nature

Don’t Look Back! State Parks Forward?

Press is rolling unveiling what might seem like a ‘new’ initiative, obscuring and ‘moving on’ from some really UGLY past issues with California State Parks. But, hey- we all want to move on, keep moving forward…especially those with criminal records or histories of abuse.

Parks Forward: a brief history

The origin of the Parks Forward initiative was a crushing blow in 2012, an event that should make every Californian, especially those dedicated to natural areas access and conservation, doubt whether the California Department of Parks and Recreation can be trusted. Some may recall the closing of many State Parks supposedly due to budget shortfalls, which some of us recognized at the time as being a political ploy to pressure the California legislature into increasing Parks’ budget. Sure enough, ‘fiscal irregularities’ (as stated euphemistically in Parks’ subsequent report) were discovered, but only after the panicky scuttling of thousands of volunteers, non-profit organizations, and private donations to keep parks from closing down. Many nonprofits made good money from this fundraising boon, which also cemented their cache with the public.

The Bigger History

The State Parks corruption boondoggle in 2012 needs to be put into context with a larger history for a wholistic understanding of the situation. Since its inception, State Parks has been the recipient of lands purchased by private organizations. It has been typical that ‘conservation’ organizations use private donor funds to purchase properties while lobbying for public bond initiatives earmarked in such a way that they profit by subsequently selling those properties to the State. This process violates all sorts of legal and moral codes such as illicit 501(c)3 lobbying, private organizations setting State priorities, adding land to an agency already unable to manage the lands it holds, etc. Conservationists recognize that purchasing and ‘setting aside’ land for ‘protection’ is the relatively easy and affordable first step- the real work is sustaining species on those lands in perpetuity. For a while, recognition of these ‘irregularities’ put a halt to adding more land to the State Parks system.

Santa Cruz County Parks History

Much of that ‘bigger’ history is reflected in what has been occurring in Santa Cruz County where a disproportionate percentage of land is owned by State Parks. State Parks General Planning processes were successfully challenged for Castle Rock State Park, Nisene Marks State Park, and the Gray Whale Ranch addition to Wilder Ranch State Park. In each instance, private organizations were instrumental in transferring land to State Parks while State Parks was unable to either plan for or manage those properties in alignment with California law. And yet, each park welcomes visitors, pouring funding into private businesses at the expense of biodiversity protection and visitor experience. Henry Cowell State Park and the State Park beaches at Cotoni Coast Dairies were opened and remain highly used without any planning, whatsoever. The General Plan for Wilder Ranch State Park, a mecca for mountain bikers, does not allow mountain biking and private recreational businesses openly operate mountain biking concessions. Yet, Parks rangers have been ordered not to enforce prohibitions against either mountain bikers or their unpermitted concessions.

The ‘New’ Parks Forward Initiative

Surrounding Earth Day 2026, there has been much press about the Parks Forward initiative. One might even think it was ‘new.’ More new parks were added to the network of State Parks and some parcels were added to expand certain existing State Parks. In some cases, the press releases note property was ‘donated’ and in other cases, the situation is far opaquer. Nowhere in the press releases is there any mention of species conservation- it is all coached in ‘more access.’ Both access and conservation are expensive to do correctly, are not being done correctly in any State Park currently, and are conflicting uses with vast tradeoffs that go unanalyzed by Parks’ mandated General Plans and concomitant ‘carrying capacity analysis.’

Symptoms Make Sense

This new roll out of “Parks Forward” is quite predictable given public amnesia, popular myths, and the level of oversight from the Parks Forward Commission. Apparently, the public has forgotten about the origins of the Parks Forward initiative: if citizens remembered, there would be some acknowledgement in the many press releases. Overriding the grave concerns of the past is a fervor for more public access to natural areas. The myth, echoed by everyone touching this new version of the Parks Forward initiative, is that ‘more people accessing more natural areas is good for conservation.’ This balderdash flies in the face of science and common sense. The logical conclusion of this thinking is that if every human accessed every last piece of nature then every species would be conserved…the opposite is true. But, conservation organizations want to make money from donors and State politicians want to look successful, so enter the echo chamber of the deeply mistaken myth, which is doing permanent damage to the potential for wildlife conservation in California.

It is amazing to me that there is a Parks Forward Commission with smart people allowing such misguided endeavors to continue within State Parks. Perhaps they, too, accept the mythology. The symptoms of their complicity were present many years back when the Commission swallowed the poison of the progress report in year 2 of their formation. That report includes ‘four strategic focus areas’ with no metrics for success and two incredibly tiny ‘natural and cultural pilot efforts underway,’ which likewise have no metrics for conservation success. The apparent acceptability of these puerile efforts to the Commission point to an inability of the Commission to provide substantive oversight and input into the broken State Parks system.

Ask, Please

With the unveiling of new parks and new land ‘protections,’ we must ask: is there any additional funding for long term stewardship for biodiversity conservation, or are these new areas merely to continue the silent death of species to the overwhelmingly poorly managed public access/private inurement money machine?

Has California State Parks apologized to the People for the lies and manipulation it promulgated in 2012? Does that apology include details of what they will do to change this sordid past? Can we identify specific individuals who were responsible for those actions? Is there new management? Or, is this situation much like that exposed by the Epstein situation, where the abusers are still in charge? Abusers – is that too much to say? Well, in this case the victims do not have voices and will never speak out…the wildlife will simply go away while the abusers will vocally claim victory with their empty promises of conservation alongside public recreation and access to natural areas.

A Babyness of Plants

The highlight of the week has been PLANTING. Two Dog Farm has a huge patch of peppers taking root in beautifully prepared beds with drip tape efficiently irrigating the tiny baby seedlings into their new life in the real world: what promise! Molino Creek Farm has a patch of newly planted really, truly dry farmed tomatoes thanks to a close collaboration with the Two Dog Farm’s generous Bartle couple. Judy also had some help planting row upon row of onions this past week. And, those Bartles planted their winter squash seeds, the beginning of the annual unfolding of the Miracle where something appears (prolifically!) where nothing was, without any added water. There’s also Sylvie’s endeavors in some beautiful big patches…dry farmed beans, anyone? What experiments will this expert plant person reveal to us this year?

