A stretch of Watsonville farmland and wetlands are set to be purchased by a local conservation group
The Land Trust of Santa Cruz County signed an agreement in late October that secures their purchase of four adjacent parcels, all located in the fingers of fresh water sloughs that stretch from the Monterey Bay to the foothills. In total, 485 acres will be acquired by the nonprofit, including 76 acres of wetlands.
“This is very significant. The land under consideration is located in a key reach of the sloughs,” says Mark Silberstein, director of the Elkhorn Slough Foundation, a local conservation group that works farther south in the Monterey Bay slough system, but is not involved in the Land Trust’s purchase agreement.
According to Silberstein, the property adjoins land managed by the California State Department of Fish and Game, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service, thus creating a larger, more complex green space. Linking islands of protected habitat helps endangered species like the red-legged frog, which is found in the sloughs of the Monterey Bay.
“The sloughs are home to a lot of important bird species, and are a likely long-term development target,” says Stephen Slade, of the Land Trust, “and this project has been at the top of the local conservationists’ lists for years.” The property is only temporarily protected by Watsonville’s Measure U—a law that prohibits growth beyond the town’s urban boundary until 2022. As the property is just barely located inside the safe area, it stands to be one of the first green spaces developed once the measure expires. “The land is near Watsonville High School, and because it’s so close to town it’s likely to be developed down the road,” says Slade.
This is why the Land Trust jumped at the chance to purchase the property, even while funding details remain ambiguous. A $6.5 million grant was awarded by the Coastal Commission on Nov. 6, but this covers only a fraction of the total $14.5 million needed to close the real estate deal. A $5.5 million grant from the Wildlife Conservation Board is anticipated by Nov. 20, but the award is not certain. Even if this second grant comes through, about $2.5 million must still be raised to buy the property.
The Land Trust says it is confident it will be able to raise these funds. The nonprofit entered into a signed agreement with each of the three property owners, and has committed to pay the set purchase prices by the closing dates. Sales of the land parcels will close at different times throughout 2009, with the first scheduled for January. “This allows us to raise funds as we go,” says Slade.
The land is currently subleased by several farmers, and all but one farmer practices organic methods. The Land Trust says it will renew the growers’ leases, and use the rent funds to restore wetlands habitat. A buffer zone may be created along the perimeter of the wetlands. By pushing the farms farther inland, soil erosion might be curbed, and the wetlands may expand. “We still have to design a restoration plan, and this will take years,” says Slade, “but creating a buffer is an example of the type of thing we might do.”
Buying farmland is not a traditional approach for conservation groups. Many opt instead to help farmers place conservation easements on their properties—this prevents development from occurring, and ensures some degree of environmental protection. Slade says the wetlands are sensitive enough to warrant a more pro-active restoration process, and the opportunity to change the agricultural footprint warrants the purchase of the additional farm acreage.
“It’s been a community vision for a long time, to protect farm land and sustain the adjoining habitats,” says Silberstein. The Elkhorn Slough Foundation protects about 400 acres of farmland, and manages more than 4,000 acres of watershed.
The sloughs protected by Monterey Bay nonprofits are considered to be the largest remaining tract of wetlands along the Central Coast. As California has lost an estimated 95 percent of its pre-gold rush wetlands habitat, the local acreage also plays a critical role in the state’s larger ecosystem. As a host to migratory birds, the sloughs have international environmental impacts as well.
Slade believes it’s best for conservationists to purchase property long before developers begin licking their chops. Bidding wars with a developer jack up the price of land parcels, and make it harder to purchase adjacent pieces of land, he says. This is why the Land Trust is moving forward, even despite the state of the economy and the current lack of funding.
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