Conservation Corner November/December 2018

By Shani Kleinhaus and Dashiell Leeds

As always, the SCVAS Environmental Advocate has been working on many issues throughout Santa Clara County. For this Conservation Corner, we chose to highlight a planning effort from Palo Alto.

Palo Alto Baylands: Should derelict infrastructure continue to blight wetlands?

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Palo Alto Baylands Option 4

In 1921, the Federal Telegraph Company leased approximately 200 acres of saltmarsh in Palo Alto to build a radiotelegraph transmitting station and support ship-to-shore communications. The station was located in the marshlands because transmission bounced off the high water table and wetlands, so the wetlands were an ideal location for this function. The station was eventually sold to International Telephone and Telegraph (ITT), who operated it to transmit overseas cables, telephone calls, and other communications. Technology and the advent of satellite transmission later rendered the ITT facilities obsolete.

Over the years, most of the land was acquired by the City of Palo Alto to become an integral part of the Baylands and Emily Renzel Wetlands. However, 35.6 acres remained in control of ITT. Meanwhile, hydrological integrity was impaired, the marshlands were degraded and partially dried out, and the infrastructure fell to disrepair. In 2017, the City of Palo Alto purchased the remaining acres, and promptly dedicated the property to parkland.

Now, Palo Alto is considering the future of the 35.6 acres of the former ITT property. Our Advocate and several SCVAS members - including the honorable Emily Renzel herself – have been participating in the planning process. Central to our interest is the obsolete ITT infrastructure that is still present on the land. There is a very large sealed building and a field of 22 antennae. The building is unattractive, and it would cost millions to make it useful. Access and parking would negatively impact wildlife. The antenna field is a collision hazard to birds. The tall poles and buildings also provide raptors with perches to hunt the endangered animals of the wetlands. We are also concerned with the damage to the hydrological integrity of the site; tidal flow through the marshlands is in dire need of restoration.

Palo Alto is considering several options for the future of the property and the infrastructure in the wetlands. We support a variation of the option named “Return to Nature” (see Option 4 photo) in which the ITT building and all of the antennae are removed in an effort to return the wetland habitat to its natural state and to provide a contiguous area large enough to restore a functional marshland habitat. We also advocate for limiting human access to the outside perimeter of the site in order to regenerate a robust ecosystem and to protect it from fragmentation and disturbance. And naturally, we support restoring hydrological integrity to the marshlands.

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Palo Alto Baylands Option 3

However, there are other options being considered that could harm the wetlands habitat. An option called “ITT Park” (see Option 3 photo) would keep the ITT building intact for historical value, even though it is the wetlands that are most historical. Pedestrian access would be encouraged and new trails would be built, bringing disturbance across the heart of the wetlands. The freshwater effluent treatment pond would have its footprint expanded, reducing the total area of the saltmarshes. Two antennae would be left standing. History buffs support keeping the infrastructure and activating the buildings. SCVAS and other nature-oriented stakeholders oppose this option because the buildings, new trails, and increased human activity will further disturb the habitat and prevent full restoration of the site for the benefit of birds and wildlife. 

Fortunately, Palo Alto is still early on in its planning process and there is still time to get involved! The City plans to hold two community/stakeholder meetings (dates TBD). The draft action plan will be completed this month, and the final plan in December. Palo Alto residents can help us advocate to restore the wetlands that reflected the radio waves, not the building where the radar sat! Please email advocate@scvas.org and we will keep you posted on opportunities to help advocate for the marshes!

Conservation Corner September/October 2018

By Shani Kleinhaus and Mackenzie Mossing

Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society is one of the most active and successful conservation organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area. Over the past year, our Environmental Advocacy Team has engaged in dozens of issues that are critical to protecting birds, wildlife, and habitat in Santa Clara County and beyond. Through our efforts we have delivered significant conservation victories on state, regional, and local levels. We could not do this important work without your help.

Looking back on the past year, we have many accomplishments to celebrate. Here are some highlights of our work:

• • Measure B on San Jose’s 2018 primary ballot put Coyote Valley, North San Jose, and the Evergreen Foothills in the crosshairs for residential sprawl, threatening thousands of acres of open space with development. Together with other environmental organizations, community leaders, advocates, and volunteers, our team spent the better part of 2018 engaged in a grassroots campaign to defeat the measure. Measure B lost by a landslide at the ballot box.