Hundreds and hundreds of new plants are gracing the fields of our most magnificent farm. Tiny green dots in a sea of freshly tilled rich brown soil. What a sight!

Each of these flowers will probably make a fruit!

Anti-Apple-Babies

On the other hand, there is the great procession against too many apples. So nice to have many hands’ help snipping or twisting off the too, too many baby apples. We are thinning the fruit. This year, it is time to hone our thinning skill, keeping more fruit on the apple varieties that would otherwise make “Whole Meal Apples” – as with Mutsu or Braeburn. With some apple types, you’d need a cart to carry a fruit to lunch if they were ‘properly thinned,’ and no one would enjoy a ‘lunchbox apple’ without leaving more apples per stem. The ground is getting littered by hundreds of marble-sized apple kids. Up on the stems: one apple per cluster where there used to be 5+. Long each bough: one apple every 4 – 6 inches! Those are our goals: high hopes!

And….here’s what a cluster of flowers turns into- a mess of fruit!

Thinned apples look like this- nicely spaced, and not squinched into a clusters

More Cool Weather

This past week has been another ‘the sun sure feels nice’ kind of weather. It has been creeping up to maybe a low 70F hour or two with nights in the low 50s. Foggy mornings, mostly. When the fog clears, the air feels a bit oddly dry. Perhaps the cold soil condenses out what moisture was in the air. “They” say it might get warm this coming weekend.

Baby Trees

Believe it or not, we are still rejuvenating our orchard…through grafting! The 2020 Fire still is echoing- the trees that inferno fried still have promise. Sylvie has taken to grafting desireables onto the few remaining post-fire rootsuckers. Here and there you encounter her artistry- grafting tape at the base of a rapidly sprouting scion. One graft from last year, a persimmon right inside the main gate to the apple orchard, is especially luscious with its bright green, glossy, big leaves. The many, many cherry trees Drake grafted onto rootsprouts from fire kill, in 2021, right after the fire, are getting to look more like adult trees than babies.

In 2025, Sylvie Childress grafted this beautiful persimmon onto some rootstock that had turned into a tree post 2020 Fire

Native Grass Seed

Judy, Sylvie, and I harvested a few pounds of native grass seeds recently. Hanks of seed slowly cure and dry in paper grocery bags warmed by midday sun. We have tens of thousands of California bromegrass seeds, the dominant grass on the Farm which has been getting ripe lately. This is restoration material. The farm has already been transformed in many places from thistles and other weeds to native grass swards. We’ll do more of that as we turn brush fields into prairie just by tossing seeds from one place to the next. If there is a prescribed fire this year, this pile o’ seeds will do just fine.

Upside Down Spring

In our Mediterranean Spring, it is supposed to stop raining and the flowers bloom. This year, it stopped raining, the flowers blossomed and then it started raining again. Purple needlegrass has already bolted and set seed. Sky lupines and poppy are more pod than bloom. It is downright gushy out there: m-u-d spells mud. Spring mud. This late rain makes it very unlikely that wildfire will plague us this year, at least close by. Official reports from the surroundings put us at ‘normal’ rainfall with this past storm. How we got to that is quite a story: rain in November then none for most of December then a bit more into the New Year, then a fairly hot January…a few storms to wet things again through February and then No Rain March (and hot!) and then here comes all this rain in April. Topsy Turvey.

Potentially, this is a Valencia orange tree- not quite ripe, yet.

Oranges

We have Washington, Cara-Cara, Robertson, and Lane Late navel oranges as well as one unknown navel type and a tree full of what look like Valencia oranges. We should mention the bitter orange, Seville?, tree that bears quite a few fruit each year. We have enjoyed the fruit from the two 7-year old Cara-Cara so much that we planted six more last year, and we must wait a long while until we get lots of those fruit. Cara-Cara oranges are red from the same compound that makes tomatoes red, Lycopene, so it makes sense that we grow lots of them on this here tomato farm.

It takes a bunch of work to establish citrus trees; they aren’t happy with weed competition, so we have to keep them weeded frequently…like 4 times a year, for their first 3+ years. This is orange season: the fruit has been hanging for a year and is starting to get sweet. The various Mandarin varieties have a lead on them, so we haven’t been wanting for sweet citrus for a bit.

The Deer would love to eat this cabbage seedling, but maybe they won’t

Deer Report

We chatted about The Deer a bit this past week. Mark Jones reports frequently seeing more than 20 deer. By flashlight, the many pairs of glowing deer eyes are a bit surprising. One can glimpse grazing deer whenever one wants. They scamper or saunter about- normally they are quite shy and run, but not always. We should be pleased for the grazing of the plants, which would otherwise be fuel for summer fires, but some people grumble about all the deer: “landscaping” damage is probably the foremost complaint. With all the deer, one would expect some happy mountain lions, but alas the sign of the cougars is rare, still.

The varied habitats at Molino Creek Farm provide for great bird diversity

Bird News

This past week brought yet more neo-tropical migratory songbirds. A lazuli bunting is high-squeaking right through midday. Black headed grosbeak song is also wonderous. The background noise of bicolor blackbirds, song sparrows, and golden crowned sparrows is ubiquitous. One is occasionally startled by the vast rush of a startled quail covey. Their cousins of the sky, band tailed pigeons, are quite active flapping from walnut tree to walnut tree. Today’s discovery was a female turkey clucking quite loudly for who-knows-what reason. The turkey flock seems to have dwindled to one hen, a young tom, and an older, dominant tom. Just 3 turkeys – maybe the other hens are sitting on nests or perhaps they were eaten…piles of feathers were here and there the last few weeks and a coyote was close by.

