The story of the salt marsh harvest mouse is the story of the San Francisco Bay wetlands – once abundant, now extremely scarce due to human development and increasingly at risk from sea level rise. But we can save both the salt marsh harvest mouse and our Bay wetland ecosystem if we act now. Meet the “salty” Salt marsh harvest mice, known as “salties” to their many fans, live only in the tidal marshlands of the San Francisco Bay. They are highly adapted to this challenging environment – they can drink salt water, and their diet consists primarily of salty...
Controlling Invasive Plants: An Important Tool to Maintain Biodiversity in San Mateo County Parks
Did you know that San Mateo County Parks are home to 138 rare, threatened, and endangered species? County Parks natural resource managers are responsible for ensuring that these species continue to survive in the face of climate change, which is bringing hotter, drier seasons, increased fire risk, greater extremes in precipitation patterns, and rising seas. Notably, the most profound threats to biodiversity in County Parks, as well as throughout the State of California, are from habitat loss due to aggressive, invasive weedy species that can out-compete native plants, potentially eliminating many irreplaceable wildlife habitat areas. Not all non-native plants are...
Stop San Benito from Becoming the Region’s Largest Landfill!
Update 3/22/24: Good news! Waste Solutions, the operator of the John Smith Road Landfill, withdrew their appeal. This means that the Planning Commission’s decision stands, and the expansion will not be moving forward as it is currently proposed, and will not be discussed by the Board of Supervisors on 3/26. There is a possibility that Waste Solutions could come back with a new proposal for a reduced size expansion, so we will continue to watch this issue. We will keep you informed as we learn more. Thanks to a massive outpouring of public opposition, the San Benito County Planning Commission...
Launching Green Foothills’ Upper Pajaro Watershed Program
Green Foothills has historically focused on Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties. Mountain lions and other wildlife, however, are unaware of county lines, and development impacts don’t stop when one county ends and another begins. As land further north becomes scarce, developers are turning their attention to lands further south in San Benito County. So is Green Foothills. While committed activists and community members have often come together to fend off harmful development proposals, the threats to open space in this beautiful region are increasingly frequent and alarming. Green Foothills’ new Upper Pajaro Watershed program, focusing on San Benito County...
San Benito County Considers Expanding Landfill into the Region’s Biggest Mega Dump
San Benito County is considering whether to approve an expansion of the John Smith Road Landfill, located just east of Hollister, from its current size of 95 acres to 483 acres – the size of 365 football fields. This massive expansion is not because San Benito County’s residents generate that much trash, but because the landfill operator is hoping to accept waste from neighboring counties in order to increase their revenue. Instead of the approximately 300 tons of trash per day generated by San Benito residents, the John Smith Road Landfill would become a mega-dump, receiving up to 2,300 tons...
“Builder’s Remedy” Projects Threaten Local Nature
The builder’s remedy, a provision of state housing law that allows some residential developments to bypass local zoning, is threatening to create sprawl development that will destroy hillsides and farmland in Santa Clara County. This development would pave over open space, increase greenhouse gas emissions, and put residents at risk of flooding, wildfire, and landslides. We believe these proposals fail the criteria required by the builder’s remedy, and should be denied. What is the “builder’s remedy”? State law requires cities and counties to adopt plans for accommodating future residential growth, known as Housing Elements. The builder’s remedy is a provision...
Safe Drinking Water for Pescadero Middle/High School and New Pescadero Fire Station
After years of effort, the rural farmworker community of Pescadero will get safe drinking water for its local school and a solution for its flooded-out fire station. In December, the California Coastal Commission unanimously approved an amendment to the county’s Local Coastal Plan that will allow the 50-year old Pescadero Fire Station to be relocated from its current location in a high-risk flood area to a safer, more secure site at Pescadero Middle/High School. Moving the Fire Station Away from Butano Creek Butano Creek, which flows down from the Santa Cruz Mountains to the coast, regularly overflows its banks and...
Major Strides Towards New Farmworker Housing on the San Mateo Coast
January 23, 2024 marked the anniversary of the tragic mass shooting of seven farmworkers at two farms in the Half Moon Bay area, which focused public attention on the disgraceful living conditions for many farmworkers. A year later, while there is still much to do, we are heartened by the significant progress that’s been made towards building new, safe, affordable, farmworker housing on three sites in the Half Moon Bay area. Existing Farmworker Housing Is Unsafe and Inadequate Most of the existing housing for farmworkers and their families is located on the farms where they work. However, many of these...
Ask San Jose Parks Commission to Protect All Parks
On Thursday, January 25, the San Jose Parks and Recreation Commission will hear a report from city staff concerning the official definition of parkland in the City Charter. Please ask the Commission to ensure that the definition of parkland fully protects all existing, under-construction, and planned parks in the City of San Jose. What’s Happening In November 2022, the San Jose City Council directed city staff to develop an official definition for parkland under the City Charter. The Charter provides that “public parks” are city-owned lands that are “dedicated, improved, and open to the public for public park purposes.” However,...
Don’t Let San Benito Become Silicon Valley’s Dumping Ground
Update: On January 31, the Planning Commission voted to deny the Conditional Use Permit for the Landfill Expansion. After hearing public comments, the Planning Commissioners voted 4 to 1 to conceptually deny the project, with Commissioner Scagliotti being the opposing vote. County Staff was directed to return with written findings for denial of the conditional use permit on February 7th. The Planning Commission also voted 4-1 to recommend to the Board of Supervisors that they deny the General Plan Amendment. It is likely that Waste Connections (the landfill owner) will appeal this decision to the Board of Supervisors. We will...