• • Our ongoing campaign for bird-safe building design in Santa Clara County made great strides. We successfully advocated for bird-safe design in several planning efforts and development projects, including the North Bayshore Precise Plan in Mountain View, the new Vallco shopping center in Cupertino, and the future Civic Center (County headquarters) in Downtown San Jose.

• • We participated as a stakeholder for Cupertino’s new Parks and Recreation Master Plan. Our engagement is evident in the draft plan, as it includes science-based objectives aimed at preserving and restoring habitat in Cupertino’s parks to reflect our regions ecology. Goals in the plan call for habitat connectivity, pollinator gardens, water sources for birds, and increased tree canopy, to name a few.

There is still a lot of work to do. We are currently engaged in a number of efforts to protect open space, creeks, birds and wildlife from habitat degradation and development:

• • As Burrowing Owls continue to decline in Santa Clara County, we are working with partners regionally and statewide to study the status of Burrowing Owls and implement emergency strategies to save them locally. At the same time, we are advocating with both Google and the City of Mountain View to install fencing around Burrowing Owl habitat at Shoreline Park.

• • The City of Campbell is in the process of updating their General Plan – a blueprint for future development in the city. As the Bay Area continues to boom, significant redevelopment is expected along the Los Gatos Creek Corridor, and so we have been advocating for policies that protect riparian habitat, birds, and wildlife from encroachment.

• • Approved by Santa Clara County voters in 2012, the Safe, Clean Water and Natural Flood Protection Program gave Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD) the go ahead to start planning the separation of Ogier Ponds (Coyote Valley) from Coyote Creek in order to improve fish habitat and migration. Ogier Ponds is important to birders, and we see this as a unique opportunity to restore seasonal wetland habitat on the valley floor for birds and other wildlife. We are advocating with SCVWD and the County for a plan that prioritizes natural resources and includes a mosaic of habitats for birds.

Conservation Corner July/August 2018

By Shani Kleinhaus and Mackenzie Mossing 

Great Egret in Coyote Valley by Chuq Von Rospach

Bye Bye Measure B! 
As we write this we are celebrating a huge victory for San Jose and Coyote Valley. The proponents behind Measure B failed to fool voters with their $6 million-dollar deceptive campaign, and the measure was voted down after a long battle that staked the community against deep-pocketed developers. At the same time, Measure C passed with a wide margin – protecting Coyote Valley from residential sprawl. This is truly a tale of David versus Goliath and, as is usually the case, David won! We wish to thank all of our supporters, hard working volunteers, and San Jose’s leaders for uniting together on this important issue. We are ready to continue the fight to protect Coyote Valley’s birds and wildlife, and we hope this was a lesson learned that San Jose’s open space is not up for grabs. 

Burrowing Owl by Peter Hart

The Plight of Burrowing Owls
In the past decade, Burrowing Owl populations in the South Bay plummeted. Despite efforts to reverse the trend, surveys show that fewer than 25 pairs still breed in Santa Clara County, and that number continues to fall. If immediate action is not taken, it is likely that these charismatic critters will be extirpated from our landscape. SCVAS is working diligently with biologists, Burrowing Owl experts, government agencies, and local jurisdictions to implement emergency actions to save our last Burrowing Owls.

• Our environmental advocates met with the Director of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), Charlton Bonham, in early May, and presented him with survey results showing a rapid decline in Santa Clara County’s population of breeding Burrowing Owls. We requested CDFW’s help in facilitating emergency measures to save the owls. Mr. Bonham requested that the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency, local Burrowing Owl experts, and CDFW collaborate to identify the priority actions necessary to save the breeding population. Since then, we have been working with the Habitat Agency to help present their top priorities, including overwinter rearing, followed by the release of Burrowing Owls.

• In late May, the New York Times released an article focused on the conflict between feral cats and Burrowing Owls at Shoreline Park: nytimes.com/2018/05/26/technology/google-cats-owls.html. We are now collaborating with Google to find an acceptable solution for the cats. At the same time, we are also advocating with the City of Mountain View to install cat-proof fencing to protect owls at Shoreline Park. The conversations we are engaged in are challenging, and finding short- and long-term solutions that are suitable for all stakeholders involved may take time. We appreciate all of your support and understanding.

