Santa Lucian · GRAPHICS CONSULTANT The Santa LucianSanta Lucian is published 10 times a year. Articles, environmental information and letters to the editor are welcome. The deadline

InsideInsideInsideInsideInsideThe 2005 ExCom 3

Paddlers Corner 6

Immigration Heats Up 6

Classifieds 7

GE-Free Slo: Take 2 9

Creston & TempletonAct Up! 10

Outings 12

GENERAL MEETINGGENERAL MEETINGGENERAL MEETINGGENERAL MEETINGGENERAL MEETINGAwards, pot-luck & pix!See page 2.January 18 @ 7:00 p.m.January 18 @ 7:00 p.m.January 18 @ 7:00 p.m.January 18 @ 7:00 p.m.January 18 @ 7:00 p.m.

SantaLucianProtecting and

Preserving theCentral Coast

The official newsletter of the Santa Lucia Chapter of the Sierra Club • San Luis Obispo County, CaliforniaJanuary 2005January 2005January 2005January 2005January 2005

Volume 42, No. 1

Santa LucianSanta Lucia Chapter of the Sierra ClubP. O. Box 15755San Luis Obispo, CA 93406

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Sara Wan

PLOVERS WINChapter secures habitat, research

and protection

Will Los OsosFind a 3rd Way?

On December 10, the Santa Lucia Chap-ter of the Sierra Club and the CaliforniaDepartment of Parks and Recreation fi-nalized a consent decree for the Protec-tion of the Western snowy plover at theOceano Dunes State Vehicular RecreationArea. “This is really an issue of whether totreat our beaches like a sandpit or likethe natural treasures they are,” saidChapter Chair Tarren Collins. “Thanks tothis agreement, futuregenerations of beach-goers can experience thebeauty and wildlife of

our ocean dunes.” The final agreement came three years and ten daysafter the Chapter filed the suit, Sierra Club v. Areias,charging the Department of Parks for violating the En-dangered Species Act and putting the Pacific snowyplover, least tern and steelhead trout at risk in its management of Oceano Dunes. Under the terms ofthe settlement, an additional half-mile of beach will beclosed to off-road vehicles as an exclosure area duringthe plover’s March to October breeding season. Further, State Parks will:• step up its protection measures for threatened species• examine alternatives to vehicle crossings of Arroyo Grande Creek. (Currently, vehicles entering the park must cross the narrow creek near the point where it meets the ocean)• provide for a number of environmental projects outside the park in support of plover recovery efforts statewide. In all, the settlement will secure nearly half a million dollars for re-search, education, public outreach, and volunteer programs. The Morro

Sanctuary Now!

Since the passage of the Clean WaterAct in 1972, the city of Morro Bayand the Cayucos Sanitation districthave been seeking and getting waiv-ers to the Act’s requriement that com-munities subject their sewage to aminimum full secondary level ofwaste water treatment before dis-charging it. For just about as long, Los Ososhas fought a virtual civil war over thenature and location of a sewer to

replace a septic system that doesn’tquite work, failing to manage itswastewater in such a way as to avoidcausing ongoing harm to the MorroBay Estuary. And for as long as anyone can re-member, the Central Coast has beenhurting for water, and the pain hasbeen increasing. Then, in June 2004, Morro Bay andCayucos finally agreed to begin thejourney toward secondary sewagetreatment, and also to look into thehighest level of waste water treat-ment: A tertiary treatment plant, pro-ducing waste water clean enough tobe re-used, not dumped into theocean.

continued on page 4

By Kaitilin GaffneyCalifornia Central Coast Program ManagerThe Ocean Conservancy

Seventy-five miles from the Big Sur Coast is an enormousmountain formed by volcanic eruption more than twelvemillion years ago. Covering the mountain’s sides are an-cient forests that provide habitat for strange and wonder-ful creatures that have only re-cently been discovered byscientists, including some thatmay be found nowhere else onEarth. First mapped by explorersdecades ago, no one has set footon the mountain’s summit. In fact,only a handful of scientists haveeven visited the mountain andonly in the past few years.

continued on page 5

Peter Knapp

continued on page 4

Ever gone hiking on HearstRanch? Then you can helpmaintain public access tothese prime coastal areas.Go to:www.santalucia.sierraclub.org/hearst/hearst.html-- now with improved mappages (for those of you whotried ‘em before and theydidn’t work).

They made it: Lisa Schicker (left) and Julie Tacker were sworn in as directors of the Los Osos CSD by general manager Bruce Buel on December 2.

2 Santa LucianSanta LucianSanta LucianSanta LucianSanta Lucian • January 2005

SSSSSanananananttttta a a a a LLLLLuuuuuccccciiiiianananananAndAndAndAndAndrrrrreeeeew Chw Chw Chw Chw Chririririristiestiestiestiestie [email protected] EDITOR/LAYOUTTTTTTarrarrarrarrarren Cen Cen Cen Cen Collinsollinsollinsollinsollins [email protected] McCurdyJack McCurdyJack McCurdyJack McCurdyJack McCurdy [email protected] BOARD

Mariko FujinakaMariko FujinakaMariko FujinakaMariko FujinakaMariko Fujinaka GRAPHICS CONSULTANT

The Santa LucianSanta LucianSanta LucianSanta LucianSanta Lucian is published 10 times ayear. Articles, environmental information andletters to the editor are welcome. Thedeadline for each issue is the 1st of the monthprior.

EEEEEdididididitortortortortor, S, S, S, S, Sanananananttttta Lua Lua Lua Lua Lucicicicicianananananc/o Santa Lucia Chapter of the Sierra ClubP.O. Box 15755San Luis Obispo, CA [email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]

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SSSSSanananananttttta a a a a LLLLLuuuuuccccciiiiia Chaptera Chaptera Chaptera Chaptera Chapter

2004 Executive Committee2004 Executive Committee2004 Executive Committee2004 Executive Committee2004 Executive Committee

TTTTTarrarrarrarrarren Cen Cen Cen Cen Collinsollinsollinsollinsollins [email protected]

Steven MarxMEMBER

Eliane Guillot [email protected]

Sarah ChristieMEMBER

Tim O’Keefe [email protected]

The Executive Committee meets the fourthFriday of every month at 5:00 p.m. at thechapter office, located at 1204 Nipomo St.,San Luis Obispo. All members are welcometo attend.

Steven MarxSteven MarxSteven MarxSteven MarxSteven MarxTREASURER

John BurdettJohn BurdettJohn BurdettJohn BurdettJohn BurdettCOUNCIL DELEGATE 805-544-7302

Standing CommitteesStanding CommitteesStanding CommitteesStanding CommitteesStanding CommitteesPoliticalPoliticalPoliticalPoliticalPoliticalSarah Christie

ConservationConservationConservationConservationConservation [email protected] HeatheringtonMembership Membership Membership Membership Membership [email protected]

Cal French Acting Program ChairActing Program ChairActing Program ChairActing Program ChairActing Program Chair Letty French [email protected] [email protected] Jan Marx

DDDDDesesesesesal Tal Tal Tal Tal Task Forask Forask Forask Forask Forccccceeeee Jack & Bea Morrow [email protected]

Other LeadersOther LeadersOther LeadersOther LeadersOther LeadersSpeakers BureauSpeakers BureauSpeakers BureauSpeakers BureauSpeakers BureauIra Winn 805-781-9466

Open SpaceOpen SpaceOpen SpaceOpen SpaceOpen SpaceGary Felsman 805-473-3694

Book SalesBook SalesBook SalesBook SalesBook SalesBonnie Walters 805-543-7051

Chapter HistoryChapter HistoryChapter HistoryChapter HistoryChapter HistoryJan Clucas 805-543-2229

PublicityPublicityPublicityPublicityPublicityPosition open

ActivitiesActivitiesActivitiesActivitiesActivitiesOutingsOutingsOutingsOutingsOutingsEliane Guillot [email protected] Felsman 805-473-3694

CCCCCanoanoanoanoanoe/Ke/Ke/Ke/Ke/Kaaaaayyyyyak ak ak ak ak [email protected] Beigle 805-773-2147

Equestrian Equestrian Equestrian Equestrian Equestrian [email protected] Denneen 805-929-3647

General InformationGeneral InformationGeneral InformationGeneral InformationGeneral InformationSanta Lucia Chapter -- Sierra ClubSanta Lucia Chapter -- Sierra ClubSanta Lucia Chapter -- Sierra ClubSanta Lucia Chapter -- Sierra ClubSanta Lucia Chapter -- Sierra ClubP.O. Box 15755San Luis Obispo, CA 93406

Chapter CoordinatorChapter CoordinatorChapter CoordinatorChapter CoordinatorChapter [email protected] Christie 805-543-8717

FaxFaxFaxFaxFax 805-543-8727

Chapter office hours are Monday-Friday, 10 am-12 pm 1204 Nipomo St., San Luis Obispo, CA

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Santa Lucia Chapter General Meeting

Tuesday, January 18, 7:00 p.m.

Meadow Park Rec Center

San Luis Obispo

Save the date!!

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South StSa

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Meadow ParkRec CenterOff South Streetin San Luis Obispo

Woodbridge

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Enclose check and mail to:

Sierra ClubSierra ClubSierra ClubSierra ClubSierra ClubPPPPP. O. O. O. O. O. Box 5. Box 5. Box 5. Box 5. Box 5222229999966666 88888B oB oB oB oB oulderulderulderulderulder, CO 80, CO 80, CO 80, CO 80, CO 803333322222 22222-----222229999966666 88888

Change of Address? Mail changes to:

Sierra Club National Headquarters85 Second Street, 2nd FloorSan Francisco, CA 94105-3441

or e-mail:[email protected]

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Outings, events, andmore!

AWARDS, DINNER & YOUR BEST PICSRing in the new year with the Sierra Club!