Squirrels

We used to have Western Gray Squirrel, but now we only have ground squirrels. The gray squirrels were before the fire – they supposedly are fond of truffles, so maybe that food source changed. We have a local gray squirrel type without a common name, Sciurus griseus ssp. nigripes, which only occurs along the coast between here and San Luis Obispo. I hope they come back!

The latest on our ground squirrels: have you ever looked carefully at their color patterns? They have the most amazing white eye liner, making their eyes oh-so cute! Their back fur also has cute, cute dots. Their hands are quite agile- today I watched one grab grass stalks so it could get at the seeds, which otherwise were above its head. This squirrel was feasting on ripgut brome seeds, a bad weed with heavy weight seeds that are quite rough to touch – good, brave squirrel with strong seed-eating teeth!

Mechanical Chewing

Speaking of tearing things apart – we are seeing more of Mr. Matthew Todd’s expertise with his brush mastication machine. Huge thistle and French broom patches are being chewed up into tiny pieces as we attempt to reclaim coastal prairie patches collaboratively across property boundaries with our neighbors managing the San Vicente Redwoods property. This will be Part 2 of the recipe to try to get rid of the broom: last Fall was Part 1, then there will be this Fall to hit it again…and the next 2 Falls, too, before we expect to see a reduction in this weed.

A Cotoni Coast Dairies Update

It has been a while since I gave an update on Cotoni Coast Dairies, but I have previously written much about that piece of (unfortunately) federally-owned ‘conservation’ land on Santa Cruz County’s North Coast. In August 2025, BLM staffer Zachary Ormsby had a chance to address the public about the parkland. Here, I present additional perspectives including some more recent developments.

This and the cover image compliments of Steven DeCinzo

Ch-ch-ch- Changes!

In 2025, as many of us had predicted, the Federal government made yet another of its radical political shifts, affecting the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which oversees Cotoni Coast Dairies. Just before that transition, California’s BLM director changed. Karen Mouritsen, a Trump appointee who had lasted most of the 4 years of the Biden Administration, had been pressing to maximize public access and denying any funding to take care of the land’s pressing invasive species, wildfire, and erosion issues. Then, in 2024, Joseph Stout was appointed head of the California BLM; Joe had previously been deputy director of BLM but mysteriously left for most of Karen Mouritsen’s term. At the start of their term, the Trump Administration fired the national head of BLM and, as of March 1, 2026, has yet to replace them. Nevertheless, the leaderless BLM has turned its already understaffed offices to resource extraction rather than conservation. The staff in our BLM region now spend much of their time advertising, negotiating, and monitoring leases to extract oil. Luckily, the nonprofit conservation organization Trust for Public Land, which signed the land over to BLM, restricted the property deed, prohibiting oil extraction.

The Public loves to wonder what “Supplementary Rules” might mean – very helpful! The unspecified acronyms are an 8th grade writing class-level error, too.

More rules posted for Cotoni Coast Dairies. The question is: any enforcement? Also, ‘knowingly…disturbing wildlife?’ Any visitation to a natural area disturbs wildlife, but since that fact isn’t on the signs, everyone can proclaim ignorance…so they don’t “know.” “I didn’t know!” is the universal excuse.

Public Access

Public access is a little less extractive to open space than pumping oil out of the ground, and usually less toxic. Visitor use of natural areas has long been recognized as one of the top threats to species, globally. Nevertheless, at Cotoni Coast Dairies, an area set aside primarily for conservation, BLM (in close partnership with mountain biking sports advocates) has begun development of an extensive trail network through globally significant threatened habitats, disrupting and possibly displacing endangered wildlife species. Sole source government contracts paid these mountain bikers hundreds of thousands of dollars to organize volunteers in transforming a little-known virgin wildland into a recreational park. The nine miles of new trails emanate from a 90-car parking lot replete with two restrooms and a few interpretive signs. Despite promises to the contrary, the restrooms are often locked, even when there are lots of visitors filling the parking lot.

“Never feed fish” and other randomly ‘useful’ information, neglecting to mention the only issue identified by BLM as a threat of public visitation: the spread of invasive pathogens that can kill plants and wildlife. BLM’s management plan explicitly noted that signage would be their only solution to such a serious threat: we see none of that.

The interpretive signs have minimal interpretation of nature but lots of rules. If you don’t speak English, you better have a smart phone (and reception!) if you want to translate the signs, which don’t present even Spanish language translations. One of the rules is to stay on the marked trails, but there are well worn and often-used roads that aren’t labeled for access but frequently used by mountain bikers. The trails are too narrow and the sides too steep to accommodate mountain bikers comfortably passing hikers. During a recent visit, I experienced a mountain biker who was furious about being interrupted from bombing down the trail…there was nowhere to get off the trail– after a wave of explicatives, red faced and loud, the biker stumbled past me, his embarrassed girlfriend trailing. But, pedestrians far outnumber the barnstorming bikers who are no doubt made all the more angry because their volunteer work hasn’t panned out for their unimpeded high-speed endorphin-laden ‘rad times.’ Such glowering is occasionally interrupted by the too-frequent trailside plastic tacky signs profusely gushing about the generosity of mountain biking volunteers for everything the visitor might experience.

Cattle grazing COULD be an essential means of land management, but is it?

“Innovative” Cattle Grazing

One of the mandates for BLM at Cotoni Coast Dairies was changing the historic livestock regimes to something more innovative and natural resource protection oriented. Up went super expensive high-tech antennae. Cattle were fitted with electronic shock collars designed to train them into grazing within ‘invisible fences.’ Innovative, indeed- especially if there was a grazing PLAN (there isn’t)! As of Spring 2026, this technology remains innovative in one way only: convincing the public that something innovative is happening with the livestock program: otherwise, no one has turned on the switches to make the system active. However, innovative livestock management isn’t the only thing lying dormant on the landscape…

Science-Based Land Management

At the apex of conservation lands are National Monuments, which (logically!) must publish science strategies to support their (also mandated) Management Plans. Being one of many units of the California Coastal National Monument, Cotoni Coast Dairies required BLM to publish a “science strategy;” this was completed in April 2026 with the help of experts at the US Geologic Survey, a decade and two years after BLM acquired the property…and long after the agency made seemingly permanent decisions about recreational access.

