Visits 3-6 at MROSD

Ben Zdasiuk
08/16/2016
Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District
Paul Mckowan
email: volunteer@openspace.org
phone: (650) 691-1200

My visits with Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District during the summer have been less eventful than my visits in the winter-- simply less inclement weather results in less trail damage from fallen trees and water based erosion. That said, in my visits at El Corte De Madera, Purisima, Montebello, Russian Ridge, and Coal Creek Open Space Preserves (I hit Montebello, Russain Ridge, and Coal Creek all in one day, and ECdM and Purisima each on their own day) I did find a number of downed trees. Most of the trees that had fallen were looked like older trees, which may've been weakened by a few years of drought, and then fallen when the summer winds (caused by marine layer fog spilling over the Santa Cruz Mountains) hit them. Because these trees were on average older and larger, I ended up marking and cataloging the trees for rangers with chainsaws to clear. It was also good to monitor trail modifications that had been made the year before and see that those modifications were supporting wilderness traffic (horses, hikers, bikers) without sending erosion runoff into streams.  This was encouraging to see as many of the streams in the area have been filled with silt and other erosion byproducts from logging and trail/road construction over the past 100 years, which has created ecological issues in affected streams. Overall, I found it rewarding to see that land management agencies are taking concrete steps to protect and armor the watersheds and Open Space agencies on the Peninsula.