January is the time for new commitments and the time for a gath-ering of our Sierra Club family. Please join us for a potluck, recog-nition of volunteers and presentation of awards, and a chance toshow your very best pictures from the previous year. Our very own Pat Veesart, from Sierra Club California in Sacra-mento office, will present the Kathryn Goddard Jones Award, andprovide us with a view of the state political/environmental outlook.Pat is last year’s recipient of the Jones Award. Potluck will start at 7:00, or earlier if the food arrives early.Coffee. tea and juice will be provided. If you have pictures to show,please limit yourself to 5. We will have a stack loader and Kodakprojector for slides and a digital projector for CDs.If you haveprints, they can be displayed also. This will be our last meeting in the Meadow Park Rec center. InFebruary, we will move to the Ludwig Recreation Center on SantaRosa Street. Meetings are open to all Sierra Club members and the generalpublic.

Discover the Estuary in 3-D, is a new public outreach and educationexhibit in the Morro Bay Estuary Nature Center at 601 Embarcadero, 2ndfloor, in Morro Bay. You-are-there binocular views of bayside landscapes,plants, animals, and birds are documented with state-of-the-artstereoscopic photography techniques.

Santa Lucia Chapter member Abe Perlestein founded the 2003-2004 Morro Bay National Estuary Stereo Photo Survey, the world’s firstphotogaphic overview of an ecosystem exclusively documented withstereoscopic photo techniques. A one-of-a-kind specialized camera systemwas designed and configured especuially for the task, and the best imagesfrom the project are now on view in the exhibit.

Abe will also be a featured presenter at the Morro Bay Winter Bird Fes-tival (www.morro-bay.net/birds) Januray 15 and 16, with six showings of anew 30-minute projected stereo slide program entitled Wings Over & OnMorro Bay: A 3-D Spectacular. This will be the premier showing of thebest images of birds from the Morro Bay Stereo Photo Survey.

Abe Perlstein at the dedication of “Discover the Enstuary in 3-D.”

Morro Bay in 3-D

Santa LucianSanta LucianSanta LucianSanta LucianSanta Lucian • January 2005 3

2005 ExCom ElectedThe ballots were counted on December 6 (much faster than Ohio managed it,

and no re-count required), and the Chapter got itself a new Executive Committee.

Left to right: Steven Marx (continuing), Karen Merriam (new), Eliane Guillot(continuing), Sarah Christie (continuing), Sue Harvey (new), outgoing Chair TarrenCollins and Jack Morrow (new).

The new ExCom will meet January 27 to elect a Chair and appoint oneadditionasl member, committee chairs and members.

The Chapter looks forward to a productive year!

A Farewell AddressBy Tarren CollinsChapter Chair, 2000-2005

When I was elected to the ChapterExecutive Committee back in the 20thcentury, many things were different.The week the election closed in No-vember 1999, the anti-globalizationmovement first found its voice in amajor way, shutting down a meetingof the World Trade Organization inSeattle. The California Coastal Com-mission had yet to be declared uncon-stitutional by a judicial relic of theDeukmajian administration. The Presi-dent of the United States was a ratio-nal adult. Now I’m termed out and it’s time toreminisce. As an attorney, I’ve learnedthe value of accentuating the positive.So let’s look back on the chapter winsof the last five years. We donated to the successful effortto purchase Cambria’s East-WestRanch, pledged $15,000 to the acquisi-tion of Hollister Peak, and co-foundedthe SLO Coast Alliance when theHearst Corporation started co-optingfolks who had fought off their previ-ous development plans. Easing the Throttle, a video I co-produced with Robin Chilton, made itsdebut at the February 14, 2001, meet-ing of the Coastal Commission andmade clear to all eyes the level of de-struction of habitat at Oceano Dunesfrom the vehicular impacts of off-roadenthusiasts. The video, our environ-mental presentation, and the 300coastal activists who showed up atthe hearing convinced the CoastalCommission to close off a third of theriding area (1 1/2 miles) to protectthe Western snowy plover and Cali-fornia least tern. We also convincedthe Coastal Commission to create anindependent scientific review team toadvise State Parks on managing sensi-tive species habitat at theDunes. Three months later, the Chap-ter sued California’s Department ofParks for violating the EndangeredSpecies Act due to the continuedoperation of the Oceano Dunes StateVehicular Recreation Area without aHabitat Management Plan. The resultsare on this issue’s front page. The launch of the Sierra Club’sGreat Coastal Places Campaign in

February 2001 was a watershed event,no pun intended, giving the Chapter aconnection to a wonderful base ofcoastal activists statewide who havea special interest in the preservationof San Luis Obispo’s coast. TheGreat Coastal Places Campaign’s firsteffort was to come to San LuisObispo to help us organize and edu-cate activists about the importance ofthe Coastal Commission’s PeriodicReview of our Local Coastal Plan. Wemanaged to inspire another 350 activ-ists to attend the Coastal Commissionhearing on February 15, 2001, to sup-port the Commission’s effortsto compile many recommendations forupdating and strengthening our LocalCoastal Plan. That’s right, 300 activ-ists showed up at the Coastal Com-mission hearing in SLO on February14 to support better protections forspecies at the Oceano Dunes, then350 showed up the very next day tosupport a stronger Local CoastalPlan. Some have likened this effort toputting on two super bowls back-to-back. It was exciting to see so manyenthusiastic local Sierra Club mem-bers making a difference. But you win some, you lose some.Four years ago, a lot of us poured ourblood, sweat and tears into the cam-paign for the county-wide SOARinitiative to control urban sprawl,preserve General Plans, and promote“smart growth” by requiring a vote ofthe people for any extension of ser-vices beyond any city’s urban/ruralboundary and for any zoningchanges made to Agriculture, Rural,and Open Space lands. Good ideathen; critically urgent idea now —someday before the point is moot. You lose some, and then you comeback and win them. We campaignedhard, but unsuccessfully, to get MikeRyan out and David Blakely in as 5th-district supervisor in 2000. In 2004,despite assurances from all cornersthat the developer-backed incumbentcouldn’t possibly be dislodged, wetried again, backing Jim Patterson ashe went on to a primary upset victorythat political consultants will still beanalyzing when it’s time to gear up for

Jim’s re-election campaign. You win some, you don’t exactlylose some: That would be HearstRanch. We fought for and won anextension of the usual, and inad-equate, ten-day public comment pe-riod on the proposed conservationeasement, the involvement of Statebiologists in environmental reportingand monitoring on the ranch, and ahigher level of public access. Whatimprovements were made in the stilldeeply flawed deal were won despiteheavy pressure to sign off on Hearst’svague, one-page framework two yearsago and just do the deal, no questionsasked. Had the Sierra Club and theChapter elected to toe the line of the“just do it” contingent, there can beno doubt that there would have beenno improvements made at all. Then, along with the ones you win,lose or draw, there are the ones thatjust seem to keep going. Carrizo PlainNational Monument was threatenedby over-grazing before I came to chairthe Chapter, and still is as I leave,though a resource management plan,is, at least, closer to reality (but needswork!) The Diablo Canyon nuclearpower plant is still piling up nuclearwaste on the Central Coast and stillhasn’t mitigated the ongoing fish-killsof its thermal outfall , though our ef-forts to create coastal access in thearea met with success at a December2004 Coastal Commission hearing.The public will soon enjoy access to 11/2 miles of coast, with the openingof at least one beach on the propertyas well. The Duke plant in Morro Baystill teeters on the brink of shut-down,insisting on building a new plant onthe basis of a model that would bejust as unacceptably destructive tothe Estuary and rejecting the modelthat wouldn’t. The Monterey BayNational Marine Sanctuary still needsto be extended to the SLO coast. TheTribune still doesn’t grasp the con-nection between environmental pro-tection and a healthy economy.(Memo to Bill Morem: The secondone depends on the first one.) I testified at meetings of the CoastalCommission, County Board of Super-visors, State Legislators, RegionalBoards and various Planning Commis-sions and City Councils without num-ber, picked up some awards and gotcalled lots of names (not all of thembad; “Tarren, Warrior Princess” apersonal favorite) — the universalsignal that you must be doing yourjob. I got to work with four great chair-persons of our all-important Conser-vation Committee: the unsinkableHolly Sletteland , the irreplaceable andmuch missed Pete Wagner, the inspir-

ing Colby “Concho” Crotzer, and,currently, ECOSLO top-kick PamHeatherington. I leave knowing theConservation Committee is in the bestpossible hands with Pam at the helm. I got to meet and work with hun-dreds of dedicated activists, volun-teers, administrators, and elected andappointed officials. It has been hum-bling to witness their commitment,intelligence and skill. At the beginning of my tenure asChair, it became my goal to find a wayto hire our first staff person for thechapter. Our dedicated ExCom mem-bers succeeded in traversing the bu-reaucratic maze required by the na-tional Club, and managed to hire stafflast year. And what a difference!With Chapter Coordinator AndrewChristie at the office, I have greatconfidence that the level of activismand professionalism we have risen tohas an even better chance to continueon. But though we pay Andrew just apittance for all the hours he serves thechapter, that cost has nearly brokenthe bank. We have begun a chapterfundraising effort that will need everymember’s help if we hope to maintainboth our budget and our current levelof activism. Since I am continuing on as chair ofthe Great Coastal Places Campaignand co-chair of the SLO Coast Alli-ance, I am not exactly returningcompletely to private life. I willbe continuing to meet, plan, and workwith you all. Only now, I might have alittle more time in which to do so. In addition to the above-mentionedongoing environmental challenges,the Chapter faces the Marketplaceinitiative, a sprawl-friendly local politi-cal climate, and the ongoing fight tokeep our local agriculture free of ge-netically engineered crops. I en-courage every member to think ofways they might contribute to thework of the chapter. We are forever inneed of resources - your time, skills,expertise, talents, and whatever fundsyou can contribute. When wonderingif you know enough to step in andvolunteer, I can assure you that fewcould know as little about the SierraClub as I did when elected to theExCom in December 1999. I had joinedthe Club only the year before. My firstExCom meeting was my first time atany Sierra Club meeting or event. I commend to my successor thewords of Sierra Club legend DavidBrower: “Polite conservationists leaveno mark save the scars upon the Earththat could have been prevented hadthey stood their ground.”