Along with such science-based strategies, BLM is required to update its California Special Status Animal Species list every 5 years. The last one was published in 2019 and the most recent update was due in 2024. Where is it? Not on their website. Have they, as required, worked with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to collaboratively develop that updated list? Who knows? (a message back from CA BLM says that they have not updated the wildlife list as of March 2026) One thing of interest…the mountain lions on the Central Coast have recently been listed as Endangered by the State of California. As such, pumas should receive priority protection by BLM at Cotoni Coast Dairies, applying Dr. Wilmers’ (UCSC) research findings indicating the importance of protecting large areas from any human visitation whatsoever and planning for wide, forested movement corridors. The emphasis here is on forested areas, which on Cotoni Coast Dairies are being threatened by French broom invasion.

Prize winning French Broom patches qualify BLM for awards from regime change seeking eco-terrorists

Broom Farming

The BLM at Cotoni Coast Dairies has been officially recognized for their expertise in French broom farming by the Invasive Species Agricultural Association (ISAA). President Rex Fowler, in awarding the distinguished prize noted, “BLM has exceeded expectations both in fostering the health of, and increasing the spread of, the dreaded and most pernicious invasive species French Broom. We look forward to marveling at extensive fields of this excellently invasive pest for generations to come.”

Hillsides of once diverse prairies, stands of majestic coast live oaks, and ridgelines of coastal scrub and maritime chaparral are being overrun by monocultures of French broom at Cotoni Coast Dairies. With a seedbank that lasts 40+ years, the scope of any eventual control program is expanding rapidly. BLM managers’ unsubstantiated smokescreen for corrupt, self-serving sole-source contracts with mountain bikers for spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on visitor use access was the proclamation that ‘there shall be no land management until visitors are flooding the park.’ Well folks- what now? Visitors are flooding the park! Now we hear ‘we must drill baby drill!’

The job ain’t finished until the paperwork is done! Cartoon compliments of S. DeCinzo; Restrooms at Cotoni Coast Dairies episodically open nowadays

What Next?

There is an opportunity in the current Administration to solve this mess. What?! How so?? The Federal government has been murmuring about dumping federal property: why not give it back? Back to who? How about the Amah Mutsun? California’s land back movement is gaining momentum. Let’s give the land back to the tribal people! Why not?

“Bikers yield to hikers” means ____ ? We ALMOST have BLM admitting that there is such a thing as user conflict. Interestingly, this part of the sign has nothing to do with the “Leave No Trace” title of that part of the sign. Well done!

Should read “Where Conservation Conflicts with Recreation” but we must bear with the Federal Government’s notorious Orwellian doublespeak here in Santa Cruz County. Praise Be!

“Onshore Units” should translate well and be easily understood by the many cultures visiting Cotoni-Coast Dairies. You want someone to speak with regarding these mostly ridiculous signs? Luckily, there are 2 organizations claiming credit.

Mycorrhizal Meanderings

On February 5, 2026, the upper foot of soil surrounding the Monterey Bay was dry, a week later it was wet. For weeks, during the time of year when our Mediterranean climate should have been at its wettest, the rain had stopped and the sun’s radiance warmed as if it were summer. Shallow soiled areas of prairie turned drought-stressed reds and purples, grasses stopped gaining height and started blossoming. Redwoods and pines wafted clouds of yellow pollen, carried far in the rare warm breeze. Mushrooms and mosses withered and dried. Dust blew off of unimproved roads and farm fields. And then the rains returned.

Coast live oak acorns – these trees rely on fungi for their nutrient and water uptake

Oscillating Unpredictability

Climate change models suggest that we should come to expect the unexpected, waves of hotter and hotter drought interspersed with deluge and destruction. Will being a Mediterranean climate area mean anything anymore in the future? (next time you vote, even in a local election, you are making a choice in this pro-mayhem or pro-life dichotomy) 2026 year marks the 3^rd time since 1986 with such a dry hot period during the time of year when it should be the wettest and coolest. All have been recent. How does Life adapt? I wonder about the fungal webs that are crucial to the forests and shrublands around the Monterey Bay.

Mushrooms are just the ‘tip of the iceberg’ of sometimes extensive fungal mats running through the soil

Natural Fungal Flux

The rhythm of fungi is easy to see if only you look for chanterelles. This bright orange tasty mushroom pushes through leaf duff a while after the ground gets wet. Wetter years make for more mushrooms. Prolonged moisture and not-too-cold weather makes for the biggest crops. Eventually, they get tired and as spring progresses, they disappear until the following wet season. Other mushrooms have their time in this cycle, some preceding the rains by a bit with the shortening days…others bounce out at the first raindrops…and still others wait for the warmth and drying of summer. Peak mushroom diversity used to be typically in that middle zone, in January, when the landscape had long been very wet and the days quite short and cool.

Dependency

The handful of oak species in our region along with the redwoods, pines, and firs require fungal communities to survive. So, too, do the manzanitas and madrones. In the orchards, almonds, apples, pears, hazelnuts, walnuts and so much more likewise depend on fungi to do their foraging. These trees have no root hairs to soak up nutrients and water; instead, they have evolved roots engineered to house fungi. Trees supply fungi sugars and fungal webs spread out through the ground, supplying trees nutrients and water. Dr. Tom Parker at San Francisco State University discovered 250 species of fungi under a single manzanita bush. We know very little about which fungi do what for who.

Under My Oak

I planted two coast live oaks in my yard, and one has been very evidently nurturing an interesting fungus. Dead Man’s Foot is a kind of puff bally thing that sticks a large, 6-inch or so, stumpy dark brown ugly ill-formed mass out of the leaf litter in the late spring. Some suggest a shallow burial with an emergent rotting foot, but it doesn’t smell unpleasant. As I mow grasses short each spring, this area doesn’t need much attention, except to rake up oak leaves. The grass barely grows and other weeds are missing – the place is nearly bare: the dead man’s foot is delivering every bit of nutrient to this fast-growing oak. Nearby, another oak planted at the same time doesn’t have these phenomena: it grows more slowly, is emersed in tall grass and weeds, and doesn’t have any fungi popping up in its understory (yet!).