Protecting Nesting Birds
The Emily Renzel Marsh in Palo Alto includes an artificial freshwater wetland that has been used to polish effluents from the water treatment plant for over thirty years. It also creates a sanctuary for birds and other wildlife. In recent years, flow through the marsh has slowed to a stop as sediment and reeds have filled the pond. The City is now dredging and making repairs to the pond’s berms to stop leaks and prevent freshwater from entering and harming the nearby saltwater slough. Although we were promised that the vegetation would not be disturbed until after the nesting season, we observed equipment depositing soil on top of the reeds and causing great distress to nesting birds. We immediately jumped into action and again asked the City of Palo Alto to stop removing or covering reeds with dirt until the nesting season was over. The City agreed. At this time, the pond is drying out. Some work is still being done around the pond, with the supervision of a qualified biologist monitoring to keep nesting birds from harm.  Six nests (Killdeer, Black Phoebe, and Marsh Wrens) were identified and are being protected.

Conservation Corner May/June 2018

By Shani Kleinhaus and Mackenzie Mossing

Photos (left to right) by Mackenzie Mossing: Calero County Park; Shani standing next to the vegetation that was removed at Overfelt

County Parks: A Vital Tool in Preserving Nature

Santa Clara County Parks is updating their strategic parks plan to guide the department’s next twenty years. Despite the public’s resounding calls for natural resource preservation, the original proposed vision for the plan was initially weak on emphasizing the importance of protecting nature. We wrote a joint letter and spoke up at the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors meeting, urging them to modify the vision. Our advocacy paid off! Supervisor Simitian directed staff to add “responsible resource stewardship” to the vision. We also had the opportunity to review a draft of the plan with staff, and we were pleased to see strategies and goals that aim to include citizen science and to preserve sensitive landscapes and habitats for special-status species. 

A Win for Coyote Creek!

In late February, we learned that a site immediately adjacent to Coyote Creek in South San Jose was being considered for a bridge housing community. While SCVAS is supportive of transitional housing for the homeless, we believe this site is not in an appropriate location for a bridge housing community considering the sensitive riparian habitat and the distance from public transit and amenities (it is isolated in an industrial area). We wrote a letter to City Council urging them to drop the site from consideration and instead expedite the process for a more appropriate site in District 3. Just a few days later, we learned that the site was removed from the list and the land will soon be transferred to Santa Clara County Parks! 

Pushing Campbell to Protect Birds and Nature

With the help of our friends at the Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter, California Native Plant Society Santa Clara Valley Chapter, and South Bay Clean Creeks Coalition, we authored a letter to the City of Campbell asking for their new general plan to include a vision, goals, and policies that protect nature. As the City looks to “revitalize” the Los Gatos Creek Corridor with new development, we emphasized the importance of riparian setbacks, preserving and planting native trees, and bird-safe building design. We will continue to follow the planning process while advocating for nature and garnering support from the community.   

Heartbreak at Overfelt Gardens Park

In March, we learned that an overzealous volunteer took park maintenance instructions too far and decimated the California Wild native garden and wildlife sanctuary in San Jose’s Overfelt Gardens Park. Our advocacy team surveyed the damage with heavy hearts: big, beautiful Toyon shrubs reduced to stumps, young oak trees hacked into pieces, and piles of leaf litter removed from the garden. Considering how important this park is to birds and birders, we are working diligently with the Parks and Recreation Department, San Jose Parks Advocates and San Jose State University students to ameliorate the problem and discuss preventative measures so that incidents like this cannot happen again. The San Jose Parks Department will develop a recovery and management plan for California Wild, and we expect to be invited to contribute to this plan. We will make sure the native garden is restored to its former glory for people, birds, and wildlife to enjoy.  

Why SCVAS Supports LAFCO 

The Santa Clara Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) was created in 1963 by the State Legislature to curb urban sprawl through overseeing the boundaries of cities and preserving agricultural lands and open space. Today, cities and districts in Santa Clara County are required to obtain LAFCO’s approval for boundary changes (such as annexations) and to provide services outside of a city’s boundaries. SCVAS fully supports the mission of LAFCO and believes the commission is a vital tool in preserving open space and habitat for birds. During a LAFCO workshop in March, we spoke in support of LAFCO’s objectives and reminded commissioners that their responsibility is to uphold the law, even when it means that they have to say no to proposals.