My advice to him or her: Strap in.It’s bound to be quite a ride!


Coast Audubon Society will receive $50,000 a year for five years to expandits successful plover volunteer program and information clearing house. “We were particularly pleased to secure funding for a study that willevaluate existing management measures,” said Babak Naficy, the environ-mental lawyer who represented the Chapter throughout the litigation. “Itshould help settle public debate and will establish an understanding ofthe reasons why plovers nest on some beaches and not on others.” Theambitious research project will be managed by Dr. Travis Longcore, Sci-ence Director of the Urban Wildlands Group.

In 2001, the Sierra Club convinced the California Coastal Commission to closea mile and a half of beach to off-road vehicles and campers and require theformation of an independent scientific review team to advise State Parks on man-agement of habitat for the federally listed Western snowy plover and Californialeast tern. For the last three years, the review team has been prodding State Parksto expand the exclosure area and do more to protect the plovers. With the ap-proval of the consent decree, these recommendations will be implemented.

There are only 1,600 breeding pairs of western snowy plover on thePacific coast. The Pacific population of the plover is threatened through-out its range by loss of habitat and nesting sites, with the California coastas the site of the highest concentration of plovers and the highest level ofloss of plover habitat.

Los Osos That got some people thinking:Might there be one solution to threeproblems here? The Los Osos Community ServicesDistrict has approved a treatmentplant design and location, and a ma-jority of that body, as well as the stateand regional water quality boards,are determined to see this approvedplan become a reality ASAP, at pain ofthreatened $10,000-a-day fines fordelay. A sizeable and vocal contin-gent of the local citizenry are just asdetermined to prevent this fromcoming to pass, as they are opposedto both the location and presumedefficacy of the proposed plant, andare availing themselves of all legaland political means to halt it. Andthat’s pretty much the way it’s gonefor the last thirty years. What to do? Recently elected Sierra Club-en-dorsed Los Osos CSD members JulieTacker and Lisa Schicker have em-braced the idea of a regional tertiarytreatment plant, with the Chapter’ssupport. “We have a great opportu-nity to look at a regional sewer sys-tem for three of our coastal commu-nities,” agrees Pam Heatherington ofECO-SLO. “Morro Bay and Cayucoshave pledged to look at full second-ary treatment and possibly tertiarytreatment. Los Osos needs a sewer. Astate-of-the-art treatment facility forall three communities is a win-win.” “It’s an interesting idea. A regionalplant makes sense,” says GordonHensley, vice chair of the Los OsosCSD. Hensley cautions that state andregional water boards would have toagree to suspend their “delay” penal-ties before the project could be ac-tively pursued, but ”if the starsaligned, we could have a very inter-esting conversation.” The Sierra Club would love to see asewer for Los Osos happen tomorrow,and the rehabilitation of the Estuarybegin the following day. But of all theelements that have marked this issueover the years – political, economic,environmental – it is clear at thispoint that one element dominates all:As long as there is significant localopposition to the official course ofaction, the likely outcome will bemore strife, delay and environmentaldestruction. The other potential outcome: Ahigher level of treatment, the bonusof reuseable water, access to state andfederal funds available for regionalwastewater treatment programs, andpossibly, with costs split up andspread out among multiple munici-pal entities throughout the region, amonthly sewer bill for the residentsof Los Osos lower than the one nowproposed, which has local residentson the verge of open revolt. Can it be done? If proposed, willcurrent foes lay down their arms andagencies suspend threatened fines fordelay? Would it be a better bet forthe restoration of the ailing Estuaryto wait five to seven more years for aguaranteed outcome, or wait indefi-nitely for the outcome of a never-ending sewer war? There’s only one way to find out:Fully study the option, put it on thetable and let the people decide.

Ploverscontinued from page 1 continued from page 1

NorthChimeneasRanch -EscondidoBy Letty French

The Carrizo area is not alwaysscorching hot, particularly in No-vember. A cold, foggy overcast cov-ered the area as our group meet withBob Stoddard, CA Department ofFish and Game biologist, at the firestation on Soda Lake Road. We cameto explore the new purchase by theDepartment of the North ChimeneasRanch, which, added to the SouthChimineas, widens the biologicalcorridor connecting the Los Padresforest to the Tehachapi and San Ber-nardino mountains. Just where were we going? Picturea vast area sort of west and towardsthe north end of the Caliente range.This 15,000 acreas was one ranchcontaining huge, lonely open grass-lands, scattered oak woodlands,intermittent streams with permanentsprings, and the headwaters of smallrivers that flowed into the SantaMaria River. A maze of dirt roadswinds through the area. Many smallcattle ponds exist, some dry, somefilled with water from the recentrain.This area is invaluable for wildlife. As we started south-west fromSoda Road, we saw the feral hogs;huge black beasts running easilyover the hills. Then scattered indi-viduals or small groups of Tule elkappeared on the hillsides, moving

continued on page 10

Audubon: Working TogetherBy Henry PontarelliPresident, Morro Coast Audubon Society

(State Parks and the Santa Lucia Chapter selected the Morro Coast Audubon Society to recieve settlement funds fromSierra Club v. Areias to expand the MCAS Snowy Plover Watch program to plover nesting sites across three counties.)

Organizations like the Sierra Club, the Audubon Society, the Native Plant Society and even political parties act as the eyes,ears, hands and mouths of their members. Our organizations roll up their sleeves and fight battles our members believeshould be fought, teach lessons our members feel should be taught and form relationships the collective group feelsshould be formed. The “greater” group gives individual members the opportunity to invest resources of time or moneyand become part of a larger, stronger force. Like the Santa Lucia Chapter of the Sierra Club, the Morro Coast Audubon Society (MCAS) is part of a larger organiza-tion. National Audubon has approximately 550,000 members in 500 chapters and manages 160,000 acres of criticalhabitat. Our local chapter has almost 700 members and manages about 30 acres of open space. Our mission statement is straightforward: to promote the appreciation, conservation and restoration of ecosystems,focusing on the diversity of birds, other wildlife, and their habitats. MCAS looks at itself as a teacher and a guide. Wemake monthly field trips available to all skill levels. The “Birds at Ebb Tide” program is open to citizens of all ages andexperience levels. Times and dates are available on our website, www.morrocoastaudubon.org. We are in the process of augmenting a CalPoly Pelagic Bird Study in Estero Bay. In upcoming years, we will makespace available on boat trips so our community may participate in a scientific study of ocean bird populations right off ofour coast. The MCAS provided funding and field personnel for a bird survey that helped the Carizzo Plains become a NationalMonument. And we were instrumental in urging State Parks to include the Heron Rookery (Morro Bay State Park) in theirsystem. MCAS is working with The Land Conservancy to help track bird numbers and diversity in restored habitats as ameasure of success. One of the Morro Coast Audubon Society’s overriding goals is to become a more effective conservation and “teaching”force. Much of our “new” energy will be gained by joining hands with organizations like the Sierra Club, The Land Con-servancy, the Morro Bay National Estuary Program, and Friends of the Estuary to make sure our community — humanand feathered — has clean air, clean water and access to open space. To learn more about Morro Coast Audubon, please visit our website, www.morrocoastaudubon.org, or call me, HenryPontarelli, at (805) 528-4587.

Man of the plover: Babak Naficy outside Los Angeles district court after negotating the settlement.


Twenty-six miles long and eightmiles wide, the massive peak risesnearly 8,000 feet from base to crest.The secrets of this mountain are pro-tected not by its elevation but its loca-tion: the Davidson Seamount is sub-merged deep beneath the PacificOcean in more than 12,000 feet ofwater; its crest is 4000 feet below theocean’s surface.

King crab on Davidson Seamount

Discovery of Davidson SeamountOriginally mapped by surveyorGeorge Davidson in 1933, scientificknowledge of the Davidson Sea-mount was limited until recent ad-vances in technology made expedi-tions feasible. In 1998, the MontereyBay Aquarium Research Institute(MBARI) performed side scan andmulti-beam surveys identifying theshape and structure of the Seamountfor the first time. In 2000, PresidentClinton chose the Davidson Sea-mount as one of three areas in theUnited States selected for federallysupported undersea exploration,launching an expedition that usedRemotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs)to survey the Seamount’s geology aswell as biological studies of the sur-face environment above the Sea-mount. In 2002, the Monterey BayNational Marine Sanctuary, joined byMBARI, returned to Davidson, ex-ploring the Seamount at all eleva-tions and studying species abun-dance and distribution from its baseto the surface of the ocean. Davidsonis now one of the best studied sea-mounts in the world.

Ecological Importance of Sea-mountsAlthough there are more than 30,000seamounts in the Pacific Ocean,Davidson is the largest seamount inthe western Pacific and one of thelargest in the world. Video collectedduring the 2000 and 2002 expedi-tions show portions of the DavidsonSeamount covered in thick forests ofancient gorgonian corals hundreds-of-years old and dense sponge fieldsup to three meters high. Scientistson the 2002 Davidson Seamountexpedition catalogued fish and inver-tebrate species that had never beenpreviously identified. The DavisonSeamount is truly like no place elseon Earth. Like rainforests on land, sea-mounts are known to be hotspots ofbiological diversity. Like underwaterislands, seamounts support a greaternumber and abundance of speciesthan surrounding areas of oceanfloor. Because seamounts risesharply, they are constantly washedby plankton rich ocean currents

which provide a food source for sea-mount creatures. The coral reefsthemselves provide hard substratethat serve as important habitat forother deep-sea creatures.