What Happens

How will the climate change driven droughts and deluges affect fungi and the life that depends on them? There are a suite of fungi that follow wildfire, but will they withstand more frequent and more severe fires? Will the succession of winter fungi that are used to long, cool, moist winters survive winters that are less predictable? How will the forests and shrublands fare if their fungal foundations are shaken? How will we even know?

The Meadows of Scotts Valley

When you think of Scotts Valley, what comes to mind? What comes to my mind are hours of tedious battles to save what was left of the remarkable meadows, which are home to some fascinating species. Embedded in those memories are lessons about how other people viewed those meadows and the diversity of human perspectives.

Glenwood and Santa’s Village

Highway 17 bisected some fascinating grasslands in Scotts Valley. On the west side of the highway, one can visit what remains of the Glenwood meadows. It is called the Glenwood Open Space Preserve and is owned by the City of Scotts Valley and managed by the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County. I’m not sure how many native species are left now, but in the 1990’s when I joined the battle to save those meadows, we used R. Morgan’s statistic of an extraordinary 250 native plants on just over 200 acres. The meadows would erupt in spectacular displays of lupines and poppies, each hillslope a slightly different color with many other wildflower species.

Home to Rarities

To the east side of Highway 17 the last remaining meadow is at what was formerly known as Santa’s Village or the Polo Ranch. This smaller meadow was recently carved apart to make room for a luxury housing development by the seemingly ubiquitous Lennar Homes. Though smaller, this meadow has wonderful botanical surprises both in shallow-soiled dry rocky places and in some seepy wetlands.

These meadows are the home to the federally endangered Scotts Valley spineflower and the state-listed endangered Scotts Valley polygonum, species found nowhere else in the world. The state-listed endangered San Francisco popcornflower is awaiting better management in the seedbank in both meadows. A distinct form of Gray’s clover, if it survives, will probably one day be called the Scotts Valley clover as will a distinct form of Douglas’ sandwort – both should be listed as critically endangered and are only in the Polo Ranch meadow. A population of the State-listed rare Pacific grove clover has been found in the Glenwood meadow. The federally listed endangered Ohlone tiger beetles are also found in these meadows and in only 5 other places…all within Santa Cruz County. Opler’s long-horned moth, which should also be listed as endangered, is found feeding on cream cups in the Glenwood meadows. Western pond turtles have been found in the Glenwood pond, which would also make great habitat for the rare California red-legged frog were it not for nonnative fish which were put there a while back.

Prior Losses

Scotts Valley has a long history of destroying the things that made it a very special place and replacing those special things with poorly planned housing developments. One gets the distinct feeling that poor planning is a hallmark of that town, which has no town center and is entirely sprawl. Smells like a legacy of greed combined with lack of civic engagement and the resulting pro-developer elected official. My mentor R. Morgan lamented the loss of the marsh that was once at Camp Evers, an ancient peat bog like no other for hundreds of miles. Then there was the development at Skypark, which was an airport and now has a small fragment of the once wildflower-rich extensive meadows.

Scotts Valley High

Since the early 1990’s, as I’ve been following the more recent destruction of Scotts Valley’s ecosystems, the first to get to bulldozed was the Scotts Valley High School site. There were other sites but someone in power got their way, sacrificing rare species and permanently destroying a treasure of immense value. So powerful were the proponents that they managed to protect only tiny set aside areas for the rare species, spaces that were doomed to fail. Promises of integrating these small conservation areas with high school biology classes never materialized. Management for the endangered San Francisco popcornflower has never succeeded.

Glenwood Open Space Preserve

With great effort, the Friends of Glenwood, the California Native Plant Society and the Sierra Club managed to fend off 200+ homes and a golf course that had been proposed at the site.

Meanwhile, the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County is both succeeding and failing to manage this preserve. On one hand, they have been quite successful in managing for the most endangered species on the property- the Ohlone tiger beetle. This beautiful beetle has flourished because of their work. On the other hand, the habitat for the Pacific Grove clover seems to have been lost due to poor decisions. And, large areas of the property are being overcome by invasive species such as stinkwort and French broom.

Santa’s Village

Legal wrangling and the California Native Plant Society’s (CNPS) negotiations resulted in the protection of a small private park above 40+ homes. CNPS fought to have fewer homes, arguing that more homes would require more grading, which would threaten the hydrology of the steep terrain and its rare plants. Undeterred and supported by the ‘any development is good development’ Scotts Valley City Council, the home builders dug into the hillsides which subsequently collapsed, severely damaging the rare plant habitat. After years of delaying any management, the preserve area degraded due to brush and weed encroachment. But, after many years, the Wildlife Heritage Foundation is managing the property and trying to restore some of the rare species. Let’s wish them luck!

Lessons Learned

Scotts Valley has been, like Capitola, pro-sprawl whereas Santa Cruz is hemmed in. Just wait…one day Santa Cruz may re-think its greenbelt. Maybe I’ll get to hear another City Council person tell me that if such-and-such endangered species was in their yard they’d destroy it. Maybe I’ll once again hear a developer say something like ‘that Ohlone tiger beetle is probably the most common bug in the world!’ As pressure grows to develop around the Monterey Bay, I hope that we figure out sooner than later how to ensure that natural areas remain natural. How about third-party conservation easements on our parks? Can you not see how municipalities like the City of Santa Cruz will one day try to build housing on its greenbelt? Even State Parks will see that pressure. It seems to me that land trusts should be eyeing those opportunities with interest. They could be helping to guarantee longer-term conservation now that we’ve seen how quickly the tides can turn against conservation as the populace gets poorer and the developers get richer and more powerful.

