of the dedicated biologists who are trying to save this bird in the wild”, said Kelly Sorenson Ventana Wildlife Society’s executive director.” Funding generously donated by FedEx and a camera powered by Camzone, the public can now regularly observe California condors in the wild – an opportunity that was never possible until now. The webcam is accessible for viewing on the Society’s website http://www.ventanaws.org

VWS’s website is linked to the right, in my list of links. One of the better uses of technology.

And this is one of Dan’s, taken the old-fashioned way by staking out -sometimes for hours or days to get that shot!

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CPOA Annual Meeting

Coast Property Owners Association 2013 Annual Meeting
Tuesday, November 19th at 5:30 PM at Big Sur Grange

Agenda

1. California Coastal Trail alignment process update by State Senator Bill Monning. Read and download the process document here – http://tinyurl.com/c2sqn75

2. Short term rental and special event community dialogue process update by Monterey County Planning facilitator John Ford. To download a white paper produced by the National Association of Realtors on the issue, click HERE. To see ordinances specific to short term rentals adopted by San Luis Obispo click HERE and Santa Cruz click HERE.

3. Land Use Advisory Committee status of the Big Sur’s Local Coastal Plan Update. Chair, Mary Trotter. Download the current Land Use Plan and other related documents at this web site: http://bslup.weebly.com/

4. Treasurers Report. Lisa Kleissner

5. Board Elections

6. Closing Comments

http://www.cpoabigsur.org

Beach Hazards

URGENT – IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
COASTAL HAZARD MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA
133 PM PDT SAT OCT 19 2013

…A LONG PERIOD NORTHWEST SWELL IS EXPECTED TO ARRIVE AT THE
COAST LATE SUNDAY EVENING…

.A LONG PERIOD NORTHWEST SWELL WILL ARRIVE TO THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL
CALIFORNIA COAST LATE SUNDAY EVENING. THIS SWELL WILL RESULT IN SNEAKER
WAVES…LARGE SURF AND STRONG RIP CURRENTS.

CAZ006-505-509-529-530-202045-
/O.NEW.KMTR.BH.S.0013.131021T0600Z-131023T0000Z/
SAN FRANCISCO-
COASTAL NORTH BAY…INCLUDING POINT REYES NATIONAL SEASHORE-
SAN FRANCISCO PENINSULA COAST-NORTHERN MONTEREY BAY-
SOUTHERN MONTEREY BAY AND BIG SUR COAST-
133 PM PDT SAT OCT 19 2013

…BEACH HAZARDS STATEMENT IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY EVENING THROUGH
TUESDAY AFTERNOON…

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA HAS
ISSUED A BEACH HAZARDS STATEMENT FOR SNEAKER WAVES…STRONG RIP
CURRENTS AND LARGE SURF…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY EVENING
THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON.

* LOCATION…THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL CALIFORNIA COAST STRETCHING
FROM SONOMA COUNTY SOUTH TO SOUTHERN MONTEREY COUNTY.

* TIMING…THE SWELL TRAIN WILL ARRIVE LATE SUNDAY EVENING AND
WILL PERSIST THROUGH AT LEAST TUESDAY AFTERNOON.

* IMPACTS…SNEAKER WAVES WHICH ARE CAPABLE OF WASHING PEOPLE INTO
THE SEA FROM BEACHES AND ROCKS…STRONG RIP CURRENTS AND LARGE
SURF.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…A BEACH HAZARD STATEMENT
MEANS THAT POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS CONDITIONS MAY EXIST ON SPECIFIC
BEACHES. THESE HAZARDS MAY INCLUDE LARGE SHORE BREAK…STRONG RIP
CURRENTS AND POSSIBLY SNEAKER WAVES. ALL OF WHICH COULD BE LIFE
THREATENING. FISHERMEN SHOULD AVOID FISHING FROM ROCKS AND JETTIES.
BE SURE TO ALWAYS KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE OCEAN.

Heavy Truck Traffic on Highway One

Today’s Date: Friday, October 18, 2013
District: 05 – Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz Counties
Contact: Susana Z Cruz (bilingual) or Jim Shivers
Phone: (805) 549-3138 or 549-3189

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MOTORISTS CAN EXPECT INCREASED TRUCK TRAFFIC ALONG HIGHWAY 1 IN MONTEREY COUNTY BEGINNING NEXT WEEK

MONTEREY COUNTY – In preparation for the winter storm season, crews with heavy trucks will be hauling stored material along Highway 1 from Fullers Stockpile, just north of Torre Canyon Bridge, to the Willow Springs Maintenance Yard, just north of Gorda starting Monday, October 21.

Roadwork hours are Monday through Friday from 7 am to 3:30 pm. Motorists can expect a delay not to exceed 10 minutes. Work is expected to be completed by mid-November, weather permitting.

Heavy truck traffic and crossing can be expected, especially around Fullers Stockpile, Vicente Creek and the Willow Creek Stockpile. Road work signs will be posted at all locations alerting motorists of extra truck traffic. Some of the material will be used for shoulder improvements in the Willow Springs area, and the rest of the material will be hauled off to the Willow Creek Stockpile area.

The contractor for this $208,000 project is Whitaker Construction of Paso Robles.

Hunter’s Moon

From the Old Farmer’s Almanac:

This is the first Full Moon following the Harvest Moon last month. It rises around sunset and sets around sunrise, the only night of the month that the moon is in the sky all night long. See our October moon guide here: http://www.almanac.com/content/full-hunters-moon-Octobers-moon-guide

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And to my adventure partner/traveling partner, HAPPY BIRTHDAY. Last year Egypt, two years ago the Queen Mary! Alas, this year’s Calistoga was not in the cards for me!

Clowns, and other vignettes

It seems like for-absolutely-ever since I have just posted for fun, a photo or tale. My blog has been busy posting what I call my public service announcements and news, and I wanted to do something fun. So today, I have clowns. These were my mothers.

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Fracking Legislation in California

-Information only – please do not reply to this email-

You are receiving this message from the California Department of Conservation because you have asked to be kept informed about the development of regulations for the use of hydraulic fracturing in California for oil and natural gas production. We are no longer accepting comments on the “discussion draft” of regulations that were released last year.

The Department has posted new information about the enactment of Senate Bill 4, addressing well stimulation treatments, including hydraulic fracturing, and the ongoing creation of official draft regulations to implement that legislation at http://www.conservation.ca.gov. As soon the official draft regulations are released, the Department, through this Listserv, will announce a portal for the submission of public comments that will be part of the formal rulemaking process.

I believe the list serve one would sign up for is:

DOGGR_REGULATIONS_INFORMATION@LISTSERVE.STATE.CA.GOV

I am on the list and will post as soon as I am notified of the release of official draft legislation. Comments made on that will go into the official record.