Threats to SeamountsHistorically, seamounts have beenprotected from human impacts byvirtue of their depth. As modern tech-nology has increased scientificknowledge and helped bring thewonders of deep sea environments tothe public, it has also increasedthreats to even the most remote

ocean environments. Bot-tom trawling and long-lining is now taking placeat depths of over 3000 feetand mineral exploration isoccurring at ever greaterdepths. There is growingevidence that seamountsmay be particularly vulner-able to human impacts.Research suggests that upto a third of the speciesfound at a seamount can beendemic – species that are

native to only one seamount. Conse-quently, human impacts to sea-mounts present significant risk ofextinctions. In some area of the world, com-mercially targeted fish species con-centrate around seamounts, leadingto intensive fishing effort targetingthese congregations. Overfishingassociated with seamounts has beenextensively documented in Hawaii,New Zealand and Australia. Harmfulimpacts of such fishing on seamounthabitats have also been documented.In Tasmania, where seamounts havebeen heavily trawled, areas that havebeen fished have lower species abun-dance and richness than lightlyfished areas. In some areas, coralreefs have been damaged or de-stroyed by fishing gear, leaving onlyrubble behind. Such damage has ledto a growing international focus onseamount conservation. In 2002, the

United Nations General Assemblyrecognized the threats to the deep-sea calling upon the internationalcommunity to consider the risks toseamounts and other deepwater habi-tats. Australia, New Zealand, Norway,and Canada have all banned bottomtrawling on certain seamounts withintheir territorial seas and the Euro-pean Union is considering similarprotections for seamounts within itswaters.

Protection for DavidsonThe Monterey Bay National MarineSanctuary is currently updating itsmanagement plan – the documentthat contains the rules and regula-tions designed to guide sanctuarymanagers in their efforts to protectsanctuary resources. The existingSanctuary boundaries encompassnearly 5000 square miles of oceanstretching from the Marin Headlandsto Cambria. It contains examples ofmost of the coastal and marine habi-tats characteristic of Central Califor-nia – sea cliffs, sandy beaches, kelpforests, tide pools, wetlands, subma-rine canyons and vast ocean plains.Although a chain of seamounts(Gumdrop, Pioneer, Guide andDavidson) lines the border of theSanctuary, none are currently withinits protection. In fact, no true sea-mount (defined as an underwatermountain that rises at least 1000meters above the surrounding seaf-loor) is contained within any of thenation’s 13 marine sanctuaries. During recent public scopingmeetings designed to elicit input onfuture management priorities for theMonterey Bay National Marine Sanc-tuary, the Sanctuary was encouragedto expand its boundaries to includethe Central Coast seamounts, or atleast the Davidson Seamount. In re-sponse, the Sanctuary convened aworking group made up of scientists,conservationists and fishing repre-sentatives to consider whether or notthe Davidson Seamount warranted

consideration as an addition to theSanctuary. They determined that theDavidson Seamount met the criteriafor sanctuary designation outlined inthe National Marine Sanctuaries Act.Recognizing that there are currentlyno fishing or mining activities thatdirectly affect the Davidson Sea-mount, the working group recom-mended that the Sanctuary considerbringing Davidson within its bound-aries and adopting regulations thatwould protect the Seamount frompotential future impacts, preventingmineral extraction or fishing thatmight harm bottom habitat, and pro-hibiting ocean dumping over theseamount.

How You Can HelpYou can help ensure future protectionof the Davidson Seamount by writingto National Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration Director, Vice-Admi-ral Conrad Lautenbacher, Congress-woman Lois Capps and CongressmanSam Farr to voice support for addingthe Davidson Seamount to theMonterey Bay National Marine Sanc-tuary.

Vice Admiral Conrad C.Lautenbacher, AdministratorNOAARoom 512814th and Constitution Avenue, N.W.Washington, D.C. 20230

Congresswoman Lois Capps1707 Longworth House Office Bldg.Washington, D.C. 20515.

Congressman Sam Farr1221 Longworth House Office Bldg.Washington, D.C. 20515

For more information on theDavidson Seamount, go to:

http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/02davidson/davidson.html

http://www.mbnms-simon.org/

Here’s the Plan…Sanctuary protection for theDavidson Seamount is just one ofmany issues being addressed in theMonterey Bay National MarineSanctuary’s update managementplan. Over the past three years, the Sanc-tuary has engaged in an unprec-edented public process – solicitinginput from thousands of citizensthroughout California and beyond.With the assistance of stakeholders,community members, and partneragencies, the Sanctuary has devel-oped “action plans” on 21 differentconservation topics. Issues of poten-tial interest to San Luis Obispo resi-dents include: the Big Sur CoastalEcosystem Plan, Water Quality Pro-tection, Marine Protected Areas, andDesalination. In 2005, the Sanctuary is expectedto release its draft Management Planand Draft Environmental ImpactStatement for public review andcomment. For more information on this im-portant process or for copies of thedraft action plans, go to:

http://www.sanctuaries.nos.noaa.gov/jointplan/

Sanctuary

Cold Water CoralsAlthough lesswell known thantheir tropicalcounterparts,cold water coralsare found in tem-perate watersaround the globe,including theAtlantic and Pa-cific oceans, theNorth Sea, eventhe Antarctic.Unlike tropicalcorals, which relyon symbioticalgae in their tissues to convert sunlightinto energy, cold water corals don’t need sunlight to survive and are thus able tosurvive in the darkness of the deep sea. Cold water corals feed by capturingplankton from surrounding waters and are therefore most plentiful in areas wherea steady current flow washes them with plankton, such as seamounts, ridges,pinnacles, and the continental slope. Though slow growing, over time, cold water corals can form intricate and com-plex reefs. Norwegian scientists recently discovered a coral reef 35 kilometerslong and more than 30 meters high that was estimated to be several hundredyears old. Living corals have been carbon dated to over 5,000 years old. Coldwater coral reefs also provide important habitat for many other deep sea crea-tures. Because food is scarce in the deep ocean, the fish and invertebrate speciesassociated with cold water coral reefs are typically slow growing and late to ma-ture, making them particularly vulnerable to human disturbance.

NOAA/MBARI

soft mushroom coral NOAA/MBARI

NOAA/MBARI

continued from page 1


by Jack Beigle

A Foggy Day at Morro Bay

Thanks toDonors!

Thanks to all who gave to the20/2000 fund drive in 2004! (Asnot everyone provided firstnames, return addresses, in-cluded the coupon with dona-tion, etc., this is not a completelist…but if your name’s not here,please know we are equally grate-ful to all!)

Dana & Sandy YudovinLisa LilleyTed & Peg LabrenzSteve & Myra DouglasJohn BurkleJerry W. HullMary Lou WilhelmDorrie WardEvelyn D. ReaganCarlos FrilotKenneth L. WatteletSheila BlakeSusan & Jack McTaggartGary & Muriel HarkinsMilton H. BaerDonald & Carol AntoineCraig MccollumRobert W. ZeunerJean WrightCalvin E. & Brenda R. SmythJo Deane & Alan GerardCatherine LongacreIngrid RetiR.J. BlinkwoltJeff & Amy BiselyJoan HarperPaul & Barbara MurphyHenriette GrootKevin C. HauberLisa WallenderNancy CohnIrvin J. KoganRoy MossJulie GibsonM Jule FitzpatrickDebby HoltRay BrackenPhil & Lynn ChristieMarilyn & Fred WadsworthRichard KranzdorfAlison LaymanTed and Peg Labrenz – in memory of Pete WagnerJo Ann M. YoungnerDirk & Bonnie WaltersAl SpierlingCal & Rosemary WilvertCalvin SmythJohn S. WhelenFred & Nancy WalkerLarry BatcheldorHarry Silberman & Alice WelchertPeter DouglasMichael & Vita MillerLaurence & Joan O’DonnellBarbara & Robert RosenthalJohn & Nancy SeversonElaine EvansValerie Barboza

For the first time, the Sierra Clubhas explicitly made the connec-tion between U.S. “free trade” poli-cies and the pressure to migrate,in the November/December issueof Sierra. Heretofore, the longraging population/immigrationdebate in the Club has centered onimmigration quotas and restric-tions, relative fertility rates andfamily planning. Until now, it hasnever been mentioned in the con-text of trade or as a concern of theClub’s Responsible Trade & Hu-man Rights program. Technically, the first time thatconnection was made was whenthe Orange County Group and theSanta Lucia Chapter passed a reso-lution on trade & immigration in February 2004. The Chapter submitted the text to the Club’s RT&HR pro-gram, followed by a lengthy e-mail correspondence between the Chapter Coordinator and International Pro-grams director Steve Mills — the author of the November Sierra article. The RT&HR Committee endorsed theresolution in May. The immigration issue in the Club will be heating up again this spring, when another immigration controlresolution is brought back to the Sierra Club ballot. This time, the national debate has a chance to break outof the destructive ping-pong match of yore, thanks to a new element that can lift the argument beyond “howmuch environmental damage does immigration cause?” and ask “what causes immigration?”

Sierra Club Connects ForcedMigration and “Free Trade”

Volunteer’sCornerBy Eliane Guillot

This issue marks the first SantaLucian in two years without MarikoFujinaka as our layout artist. Marikomust devote more of her time to thetask of a freelance writer and editor(i.e. making a living), and deserves abig “hurray” of appreciation from allmembers of the Santa Lucia Chapter.Working from her home computer,Mariko gathered the articles and adstogether, formatted them in Page-Maker, and handled coordinationbetween many individuals, with a lotof patience and flexibility in meetingdeadlines. Mariko grew up in Portland, Or-egon, and has lived in Paso Roblessince 1999. She chose to volunteerto make a difference rather thancomplain about the “sorry state ofthe world.” She was a National Pub-lic Radio intern in Oregon, and aftermoving down here answered the callfor a newsletter editor/layout personwhen she saw it posted on the SantaLucia Chapter website. She learnedPageMaker with great help fromchapter stalwarts like Gary Felsmanand Cleve Nash, spending one or twoweekends a month “on the job.” “I have quite a few hobbies—run-ning, knitting, sewing, baking—thatkeep me from doing my work,” saysMariko. This year, like every year,she hopes “to work on my time man-agement skills!” Mariko thanks everyone in thechapter who worked with her overthe past two years!