Appreciations

I feel gratitude for many of the actions people are doing to help nature around the Monterey Bay. In this column, I will extend praise for those actions to specific people but inevitably will overlook others to whom I apologize in advance…chalk it up to not knowing everything everyone is up to or just plain forgetfulness. I also realize that no one is perfect, so I focus on the specific actions that I appreciate, not the whole of what anybody or group of people does, which might include things that are, on the other hand, very bad for nature.

First Peoples

I lead with my appreciation for the First Peoples for their care for the Monterey Bay region. It is not hyperbole to say we owe everything we experience, the whole of nature, to the First People. The people who are and were indigenous to this place for thousands and thousands of generations took care of this land – every part of it. From squirrel to deer, from river to ridge, from the tallest oak to the tiniest wildflower – these things are here because of those people. The descendants of some of these people are still here, and we have much to learn from them and alongside them if we care to do so. They are still weaving together the fabric of this wonderful part of Earth.

Organic Farmers

I also appreciate organic farmers for caring for nature. By shunning the use of synthetic chemicals for pesticides and fertilizers, organic farmers are avoiding poisoning nature. These farmers forgo these things, pay fees for certification and inspection, and work harder to produce food that often times, to me, tastes better. Farming is not an easy career. I am so glad that I can afford organically grown food and that there is such an abundance produced in our region. There are lots of organic farmers that have inspired me, but I especially think of Phil Foster (Pinnacle Farm), Ronald Donkevoort(Windmill Farms), and Jane Friedmon and Ali Edwards (the original Dirty Girl Farm), and Jerry Thomas (Thomas Family Farm) as inspirations.

Weed Warriors

I want to give thanks to the folks who have long battled invasive plants in our area. Some of the hardest work protecting nature is done by the Monterey Bay’s weed warriors. These folks often volunteer their time to battle the worst invasive species affecting natural areas. They’ve battled French broom, jubata grass, ice plant, sticky Eupatorium, and on and on. Ken Moore was the godfather of weed warriors through his founding of the Wildland Restoration Team (interview pt. 1and pt. 2), but there have been many others. Linda Broadman worked with Ken and carries the torch through her leadership with the Habitat Restoration Team of the Santa Cruz Chapter of the California Native Plant Society. The Monterey District of State Parks deserves mention for steadfastly and regularly organizing volunteers to control invasive plants. Then, of course, there are the many volunteers who actually do much of the work…

Conservation Activists

This is where my appreciation will surely fall short as there are so many people who deserve recognition. Conservation activists often take civic engagement quite seriously. I am in awe of the many nature conservation activists who have fought and won so many important battles around the Monterey Bay. I have enjoyed learning from and sometimes working alongside Celia and Peter Scott, Bruce Bratton, Jodi Frediani, Michael Lewis and Jean Brocklebank, Corky Matthews, Gillian Greensite, Debbie and Richard Bulger, and Don Stevens. Behind and working with these good people were expert and dedicated legal support from Debbie Sivas, Jonathan Wittwer, Gary Patton, and Bill Parkin. Folks who have been affiliated with the Rural Bonny Doon Association and Friends of the North Coast also deserve recognition. Without people who are willing to donate their time, expertise, good judgement, intelligence, and skills we would not have much of the open space that species need to survive.

Tending the Fire

I have been so pleasantly surprised to see so much work with prescribed fire in our community. For me, this started years ago with Cal Fire including more recently as Angela Bernheisel led the first good fire at Soquel Demonstration State Forest. I have been thankful also to the work of the Central Coast Prescribed Burn Association, including their leaders Jared Childress and Spencer Klinefelter. State Parks’ Portia Halbert is a dynamo for putting good flames on the ground and an inspiration to so many others in moving that powerful tool forward. This prescribed fire work is tricky and takes brave people who know so much about so many sciences to get that kind of work done. Plus, they have to work well with others because it takes so many others to do that kind of work. They are restoring nature while making our communities safer. Thank you.

Politicians

For the last 35 years, there have been few politicians in our area that have openly declared nature to be central to their platforms, and I deeply appreciate those who have. Currently, there are very few indeed. State Senator John Laird seems to me to be an outstanding example of how a politician might succeed when keeping environmental conservation a publicly stated priority. Mayor of Marina, Bruce Delgado, is another example. I wish there were more than just those two, but that says something about both the need for more folks to run for office and the public’s will to prioritize such things when they vote.

-this post originally appeared at my weekly column for BrattonOnline.com where one can subscribe and get the best local, regional, and global news from very smart and observant people.

Annual Penultimate Post for Molino Creek Farm

-I post nearly weekly from Valentine’s Day until Thanksgiving a blog about Molino Creek Farm. So, this is the second to last post for 2026.

Rain. Every vignette, each part of the farm…the entire region…is being wetted. This rain drives the moisture deeper into summer-dried soil awakening new life for the winter season.

Forest Drops

The rain is captured and concentrated in the high boughs of redwoods and firs. Drizzle coalesces into big drops plummeting, sometimes making sharp smacks against limbs, shattering. Mostly, though, the raindrops are muffled quietly diffusing into deep, fluffy needle duff. Giant bananaslugs scoonch across trunks leaving silvery slime trails.

Scrub Soak

Resinous coyote bushes slump, covered with white fresh seed fluff made heavy with water. The bushes densely glisten even under cloud-capped sky. Exploring newly emerging liverworts or mushrooms, you dare not squeeze between those hulking shapes: brushing up against one instantly soaks. Edges of shrubby patches will have to do for the liverwort expeditions. Alarm squeaks resound: families of golden crowned sparrows flush deeper into cover. They are the cryptogam farmers.

Flushing Grasses

Gopher mounds bristle like alarmed hedgehogs. Although dense, the single first leaves of 2” tall grass seedling spikes haven’t covered the moist, deep brown soil. Ferny blue-green rosettes of California poppy catch droplets that magnify and distort their otherwise tidy appearance. The arched dense cover of perennial grass blades dance and bob in heavy downpours.

