Santa Cruz Land Trust
On Thursday February 5th, the Capitola Aptos Rotary Club was treated to a talk by Terry Corwin Executive Director for the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County. She explained that a land trust is a non-profit conservation organization and that there are 1700 land trusts across the U.S. with 5 million members. Most are local community based organizations.Currently in Santa Cruz County, 13,100 acres are protected with $46 million raised for land protection. The mission of the Land Trust is to protect natural and working lands of SC county . This includes natural habitats as well as farm and timber lands. She clarified that some of these lands are private but cannot be developed; others are open to the public.
Announcements
The Rotary District 5170 Tennis Tournament is Tues April14th in Morgan Hill . Ask Rachel for more details
The Mexican Project Safari is on March 11th Go to district website to sign up
Sandy announced that she is beginning the RYLA award process . We will be sending 7 students to RYLA leadership camp August 2nd thru the 7th. High school sophomores or juniors are welcome to apply so club members are encouraged to get the word out to eligible applicants and their families.
Doug announced that Sunrise Rotary will do a fundraiser on Apr 25 at Cowell’s beach. There will be a number of fun activities including surf lessons.
There will be a business showcase sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce at the Capitola Mall Feb 19th 4:00 -7:00. We’ll be doing a table to pass out brochures about rotary. Sign up !
Pam Goodman and Claire McAdams were both recognized for their contributions to the foundation, They are Paul Harris Fellows.Neal McCallum was also honored as a Paul Harris Five. Congratulations to all for their exceptional work!
Santa Cruz Land Trust (Cont) The speaker explained that the trust has a five year plan based on a GIS data base and input at community meetings. The result was the establishment of multi-benefit areas with a goal of protecting 50,000 acres within those areas. The Plan was announced in 2011 with !0,000 acres protected in first two years. Additionally,there are several projects currently on the front burner.
First is a campaign to create a wildlife corridor on Highway 17 at Laurel Curve. The Trust will partner with CalTrans to construct a wildlife tunnel. They have already protected 10 acres and raised a million dollars to protect 280 acres on the other side . They are going to sell part of the land for development that won’t jeopardize the corridor subject to wildlife conservation easement. It is estimated that the tunnel will cost 2-3 million dollars.
Second is a project on the north coast. The 8500 acre San Vicente Redwoods (old property of SEMEX) will be developed (in cooperation with the community) to have an area where people can walk their dogs, hike and mountain bike.
Third the SC County Regional Transportation Commission acquired the rail right of way for 32 miles. It will be a railway and an accompanying trail which will run from Pajaro to all the beaches, thru Capitola and Aptos, up to the cement plant in Davenport. It will be paved. The rail will transport both freight and passengers. A segment from the Boardwalk to Natural Bridges will happen in a couple of years with federal funds. Watsonville will be next. The best case scenario is that it may take 3-5 years to get it all done. Worst case is that some of us will have to traverse it with our walkers.
How can you help? Donate at website landtrustsantacruz.org