DecommissionDiabloIn December 2003, the Mothers forPeace, Sierra Club, and Peg Pinardsued the Nuclear RegulatoryCommission for ignoring the threatof terrorism at the Diablo Canyonnuclear power plant and refusing tohold public hearings. The NRC’spolicy has made Diablo Canyon anunacceptable risk and its license must not be renewed. SLO County agrees.For a copy of the license renewal resolution passed by the County for con-sideration by your city council or CSD, call Mothers for Peace at (805) 773-3881.

David Brancaccio, host of the PBS publicaffairs series NOW, at the SLO Library aftertaping a Mothers for Peace meeting onsafety and security issues at DiabloCanyon. The program on local com-munities’ battles with nuclear plantsnationwide will air January 14.

Every outings leader is concernedabout the safety of the people onthe outing. There are risks on everyouting whether it is in the moun-tains or on the water and it is theleader’s responsibility to reducethese risks. I do not like to cancel acanoe/kayak outing but I have can-celled several due to rain and highwinds. In over fifteen years of leading canoe/kayak outings for the Sierra Club, Ihad never cancelled an outing because of fog. This fall, as we approachedthe weekend of our outing, it was cold and rainy. The weatherman was fore-casting cold, clear skies for the weekend with 30 to 45 mile winds. This is not a good forecast for a canoe/kayak outing. The weatherman hasbeen wrong in the past, so I checked the weather at dawn on the day of ourouting. In Pismo, the sky was clear, the sun was warm and there was abso-lutely no wind. I loaded my canoe on our van and drove with my paddlingpartner toward Morro Bay. As we approached Los Osos, we encountered asmall patch of fog. When we pulled into the Morro Bay State Park Marina,the fog was getting more dense by the minute. At ten o’clock, our scheduledlaunch time, I couldn’t see the sand spit, I couldn’t see a single boat in theestuary and I couldn’t even see the first set of channel marking buoys out-side of the marina. At that point I cancelled the outing. Only one other paddler showed up. All of the others believed the weather-man and stayed home. When paddling on a clear day, we subconsciouslymake constant adjustments to our course based on visual reference points.Without these reference points, our boat will not be heading where we thinkit is heading. Paddling in the fog can be fun but you must have a compass. Itis impossible to paddle a straight course in a dense fog without a compass.This is why it is recommended that you keep a small compass in the pocketof your PFD. Check the outing schedule and join us on the water. We should have betterweather for our next outing.


ClassifiedsClassified ads are $10 and arelimited to 20 words. They are dueby the first week of the month ofpublication (next deadline is Feb.1, 2005). Please submit your adand payment to:Sierra Club - Santa Lucia Chapterp.o. Box 15755San Luis Obispo, CA [email protected]

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A WA WA WA WA Will . . .ill . . .ill . . .ill . . .ill . . .. . . is a way to protect the environment as well as yourself. If you do not

have a will, the state decides how your property and other affairs are handled.Decisions made now can later provide financial security for family, friends,and the Sierra Club. You may even direct your bequest to a specific Clubprogram or your home Chapter.

For more information and confidential assistance, contact

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Get your Trail Guidetoday!

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P.O. Box 15755, San Luis Obispo, CA 93406

Local Government Meetings

City of SLO--1st & 3rd Tues., 7:00 p.m.; 781-7103

Arroyo Grande--2nd and 4th Tues., 7:00 p.m.; 473-5404.

Atascadero--2nd & 4th Tues.; 466-8099

Cambria CSD -- 4th Thurs.; 927-6223

Grover Beach--1st & 3rd Mon., 6:30 p.m.; 473-4567Grover Beach Planning Commission-- 2nd Tues.

Morro Bay--2nd & 4th Mon.

Paso Robles--1st & 3rd Tues., 7:00 p.m.; 237-3888

Pismo Beach--1st Tues., 5:30 p.m.; 773-4657

Los Osos CSD board-- 1st Tues. & 2nd Mon., varies

California Coastal Commission-- 3rd Tues., varies

SLO County Board of Supervisors-- every Tues.; 781-5450

SLO Council of Governments; 781-4219 SLOCOG Citizens Advisory Committee--1st Wed. every other month, 6:00 p.m. SLOCOG Board--1st Wed. every other month, 8:30 a.m.

Here’s an easy way to report on environmental concerns or to getinformation on issues affecting our ecology: Call 911! That’s just acatchy title, though. The real number is. . . (drum roll):

(415) 977-5520 or [email protected]

Environmental 911


By Jack McCurdy

A cancer-free and re-dedicatedPeter Douglas, executive director ofthe California Coastal Commission,recently cautioned a gathering of thecounty’s environmental leaders thatit is easy to feel burned out in thesetimes. But, he said, “our work is enno-bling. It is lonely at times, difficult attimes and we take the slings and ar-rows. But we need to remind our-selves why we are doing this. Just goout and look at the Carrizo Plain, forexample, and it will remind you whywe can’t give up.” The buoyed Douglas spoke at thethe fourth annual Ecosummit of SanLuis ObispoCounty at CampOcean Pines inCambria onDec. 4, hostedby the Environ-mental Centerof San LuisObispo County(ECOSLO) andco-sponsoredby 18 area indi-viduals andgroups, includ-ing the SierraClub. Douglas got aclean bill ofhealth follow-ing two months of radiation and che-motherapy treatments last summerfor a form of tongue cancer. Now, hesaid, “I am going to continue thefight for the coast and the environ-ment.” In his address, Douglas surveyedthe major events of the year for ourlocal coast. He acknowledged thedeeply-shared disappointment in theHearst Ranch Conservation Plan,passed largely as proposed by theHearst Corporation with its criticaldeficiencies in achieving conserva-tion, limiting development, ensuringenforcement of its terms, and pre-serving public access to coastal at-tractions like San Simeon Point,which would be restricted under thePlan. He noted that the Coastal Commis-sion staff, the Legislative Analyst’sOffice and many others had opposedthe Hearst Plan on grounds the pub-lic was being shortchanged and en-forcement provisions are weak. “After you fight the great fight likeon Hearst, it is easy to get burned out,but try not to get emotionally in-volved in any issue. Remember thelarger and overarching cause of envi-ronmental activism. Don”t getburned out, so you can come backfor the next fight. This will sustainyou in your activism.” Douglas has the experience to givesuch advice. As a legislative staffmember, he co-authored the 1972statewide citizens initiative that es-tablished the Coastal Commission,was a principal author of the CoastalAct that made permanent California”scoastal management program in1976, has headed the Coastal Com-mission staff since 1985 and received

By Jack A. Brill

Last year’s elections seem to be anothersetback for the environment. While thiswas discouraging, we must continue ourfight to improve the environment. So-cially Responsible Investing (SRI) is animportant way to do this. It can and must be argued that mini-mizing consumption and making com-munities more self-sustaining is an im-portant goal. However, the global natureof bringing goods and services fromproducer to consumer is an economicfact of life. This brings us to the need to invest. Aswe earn our money, we need to set asidesome of today’s income to cover futureexpenses. Very few people plan on full-time work and income until their very last day on earth. The best way is toinvest a part of your money each payday so that at some time in the futureone can retire. Saving and investing regularly for a child’s college educa-tion and for future large purchases is also a necessity. When you follow thisprocess using SRI, your investment dollars are added to the current dollarsinvested in SRI. This adds momentum to bring about needed social changeand strengthen the battle to protect the environment. There are many forms of investment. CD’s in banks, bonds issued by gov-ernments and corporations and ownership in corporations in the form ofstock each have a degree of risk in terms of financial return and rewards.One must be careful when becoming part of the world of investment. With SRI, beyond the risk and reward considerations there is a crucialsocial dimension involved. One must be a careful to make certain that thepersonal investment made is in keeping with one’s personal life issues.Stock ownership is an attempt to profit from ownership of companies’stock. If you are working for a more environmentally sustainable world,you should not and need not invest in the stock of a company that is creat-ing global warming. You should be looking to invest in renewable energy.Opponents of nuclear power should not be investors in PG&E. SRI is the process of integrating ones personal values and society’s needinto investment decision making. There are four elements:

Avoidance Screening- not investing in a company or industry that is in con-flict with your personal valuesAffirmative Screening- seeking investments that compliment your valuesCommunity Investing- using your investment dollars to support and strengthenlocal and worthwhile community activitiesShareholder Activism- taking action to change and reform corporate practices

All of the above elements are part of the SRI industry. This industry hasgrown from obscurity to a dominant force worldwide. In 2003, the Social In-vestment Forum, the SRI industry’s trade association, found $2.2 trillion of

the first “Champion of the Coast”award at an international sympo-sium on coastal zone managementin 1995 as well as numerous otherenvironmental awards. Douglas acknowledged the recent“turnover” in Commission member-ship and praised outgoing memberPedro Nava of Santa Barbara, whowas elected to the Assembly in No-vember. “Nava provided great stew-ardship,” Douglas said. “He said theCoastal Commission and theCoastal Act provide the last line ofdefense for the coast between thedemands of the few and the dreamsof the many. That”s really true.”

