The Committee is Watching...

Committee for Green Foothills’ Legislative Advocates and volunteers juggle multiple projects to protect the environment in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties. In addition to those projects described in this issue's articles, the Committee is watching:

...the Peninsula Watershed, where CGF is asking the California Public Utilities Commission to underground PG&E's proposed new high voltage lines and eliminate up to 100 unsightly towers in this scenic area, rather than replacing the towers with even taller towers, which could damage sensitive habitats. Read more...

...the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority, which is investigating the draining of a pool along Sierra Road where a local breeding population of California Tiger Salamanders has disappeared.

...the California Coastal Conservancy, which is considering making grants to help purchase and protect two important coastal properties: Rancho Corral de Tierra and Mirada Surf.

...unauthorized grading and other poor land management practices at the Horse Park on Sand Hill in Woodside, which threaten Bear Gulch Creek, the spawning grounds of the federally threatened steelhead trout, and native oaks; following complaints from CGF and local residents, park officials filed for the first-ever permits in the park's 22-year history.

...the Planning Commission in Santa Clara County, which has announced that due to budget cuts, it will not be replacing planners when the positions become empty.

...the Cabrillo Unified School Board and the Half Moon Bay City Council, which are considering alternative sites for a new middle school originally proposed for Wavecrest, where the development would bring significant environmental problems.

...February's San Mateo County Agricultural Summit, co-sponsored by CGF, which explored visions for sustaining agriculture in the County, focusing on securing dependable water supplies while protecting creek habitats and keeping land in agricultural production.

...longtime environmental leader Ollie Mayer, who has donated a number of historic photos, documents, and other archives to CGF.

...the Peninsula Policy Partnership (P3) and the San Mateo County Economic Development Association (SAMCEDA), which last fall held a panel discussion - including CGF's Zoe Kersteen-Tucker - on issues of economic health and quality of life on the Peninsula.

...the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, which voted in December to protect rural open space from large facilities by keeping urban-scale churches and schools (so-called Large Group Assembly Facilities, or LGAFs) out of cities' "spheres of influence," and directed staff to work with cities (specifically San Jose and Morgan Hill) to do more to accommodate LGAFs within their current and future urban areas.

...author Phyllis Butler, who recently donated a share of proceeds from sale of her new book, "The Valley of Santa Clara - A Guide to the Heart of Silicon Valley."

...the Devil's Slide Tunnel, which will receive its Coastal Development Permit sometime this year; construction is expected to begin in 2004.

...Bay Nature Magazine, whose January-March 2003 issue features the wildlife-friendly backyard of CGF Directors Sue and Pete LaTourrette, who designed their pond and native plant garden in Los Altos specifically to attract butterflies, birds, and other wildlife.

...the Devil's Slide Tunnels Project Aesthetics Review Committee, which is completing their work on the Phase II aesthetics elements of the project - including the support building, fill disposal area, trail connections at the northern and southern ends of the project, portal structures, and revegetation.

... legislation now in Congress to revise the boundaries of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area to include Rancho Corral de Tierra and property in the area of Devil's Slide, and to restore and extend the term of the GGNRA Advisory Commission.