Day: April 9, 2019

Highway Construction at JPBurns to start tomorrow, 4/10/19

Actually, this is a good thing, because for as long as the construction is going on, that spot in the highway will not have it usual craziness! No anticipated completion date given.

Today’s Date: Tuesday, April 9, 2019

District:           05 – Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz Counties

Contact:          Susana Z Cruz (bilingual) or Colin Jones

Phone:            (805) 549-3138 or (805) 549-3189

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONSTRUCTION PROJECT ON STATE ROUTE 1 AT JULIA PFEIFFER BURNS STATE PARK IN BIG SUR STARTING TOMORROW, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10

 BIG SUR – A construction project to repair slopes, restore the roadway and provide traffic control on State Route 1 at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park will begin tomorrow, Wednesday, April 10, Caltrans officials announced today.

Roadwork consists of daytime work, consisting of one-way reversing traffic control, Mondays through Fridays from 6 am to 7 pm.

 NOTE: Motorists can expect delays of up to 20 minutes.

The contractor for this $600,000 construction project is Robert J. Franks Construction of Redding, CA and should complete by this fall.

 Caltrans reminds motorists to move over and slow down when

driving through highway work zones.

For more information on this project and for traffic updates on other Caltrans projects in    Monterey County, residents can call the District 5 toll free number at 1-831-372-0862 or Can visit our website at: http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist05/paffairs/release.htm#mon

Tourist Tuesday, 4/9/19 – In Nature

WARNING: Some of the information contained in the article is graphic, and if you care about Mother Nature, will make you sick.

”It’s no secret that people aren’t always appreciative of their surroundings. Whether up in the air or traveling abroad, people have done some horrible things to their environment.

Poaching Elephants in a protected Sanctuary is only one.

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When it comes to nature, this rings especially true. [In 2018] people have made headlines by vandalizing, destroying, or tampering with some of the world’s most gorgeous natural environments.

From defacing a national monument to shattering a rock formation millions of years in the making, here’s how people have damaged nature in 2018. Here is an article about tourists behaving badly all over the world in nature: https://www.thisisinsider.com/bad-tourists-nature-2018-12

Leave No Trace, the Center for Outdoor Ethics has begun to address the LNT ethics in terms of the digital age. (See https://lnt.org/blog/new-social-media-guidance)

New Social Media Guidance

Boulder, CO: There is little question that social media plays a role in the promotion of various outdoor locations, and in some cases, has led to significant resource and social impacts. It’s logical to ask, “Would this place be as impacted as it is now had it not been for Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat or Pintrest?” Social media, like any tool or technology, can be a force for good or it can have the opposite effect. What if every social media post also included a message of stewardship? Think how different things would or could be if this were the case.

Leave No Trace isn’t black or white, right or wrong. It’s a framework for making good decisions about enjoying the outdoors responsibly, regardless of how one chooses to do so. If outdoor enthusiasts stop and think about the potential impacts and associated consequences of a particular action, it can go a long way towards ensuring protection of our shared outdoor spaces. To that end, we encourage outdoor enthusiasts to stop and think about their actions and the potential consequences of posting pictures, GPS data, detailed maps, etc. to social media. Furthermore, we urge people to think about both the protection and sustainability of the resource and the visitors who come after them.

When posting to social media, consider the following:

Tag thoughtfully – avoid tagging (or geotagging) specific locations. Instead, tag a general location such as a state or region, if any at all. While tagging can seem innocent, it can also lead to significant impacts to particular places.

Be mindful of what your images portray – give some thought to what your images may encourage others to do. Images that demonstrate good Leave No Trace practices and stewardship are always in style.

Give back to places you love – invest your own sweat equity into the outdoor spaces and places you care about. Learn about volunteer stewardship opportunities and get involved in the protection of our shared lands.

Encourage and inspire Leave No Trace in social media posts – given the millions of social media users in the world, think of the incredible potential that social media has to educate outdoor enthusiasts – first timers to seasoned adventurers – about enjoying our wild lands responsibly.

As we have contemplated this issue we’re left wondering what the future will bring in terms of technology, communication, and outdoor recreation. Will posting pictures to social media be a thing of the past in five years? None of us know. Social media, if used the right way, is a powerful tool that can motivate a nation of outdoor advocates to enthusiastically and collectively take care of the places we share and cherish.

Enjoy Your [OUR] World, Leave No Trace!