Douglas said he “sees no signifi-cant change” in the character of theCommission. Douglas described concern by theCommission staff about plans of theCambria Community Services Dis-trict to use the power of imminentdomain to seize private land forbuilding water tanks when room isavailable on the District”s own land.He said the staff was troubled byplans to cut trees in EnvironmentallySensitive Habitat Area and use immi-nent domain to “trump” a conserva-tion easement. He said he hadimmediate plans to meet with Dis-trict members pushing the plans todiscuss the issues. Douglas took the occasion to an-nounce that Pat Veesart, state chapterliaison of Sierra Club California, hasbeen named the CoastalCommission”s chief enforcementofficer in Southern California.Veesart is a former executive directorof ECOSLO and county planningcommissioner. He also lauded Sarah Christie, theCommission’s legislative director inSacramento and member of theChapter”s Executive Committee, forthe “incredible job” she has done inhelping to protect the coast. “Cuts to the Commission’s budgetover the past 4 years have drasticallycompromised its ability to carry outCoastal Act protections,” he said afterthe meeting. “Violations are pilingup, local coastal plans aren’t beingupdated, permit applications aredelayed, energy projects aren’t get-ting the attention they require, and soon. It is frustrating not to get thesupport needed to do the public’sbusiness - business the public expects

Peter Douglas Keynotes Annual EcoSummit

Peter Douglas receives the Bill Denneen Environment Award at the 2004 EcoSummit

Socially ResponsibleInvesting: A How-To

SLO City Councilwoman Christine Mulholland holds forth at Eco Summit

us to do.” Douglas said another effort will bemade in 2005 to achieve a permanent

source of funding for theCoastal which has suf-fered a reduction of $3million to $6 millionover the past three years,resulting in the loss of 30staff positions. Some legislators arewilling to push for per-manent funding, but Gov.Arnold Schwarzeneggerhas said “no new taxes,”which could make suchan initiative difficult. Tarren Collins, outgo-ing Chair of the Santa

Lucia Chapter, said the Great Coastal PlacesCampaign she chairs plans to orga-nize support for the Commission’sfunding.



By Andrew Christie

Despite the failure of Measure Q to pass in the November 2 election, many more people have expressedthe desire to work on the issue of keeping San Luis Obispo County free of genetic engineering in agri-culture. On November 15th, about fifty of those people met at the office of Infopress in San Luis Obispo toweigh in on what the next steps for our county should be. Topics included the real status of corn andother crops in our county for next spring and how to monitor them, options for local labeling, and howto continue educating a public that is now aware of this issue, as was made plain by Measure Q’s 48,000“yes” votes. Those votes were won despite the editorial hostility of the local paper and a singularly dirtycampaign waged by opponents, which included a fake website of “former supporters,” deceptive slatemailers and a blizzard of ads the week of the election that made outrageously false claims in support ofGE food studies and safety, and warning about the supposed dire consequences of a ban. “San Luis Obispo’s campaign for Measure Q was an amazing success,” said Doug Mosel, organizer ofthe successful Mendocino County GE crop ban, “considering you were up against the biotech industry,which feigned a local face under the mask of the Farm Bureau, which is heavily invested in Monsantostock.” Mosel came to the meeting from a Genetic Engineering Action Network (GEAN) conference in Boul-der, Colorado, and talked about recent successful campaigns, moving toward a coordinated nationalcampaign, collaborative state legislativeefforts, and how San Luis Obispo fitsinto the bigger picture for coordinatedgrassroots GE-free efforts. “We don’t underestimate the power ofthe industry to undermine this effort,”said Luke Anderson, author of GeneticEngineering, Food, and Our Environ-ment -- the Silent Spring of GE -- “butwe have the facts on our side.” Mendocino, Trinity, and Marin coun-ties and the city of Arcata have nowbanned GE crops, and the state of Ver-mont is enforcing a “genetically engi-neered” labeling law for seed sales. For more information, go to www.slogefree.org and sierraclub.org/biotech/statement.asp.

All films at the SLO Library, 7 p.m. Cosponsored by theSanta Lucia Chapter of the Sierra Club.

JanuaryJan 14:HEARTS AND MINDS (award-winning documentaryabout Vietnam)ARLINGTON WEST (moving documentary about theArtlington West crosses project in Southern California)

Jan 21 & 22:MEDIA FILM FESTIVAL AND DISCUSSION: HOW TOSTRENGTHEN INDEPENDENT MEDIA IN SLO COUNTYwith panelists Jack McCurdy (former L.A. Times re-porter), Bob Banner (publisher of HopeDance), KristanMulgrew (Publc Access), Greg Junnell (from thenow defunct LP-FM in SLO, Moon Radio) and othersTBA.… Films: TELL THE TRUTH AND RUN (George Seldes) ORWELL ROLLING IN HIS GRAVE WM DECEPTION (Danny Schecter) POWER OF CHOICE: LPFM (low powered FM / community radio) KPFA ON THE AIR (history of KPFA, Berkeley) ELECTILE DYSFUNCTION (voter fraud, from Take Back the Media, Santa Barbara)

Jan 28:BONHOEFER (a theologian who stood up to Hitler)BRINGING DOWN A DICTATOR (ousting of Milosevic)

FebruaryFeb 4: CODENAME ARTICHOKE (the killing of CIA opera-tive Frank Olsen) THE MAN WHO KNEW (the FBI agent who warnedthat Osama Bin Laden was going to strike)

Feb 10: MONUMENTAL

(SLO premiere: The lifeof Sierra Club legend

David Brower)

Feb 11: SEX AND THE HOLYCITY (The Vatican and theThird World) INSIDE MECCA (3journeys to the Hadj)

Feb 18 BILL HICKS (late stand up comedian/”preacher” -funnier than ever!)

For details and updates, go to the www.hopedance.orgwebsite or call 544-9663.

Making SLO GE-Free: Take Two

No retreat, no surrender: Theresa Campbell of SLO GE Free (left) andMiranda Leonard of ECOSLO at the Nov. 15 organizing meeting

Join EJoin EJoin EJoin EJoin ECOSLCOSLCOSLCOSLCOSLO and do yoO and do yoO and do yoO and do yoO and do your parur parur parur parur part int int int int inprotecting our environmentprotecting our environmentprotecting our environmentprotecting our environmentprotecting our environment

1204 Nipomo St.P. O. Box 1014San Luis Obispo, CA 93406

Phone (805) 544-1777Fax (805) 544-1871

[email protected]

Environmental Center ofSan Luis Obispo County

By Jack McCurdy

For the first time, Duke Energy has saidit may no longer seek regulatory ap-proval to build a new power plant inMorro Bay. The revelation came on December 2at a meeting in San Luis Obispo of theCentral Coast Regional Water QualityControl Board, the day a final hearingon the new plant had been scheduled bythe board but had been postponed unex-pectedly. Lorie Okun, the board’s attorney, saidduring a discussion of the status of theproject that “what Duke told us is thatthey’re not sure if they’re even going tocontinue the plan to modernize [build anew plant]. “It’s partly dependent on the leasenegotiations, but it’s also dependent onsome financing issues they have. So they

don’t even know if they want the permit atthis point.” Previously, Duke officials have said thatthey do not know when they would beginconstruction of a new plant, if and when allregulatory approvals were obtained. Inaddition to the availability of financing,Duke has said it needs to know what thepower generation regulatory policy will bein the state, which remains unclear. Duke has been seeking a water dis-charge permit from the board to allowwithdrawal of water from the Morro BayNational Estuary for cooling at the plantand then releasing the heated water in anoutfall channel on state tidelands adjacentto Morro Rock, flowing into Estero Bay.But Duke no longer has a lease from thecity of Morro Bay, which administers thetidelands, to use the outfall. It expired on

November15. First,Board staffsaid that thehearing wasbeing post-poned indefi-nitely be-cause itsbiologicalconsultantwould not beavailable.Then a staffmember wasquoted in alocal news-

Will Duke Fade Away?

paper as saying the post-ponement was requestedby Duke. On December 2,another staff member saidDuke and the city hadrequested the cancella-tion. But City attorney RobSchultz said later that thecity had not requested thepostponement but had notopposed it. The issue iswhether Duke could con-tinue operating the exist-ing plant or start up a newplant using estuary waterwithout the lease. Dukeactually ran the plant in

late November without approval todo so in the absence of a new lease.The city so far has taken no action toprevent further unauthorized uses ofthe outfall. A newly-elected City Council hasyet to consider what action to take.


a fine grows in

Creston

Moonscape: A visting life-form checks out the remainiing wildlife habitat after developers “scrubbed” 1,000 acresnear Creston without a permit, the largest and most egregious single environmenal violation in County history.

By Eric Greening

On September 14, 2004, The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervi-sors, by a blatantly illegal action, pulled the trigger on sprawl, openingup to development any agriculturally zoned land within 5 miles of avillage or urban reserve line outside the Coastal Zone – the land that isunder the greatest development pressure. From the beginning of the process of updating the county’s Ag &Open Space Element, there has been controversy over whether mini-mum parcel sizes in the intensively farmed portions of the Agricultural

Zone should be 40 acres or 20. Environmentalists favor 40, development inter-ests favor 20, and agriculturalists are split. Here’s what the Board did on September 14th: Against the advice of theirown staff and the County Counsel’s office, the Board “implemented” the Ag &Open Space Element by discarding a criterion for breaking down parcels to 20acres for the purpose of calculating the number of smaller lots in an Ag cluster.(Ag clusters are purportedly a mechanism for protecting agricultural land byproviding a “tool in the toolbox” to keep large agricultural holdings from frag-menting via standard subdivisions. The same building entitlement could beachieved by clustering the buildable lots on a small portion of the ranch orfarm, while preserving the rest in agricultural production.) This is the language the Board discarded: “The proposed parcels must beClass I and II soils, irrigated.” The impact of this change could be huge. It dis-cards soil classification as a criterion for reaching 20-acre base densities. In-stead of restricting these densities to deep-soiled irrigated bottomlands, it al-lows breakdown in vast areas where the former calculations had to be based onone house per 160 acres. This is an enormous boon to the real estate industry,and a precursor to the most pernicious type of sprawl. The action the Board of Supervisors purported to be “implementation” of Ag& Open Space policies on ag clusters and minimum parcel sizes. The portionof their action that is the subject of this suit is, in fact, an amendment whichwas not heard or processed as such. The advice of the Planning and Ag Departments was based on the likely out-come of the County’s discarding of the criterion, while the advice of the CountyCounsel’s office was based on the illegal process. Because these cautions are inthe record of the hearing, plaintiffs are optimistic that this will be an easy andlikely win, even in a county notorious for running roughshod over plan-ning and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The suit was filed by SMART (Santa Margarita Area Residents Together) withLOPE (Life on Planet Earth) in support. The suit has two prongs: that this actionwas not anticipated when the Negative Declaration was certified (yes, the wholeAg & Open Space Element got through on a declaration of no environmentalimpact!), nor when LOPE lost a prior court case challenging that Declaration,and the impacts of the change are demonstrably significant. This is an amend-ment to the General Plan, not an implementation, and County Counsel is onrecord cautioning the Board that if they wish to make this change they must gothrough the General Plan Amendment process, which includes publication,public notification, and Environmental Review. The Board’s defiant action was a blatant “let’s see what we can get away with”taunt, and the message has to be that they can’t get away with it. SMART has reason to hope that they (and contributors) have a good chanceof getting their money back, as the county is so clearly at fault that any fair-minded judge would likely force the county to refund SMART’s costs. This is about beating back a scheme to open up prime California agricul-tural land and open space to sprawling development. To help with legal costs,make out a check to the Sierra Club Foundation, write “Santa Lucia Chapter” inthe Memo section, “Attn: SMART suit” on the envelope, and mail to the Chapteraddress. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Support the SMART SuitChapter opens litigation fund

Templeton?