Tilled Mud

Furrows of loose soil, freshly plowed or harrowed flatten gradually as they saturate. Mud puddles form in tire tracks. Liquified dirt flows in rivulets, down rodent holes, backing up against obstacles, painting one color what had been complex hues of soil surface-chopped plant residue. In between showers, these tilled areas waft thick and sweet soil scent.

Puddled Roads and Trails

Cows lower their massive noses to road puddles – convenient drinking areas far from the trough. Birds delight in the ubiquitous baths, wings splashing, heads scooping, beaks open sucking up sweet fresh rainfall. Every trail and road is dotted with puddles.

End of the Season

The last Palo Alto Farmer’s Market of the season for Molino Creek Farm this Saturday. Bodhi powered the tractor across the fields, discing and planting cover crop into the night Tuesday. Orchard cover cropping progressed with whatever hours I could spare, however many hours my body could muster – alas, only half done before this week’s rainstorm! Imagining the swelling of bell bean seeds, licked by snails, prodded by earthworms in the freshly turned soil.

Strong dark wax boxes of winter squash are stacked high and curing just inside the south-facing doorway of the Two Dog Farm greenhouse.

Farmers wend their way slowly one more time down the rows of tomatoes, happily surprised to be harvesting tomatoes this close to Thanksgiving.

Heavy shoulder bags of apples filled on the steep orchard hillside and hoisted onto the sorting table. Fuji and Braeburn are the last varieties this year to go to market. Sweet and juicy but each having their own very unique flavor, vastly different. We will too soon miss the crunch of that wonderful fruit. A reminder to relish the appreciation of what you have before its gone. I take extra-long to finish a fresh-picked apple nowadays, making sure to chew and taste while gazing at the skin and flesh…the juice…the release of complex aroma upon each crisp bite.

Beavers

Beavers are again being recognized by humans as creatures crucial to holding together the natural world across much of North America and Europe. Where they are able, beavers create wetlands. Those beaver wetlands do so much for so many other beings, including us. Let’s explore California’s beaver resurgence for a few minutes.

History

There once were two beaver species, then only one living alongside indigenous people, then even those were nearly wiped out. In modern time, beavers have been variously killed, ignored, restored, or coexisted with. The Big Beaver of the Pleistocene, like so many other species, winked out when humans arrived on the continent. Probably they were too tasty. Its smaller cousin, though, survived. There are names for beaver in many native people’s languages across California. But the Old World Peoples persecuted both the native peoples and the beaver. Beavers were trapped to extirpation so early in those terrible times that as records started being written, there was already doubt that beavers had ever been in most places across the State. The state’s wildlife department finally protected the few remaining of the species and then began restoring them. Beavers, farmers, water managers, and road departments had problems working it out, so the State started allowing, and still allows, beavers to be killed where they cause too big of problem.

Over the past 20 years, brilliant folks from Back East figured out a way to solve some of those problems, so beaver coexistence technology is now a thing in California. At the same time, in just the last 5 years, our wildlife officials have started translocating problem beavers to restore the species in more places. These recent pro-beaver developments come just in time for so many reasons.

Beaver Biota

Where beaver go, many follow. Three weeks ago, I saw a river otter stick its head out of the water in a pond behind a beaver dam. River otters follow beavers as do ducks, egrets, herons, kingfishers and so much more. Rare amphibians and reptiles likely were once more abundant due to beavers, including California red-legged frogs, San Francisco garter snakes, California tiger salamanders, Western pond turtles, and Santa Cruz long-toed salamanders. Mostly, those rare species rely on manmade cattle or farm ponds nowadays, but what about before those?

I have studied the landscape for 50 miles in every direction around Santa Cruz and have found very few natural ponds. Coastal ponds are either in earthquake faults, vernal pools in ancient dune declivities (e.g., Ft. Ord), or impoundments at the back of more modern dunes. These situations are all quite rare. Looking further abroad, there are more vernal pools in the Central Valley and one can imagine oxbow lakes along many of California’s rivers before modern humans messed so much by channelizing rivers. If we could restore beaver to the landscape, I’m betting we could recover frogs, snakes, turtles and salamanders…and even fish! Most agree that California’s many species of super endangered salmon once thrived in the food-rich backwaters of beaver ponds.

I could go on and on about the many other wetland species that follow beaver pond architecture, but I’m thinking you get the idea.

Fire Stop

Recently, “Smokey the Beaver” has become a meaningful meme. In the past decade Californians have witnessed catastrophic infernos raging across the landscape like no one had previously imagined was possible. Across the West and north through Canada the same pattern has been emerging: big, big fires fueled by climate-change-induced drought, heat, and winds. The solution to fire: water. When beavers dam rivers and streams, they create fire breaks. In the huge footprints of “The Big Black,” post-fire, thank the beaver for the green strips that offer refuge to whatever wildlife may have survived the blaze. I have stood my ground on the edge of two approaching wildfires and have witnessed masses of fleeing deer, rabbits, wood rats and more running from the flames. I imagine those creatures finding beaver wetlands and hunkering down, eyes wide, hearts racing as the world around them crackles, roars, and burns. Beaver firebreaks can help save human lives and infrastructure, as well.

The Wetting

Beavers make it possible to rehydrate the West. Their dams are speed bumps for floods, slowing the surge, spreading floodwaters across floodplains, and hydrating large swaths of valley bottoms. By storing rainwater behind their dams, beavers keep streams and rivers flowing farther into the season of California’s long, dry summer. As water slows down behind beaver ponds, it can more readily recharge groundwater, too. Some have suggested that restoring beavers across the mountain meadows of the Sierra Nevada could store as much water as 2 large new reservoirs. That would be cheaper…and more sustainable!