If you missed the December 16“Viewpoint” in the Tribune, “TheVoice of the People Can Make aDifference,” it’s worth lookingup. Determined Chapter activistsand outraged neighbors slappeddown the Regional Water QualityControl Board’s wrist-slap fine asit was about to be levvied againstthe developers who illegallygraded the Pierson and KalegianRanch properties near Creston. Be sure to attend the springWater Board hearing and standup for the assessment of a real

fine for the damage shown at left.

a landfill grows in

by Save San Luis Obispo

As you may have heard, the grassroots citizen’s groupSave San Luis Obispo succeeded in its initial goal ofgathering over 14,000 signatures on three petitions torequire the City of San Luis Obispo to hold a referen-dum on Bill Bird’s San Luis Marketplace mall, locatedon the Dalidio property on Madonna Road.

The special election to reverse the City’s approval of the projectwill be held April 26, 2005. Save San Luis Obispo is gearing up to launch avigorous campaign. There is mounting public opposition to the project fromneighborhood advocates, students, business and property owners, fans of ouraward-winning Downtown, community leaders, and last, but not least, environ-mentalists. The Santa Lucia chapter of the Sierra Club and the EnvironmentalCenter of San Luis Obispo (ECOSLO) have both taken positions against it.

It will be a hard-fought battle. The L.A. developers and their Texas financiershave a lot more money than we do, don’t care about our community and havehired a PR firm that represented Wal-Mart in other campaigns. They also havesued the City and Save San Luis Obispo in an attempt to derail the election. Todefend us, we have hired Jonathan Wittwer from Santa Cruz, an attorney who isa specialist in election law. We are confident we will prevail. Obviously, thelawsuit puts us under additional financial pressure (as it was intended to do).Now, we must not only raise money to run the campaign, but also to defendagainst the lawsuit. To win, we will need your help.

What is wrong with the Marketplace? For starters, it is way too big and ugly.This 615,000-square-foot “Power Center” is so large that it will add more retailspace than currently exists in all of Downtown. It will generate more than20,000 additional daily trips by car, creating gridlock and smog. It is so large

Stop the

Marketplace

About 250 residents of Templeton and Atascadero live within a mile of theChicago Grade Landfill. Until a few months ago, many of them did not knowthis. Now, they all do. Some very thorough employee at the County Planning Department includedthem on a list of agencies to receive a “Notice of Preparation of a Draft Envi-ronmental Impact Report” for the expansion of the landfill. Normally, a NOP goes to agencies and consultants who then suggest catego-ries of impacts and areas of study to the County as they get ready to prepare adraft EIR. After the DEIR is completed, the public is notified and has, on aver-age, 30 or 60 days to comment before the Final EIR is prepared and the projectcommences. This time, 250 households got an early heads-up and an eyeful of what’splanned: The landfill to double in size and longevity; stats on truck traffic; ma-jor potential impacts to air and water quality. One of them called the SierraClub and asked, essentially, “what can we do about this?” After some consultation at the Chapter office, a couple of residents decided toform a core group and gave themselves a name: Neighbors Against LandfillExpansion (NALE). They got the names of all 250 of their fellow citizens whohad received the notice from the Planning Dept. They put together a letter stat-ing their concerns, with a form on theback inviting the recipients to statetheirs and include information on thelast time their well was checked. The Chapter made 250 copies of theletter for them, and provided the enve-lopes, stamps and the Chapter’s returnaddress. As we collect the reply forms,we’ll keep the names and addresses onfile, provide tips on public testimony,coorinate responses, and otherwise helpwalk NALE through the process. In addi-tion to the end goal of getting theproject scaled back, modified, miti-gated or eliminated, it should prove tobe an educational experience, especiallyfor our elected officials and their ap-pointees, who will get be hear frommany of their constituents just howmuch they look forward to findingthemselves perched next to a very bigdump.



away from our vehicles. In the grasslands, large flocks of horned larks swarmed. Hawks perched uponsnags. A couple of road-runners entertained us. We admired pond turtles atone of the small seeps. At Gillam springs, the water flowed out from a small cave, then down about100 yards to a large dirt dam. Here was the spectacular sight of the trip. A flockof mountain bluebirds, flashing shimmering blue, swirled, settled, swirled andflew, and repeatedly returned to pondlet. The sight remains a wonderfulmemory. While the DF&G has closed escrow on this property, much remains to bedone. Biological resources need to be inventoried, and citizen-scientists canhelp. The purchase includes an extensive ranch house complex, which wouldmake an excellent education center. That requires funding, and the state has nomoney for such things. Even the purchase may be threatened under the initia-tive mandating the sale of surplus state property. What if this was declared sur-plus? We ended up on a high hill where the herd of about 20 male Tule elk wasvisible. The view of this harsh land stretched all around us. It is difficult land inwhich for humans to survive. It is wonderful land for the plants and animalsadapted to living there; a land rich in biological resources. It is invaluable landas a connection for biological diversity.

Chimeneascontinued ffrom page 4

investment capital in the UnitedStates using one or more of the abovelisted strategies. This is 11.3% ofinvestment assets under professionalmanagement and is up from $639billion in 1995. In 1990, there wereonly 12 socially screened mutualfunds offered to the public, in 2004there were more than 150. One of theoldest funds, Pax World Balancedfund, which was first offered in 1971,has continued to prosper with excel-lent returns and has never invested inwar.

Studies have shown that SRI hasprovided returns that are typicallyequal to or greater than traditionalnon-screened portfolios. The DominiSocial 400 Index, an index of 400socially screened companies, hasgrown by 426% from May 1990 toSeptember 2004. This is better thanthe S&P 500, the Industry “Gold Stan-dard” of performance that grew360% for the same period.

The environment is one of the mostimportant issues to sociallyresponsible investors. Most of the SRImutual funds and fund families,including Calvert, Citizens and PaxWorld, screen on this issue. There aresome that put special emphasis onthis issue. These include the newSierra Club funds, Portfolio 21 andWinslow Green Growth fund. Themost common Avoidance screens aretobacco, firearms, war and nuclearpower. Corporate governance, laborissues and the environment are ap-plied as both Avoidance and Affirm-ative screens. Socially Responsibleinvestors can also screen on humanrights and animal rights as well as amyriad of religious and ethicalissues. The SRI industry has devel-oped extensive resources to helpinvestment advisers and individualinvestors choose a portfolio thatreflects their personal values. Warning: Investing in stocks andbonds involves risk. All mutual fundsare subject to market risks andeconomic uncertainty. Some SRImutual funds and investmentportfolios, like all investment

portfolios, under-perform the marketand show losses. Investigate carefullybefore making any investment. Neverinvest in anything that will cause youto lose a good night’s sleep. As consumers and investors,one of the most powerful tools wehave is the power of money. Oneexample is the growth of thehealth and organic food industry.As consumers continue to demandand spend their money on organi-cally grown food, the industry isresponding by offering moreproducts, even at mainstreamsuper markets. Vons and othersupers commonly stock HorizonBrand Organic Milk. The expan-sion of food stores such as WholeFoods and Trader Joes could nothappen without consumer sup-port and profits made by the mar-ket owners. Continuing SR investing hasbrought about important corpo-rate changes. Dupont was a com-pany that fought environmentalclean up for years. They are nowone of the world’s leaders in pro-ducing products with no toxicwastes and have developed a divi-sion that is in the business ofcleaning up the environment, a$200 million-a-year enterprise.Home Depot has adopted a policyto not sell any lumber from oldgrowth forests. We may have had a temporarysetback for the environment po-litically, but the battle to save theplanet continues. SRI. is a crucialpart of this battle.

Jack A. Brill is a RegisteredInvestment Adviser of NaturalInvestment Services, co-author ofInvesting with your Values (NewSociety Publishers, 2000), and amember of the Sierra Club since1992. Check the websitenaturalinvesting.com or call himat 805-543-7717.

The fine print: The above has beenwritten for information and educationalpurposes only. It is not intended tocontain recommendations or solicitsales on any specific investment. Takecare to thoroughly read prospectusesbefore making any investment.