Monterey Bay’s Beavers

Beavers are in the Salinas River all the way down to the Highway One bridge. Those riverine beavers are bank burrowers…they don’t make dams in such big rivers, but they sure like to eat the willows. You’d have to go south to San Luis Obispo before you found another beaver family. And, travelling north you would have to get onto private land along Butano Creek in San Mateo County to encounter our beaver buddies. Sometimes that population makes a more public showing downstream in the Pescadero marsh, where one mysteriously died this past year. What about prime beaver habitat in the Carmel, Pajaro, and San Lorenzo rivers? When will beavers arrive in those locations? Corralitos, Soquel, and Scott creeks also offer promising beaver habitat. Perhaps one day we can find a way to offer beavers a place alongside humans in some of those rivers or streams. Help spread the word!

-this post originally published as part of the decades-long news source for the Monterey Bay and beyond at BrattonOnline.org Check it out! Subscribe!! DONATE. Support journalism, even grassroots journalism, maybe especially grassroots journalism.

Another Trail ‘Study’

The Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) recently published an article about a 2023 regional trail user survey. The author of the article, Zionne Fox, wrote about some of the results of the study, and her writing helps gain new insights into POST’s philosophy regarding recreational use in natural areas.

Summary of the Article

Ms. Fox’s “blog,” published on August 28, 2025, announced the findings of a ‘unique’ regional study by the Santa Cruz Mountains Stewardship Network that had purported to assess parks trail user expectations. Fox reports the percentages of different user groups (equestrians, dog walkers, hikers, mountain bikers) that want more trails. She also notes that non-white respondents were statistically under represented. The article suggests (without supporting data) that demand for trails is growing and that ‘open space operators need practices that can meet rising visitor expectations while preserving natural habitat.’ There was also mention about many equestrians hailing from Santa Cruz County and (again, unsubstantiated) a need for additional accommodation for multi-day trail trips.

Reporting Issues

The POST article fails in many ways to meet the standards of responsible reporting, but that is predictable given the organization’s overall tendencies. First, note that the study referenced isn’t, as the author claims, ‘unique,’ at all: another, more professional study covering much the same material was published not that long ago. Also, notice that there is no link in the article to a report about the results of the survey. With further research I find that the survey authors, the Santa Cruz Mountains Stewardship Network, lacks a link to any reporting on the survey results on its website. Without more details about survey methodology, statistical analysis, and results it is difficult to draw one’s own conclusions.

Moreover, the article emphasizes only the survey results which correlate most with POST’s own goal of increased recreational use of ‘open space’ lands. For instance, statistics are provided for apparent unmet needs from various recreational groups, but similar statistics are not presented about the degree of concern for natural resource conservation, which is at odds with increased recreational use. In fact, in the ‘What’s Next’ portion of the article, there is no mention of POST’s or any other ‘open space operator’s’ intention to address survey respondents’ concerns about conserving and nurturing natural resources which suffer from over visitation. Similarly, POST suggests that those operators should focus on ‘preserving natural habitat,’ which curiously avoids the more concrete and pressing issue of conserving the specific species that are sensitive to natural areas recreational use. Habitat preservation is nearly meaningless to measure, whereas species conservation is much more useful and quantifiable, with a richer history of scientific rigor in informing open space management.

Note that the author of this article fails to mention any results from the portion of the survey asking about trail user’s negative experiences in open space areas. The survey asked poignant questions about negative interactions with dogs, people biking, shared trail use with other users, etc. Such conflicts are expected and are a challenge that trained park managers are used to addressing; unfortunately POST lacks staff with such expertise, so it is understandable that the author would avoid mention of this portion of the survey, which would otherwise reflect poorly on her organization.

The reporting insufficiencies and biases should not be surprising to those who follow POST. This is an organization focused on increased recreational use at the expense of species conservation. For instance, while on one hand cheerleading for the National Monument designation of Cotoni Coast Dairies, POST refused to sign onto a letter advocating that the designation include specific protections for natural resources. Peruse the organization’s website and you’ll find that species conservation is de-emphasized as opposed to an over-emphasis of recreational use of natural areas, which negatively affects nature. While being the best funded private organization working on open space issues in the Bay Area, POST has apparently never hired staff or engaged contractors that are professionals at managing visitor use in such a way that demonstrably protects the very species that require POST’s natural areas to survive. POST has published no reports or plans to address these concerns, at least none that are available to the public.

Methodological Issues

On its face value, the survey issued by the Santa Cruz Mountains Stewardship Network lacked the rigor to make the kinds of conclusions that POST suggests would be valuable. As opposed to previous, more rigorous studies the survey failed to sample the breadth of the population with interests in open space areas. POST notes that proportions of respondent self-reported ‘race’ did not reflect the population as a whole, but failed to note how the survey may have also biased certain user groups over others (mountain bikers vs. hikers, etc).

One would expect to encounter survey bias given the mode of delivery. The survey was a web-based survey distributed by social media networks. Open space organizations have recently become increasingly aligned with a vocal minority: well-funded mountain biking advocacy groups who undoubtedly circulated the survey in order to impact the results. Other trail user groups may have been under-represented because they have little exposure to those particular social media networks or because they lacked the computer technology to respond.

Cautionary Conclusions

We can learn valuable lessons from POST’s reporting on this trail user survey. Given the power of POST, we should continue to be vigilant about the group’s propensity to favor increased recreational use of open space lands at the cost of species conservation. This bias should make us question the organization’s ability to manage funding tied to protection of public trust resources. POST is a donor-funded organization, and so some degree of pressure from donors could help to steer the organization more towards conservation. We should also recognize that POST is not alone in making these types of mistakes. It appears that the Santa Cruz Mountains Stewardship Network is also allied with such thinking, and we have seen other conservation lands managers approaching open space management with similarly unbalanced methodologies. These trends must be reversed if we are to conserve the many species of wildlife which are sensitive to poorly managed recreational use in our parks.

As time passes and we stay alert to the possibilities, we will see if the poorly executed SCMSN trails user survey results are used to justify or rationalize actions by POST or other members in their network: wouldn’t it be a shame if they were?

-this post originally published in my column for BrattonOnline.com – a weekly blog with movie reviews and posts by very interesting people on matters near and far. I recommend subscribing to it and donating so we can continue this long tradition.