Investingcontinued from page 8

that it will require an otherwise unnecessary new freeway interchange at PradoRoad to handle just a small portion of the additional traffic it will generate.Instead of a lovely view of prime agricultural land and the Morros at the en-trance of the City, visitors will be “welcomed” by the sight of generic sprawl-mart at its worst. It also is a bad financial deal for the City. Amazingly, the City has agreed topay for most of the costs associated with the interchange and related improve-ments, either directly or by giving away an estimated $750,000 in sales taxesyears to the developer every year for 30. Between the unprecedented sales-taxsubsidy to the developer and the City’s share of the Prado Interchange and re-lated expenses, this project will drain almost $46 million from City coffers. As aresult, SLO will be left with significant long term financial commitments thatwill limit its ability to eliminate existing traffic bottlenecks or unsafe intersec-tions, provide adequate services for our seniors and maintain high quality po-lice and fire protection. The Marketplace will have at least seven significant, unavoidable environ-mental impacts, including severe traffic congestion and degradation of airquality, especially in surrounding neighborhoods. The EIR is so flawed that itssufficiency has been challenged in court by another citizen’s group, Citizens forPlanning Responsibly, and Cal Trans may make them do a whole new EIR be-fore approving the interchange. Among other problems, it simply does notaddress the many impacts of the interchange, such as increased flooding overthe freeway and the possible need to mitigate by widening or channelizing SanLuis Creek on the east side of 101. The developers are throwing up all the legal flack they can think of to keepthis from coming to a vote. To win this fight, Save San Luis Obispo needs yourfinancial help right now. Please go to our website, www.savesanluisobispo.organd click on “click here” for a printable contribution form. Print it out, fill itout and send it with your (hopefully generous) check to Save San Luis Obispo,P.O. Box 4312, San Luis Obispo CA 93403-4312. You do not need to live in theCity of San Luis Obispo to contribute, and there are no campaign expenditurelimits on ballot measures. No contribution is too large or too small.

Marketplacecontinued from page 10

First, outgoing Chapter ChairTarren Collins alerted the CaliforniaCoastal Commission to the issuanceof a peculiar “emergency permit” tothe Cambria Community ServicesDistrict. Then, thanks to deter-mined Commission staff and thestate Attorney General’s office, theCalifornia coast dodged a bullet anda dire precedent on December 17when a San Luis Obispo SuperiorCourt judge upheld the CoastalCommission’s cease & desist orderand issued a preliminary injunctionagainst the District. The CCSDwants to build new water storagetanks in an Environmentally Sensi-tive Habitat Area. The District had invoked eminentdomain to seize private property inan ESHA protected by a conserva-tion easement managed by the Na-ture Conservancy, and claimed ithad obtained an emergency permitto cut down 60+ endangeredMonterey pines in the ESHA. If thiswere allowed, all future developerscould potentially claim an “emer-gency” to trump conservation ease-ments and/or develop on the coast. Counsel for the Attorney General,Coastal Commission, San LuisObispo County, and the CambriaCSD spent the day in court arguingover the legality of the CoastalCommission’s cease & desist order,the propriety of San Luis Obisporescinding its original emergencypermit at the Commission’s behest,and the nature of Cambria’s “emer-gency” (potential future earth-quakes and fires).

The Court ruled that the CambriaCommunity Services District is notexempt from the requirements of theLocal Coastal Plan and the CoastalDevelopment Permit process; theCounty’s original emergency permithad been properly rescinded; theCambria CSD was not entitled to asecond emergency permit becauseits requirement for new tanks may beurgent but is not an emergency asdefined by statute; and the CoastalCommission was entitled to a pre-liminary injunction to halt theproject. The court ordered the in-junction and instructed all parties towork together to come up with anacceptable plan. The Cambria CSD backed downfrom previous threats to haul out thechainsaws and proceed with con-struction regardless of what theCourt ruled, and agreed to abide bythe injunction. (But it is appealingthe Court’s decision regardless, evi-dently determined to spend evenmore of Cambria’s money on legalmaneuvers instead of reenforcementof the existing water tanks.) Thank you, Coastal Commission!

Tanks!


Photo by Joaquin Palting

Outings and Activities Calendar

Hiking Classifications:

Distance: 1 = 0-2 mi., 2 = 3-5 mi.,3 = 6-9 mi., 4 =10-12 mi.,5 = 12 mi. or more.

Elevation Gain: A = 500',B = 1000', C = 1500', D = 2000',E = 2500', F = 3000' or more.

All of our hikes andactivities are open to all clubmembers and the generalpublic. If you have anysuggestions for hikes oroutdoor activities, questionsabout the Chapter’s outingpolicies or would like to be anoutings leader, call OutingsLeader Gary Felsman (473-3694). For information on aspecific outing, please contactthe outing leader. OutingsLeaders please get youroutings or events in by the 1stfor the next month’s outings.

This is a partial listing ofOutings offered by our

chapter.Please check the web page

www.santalucia.sierraclub.orgfor the most up-to-date

listing of activities.

Sat, Jan. 1, 9:30 a.m. NEW YEARSMUSSEL ROCK HIKE: Come takethis 26th annual hike with BillDenneen to the top of the highestdunes. Meet at end of West Main onthe beach. Bring lunch, water, bin-oculars, inspirational reading. Dogson a leash permitted at this time ofyear. It is out and back so you canturn around anytime. Confirm: 929-3647 or <[email protected]>Sun., Jan 2nd 9:30 a.m., DANAADOBE: Meet at site on Oak Glen inNipomo. Easy hike. Confirm a fewdays before at 929-3647 [email protected]., Jan. 8, 9:00 a.m. 45th An-nual Sierra Club AnniversaryDunes Hike at Oso Flaco Lake.Come and take an easy, moderate orlong walk on this 45th annual cel-ebration of our Sierra Club chapter’sfirst official hike in the dunes. Therewill be hikes for all ages and fitnesslevels. Meet in the Oso Flaco Lakeparking lot and hear stories of theearly days of our chapter. Carpoolingis advised, as there is a $4.00/carparking fee. For details call JackBeigle (773-2147)Saturday January 8th, 9 a.m.,-SanSimeon State Park.-Meet at 9 a.m.at the Spencer’s parking lot in MorroBay (off Route 1-next to TacoTemple)-Bring steady shoes, warmclothing, water and a snack to share-Moderate hike with diverse natural,setting-If you come from Paso orCambria, call Eliane at 473-0288 afew days before the hike for an alter-nate meeting place-Heavy rain can-cels-Optional lunch afterward inCambriaSat-Sun., Jan. 8-9, Antelope Protec-tion Carcamp. With little rainfalland few water sources, the speciesthat live in the Carrizo Plain are bothhardy and endangered. Particularlybeautiful are the pronghorn antelope,

which evolved in these wild, openspaces. Join us for a weekend in thisremote area removing fencing fortheir benefit. Camp at KCL camp-ground, bring food, water, and camp-ing gear for the weekend. PotluckSat. night. For fence removal, bringheavy leather gloves, old long-sleeved shirts and sweatshirts, long pants, boots. Rain cancels. Alternate

and

date: Jan 22-23. Resource specialist:Alice Koch. For more information,contact Leaders: Cal and LettyFrench, [email protected] , (805-239-7338 ), 14140 Chimney RockRoad, Paso Robles, CA 93446. SantaLucia Chap/CNRCC Desert ComSun., Jan. 9, 8:30 a.m. CabrilloPeak and Beyond. Join us for this 2.5hr. 6 mile loop hike with 900' eleva-tion gain. Everyone welcome butbeginners will fall way behind due tothe non-stop pace and elevation gain.Meet at the quarry trailhead at thelarge dirt parking lot in Morro BayState Park. It is located on South BayBoulevard, 1.3 miles from Hwy 1 or2.6 miles from Los Osos Valley Road.Rain cancels. Leader: Al (534-0462)(3B)Sun, Jan. 9, 9:30 a.m. PismoDunes Preserve. Meet at Melodramain Oceano. Out and back so turnaround anytime. See a LOT of sand.Confirm a few days before. Detailscall Bill at 929-3647 [email protected]., Jan. 15, 8:45 a.m. ADOBETRAIL: Moderate to strenuous hikeon a trail through chaparral and oak-studded grassland (7 mrt, 1300 ftelev. gain). Bring lunch, water, jacketand sturdy shoes. Meet 8:45am inSanta Maria at the North SB CountyGovernment Center’s easternmostparking lot. Rain cancels. JERRY928-3598 (AR)(3C)Sun., Jan. 16th , 9:30 a.m., POINTSAL: Meet at end of Brown Rd atlocked gate at 0930 climb 2.5 milesto ‘pass’ and then decide what next.Water, windbreaker, lunch. Dogs onleash OK. Confirm a few days before.Details call Bill at 929-3647 [email protected]., Jan. 22, 8:00 a.m. SilverPeak Wilderness Coastal Traverse.Come explore the Silver Peak Wilder-ness as we head up the CruickshankTrail to the Buckeye Trail then headsouth towards Salmon Creek. I canpromise great views if the weather isclear. This is a moderately strenuous8.5 mile hike with a 2000-foot eleva-tion gain. Poison Oak will be present.Bring lunch, water, sturdy hikingshoes, and dress for the weather. Meetat Spencer’s Market in Morro Bay.

Rain Cancels. Details, call Gary at(473-3694) (3D)Sunday January 23rd, 8:30 a.m., -Grover Beach to Pismo Beach-meet at 8:30 a.m. at the GroverBeach main parking lot (exit Route 1at the railroad crossing--lot is adja-cent to the restaurant). Bring a windbreaker, shoes that can be wet,gloves and a hat. Very easy hike.Optional breakfast in Pismo andreturn via the board walk with stopat the Monarch butterfly reserve.Sun., Jan. 23rd, 9:30 a.m. MUSSELROCK: Meet on Guad. Beach at0930, Hike south to top of MR, wehope. Dogs on leash OK at this timeof year. See site of proposed parkinglot. Confirm a few days before. De-tails call Bill at 929-3647 [email protected]. Jan. 29, 9:00 am. False AlanPeak. Enjoy a wide variety of terrainand habitat and bag the highest peakin Montana de Oro SP on this 10 mi.,1400-ft. loop hike. Meet at visitorcenter. We will return via CoonCreek and the bluffs. Rain cancels.Bob Schwartz (441-9508)<[email protected]> (4C)Sun., Jan. 30, 9:30 a.m. COASTHIKE— Confirm a few days before.Details call Bill at 929-3647 [email protected]., Jan. 30, LAKE SAN ANTO-NIO EAGLE WATCH Lake San An-tonio is a great winter outing if wecan schedule it between the rains. Allwe need is a little sunshine and weshould have another super outing.We have always seen bald andgolden eagles, ospreys, pelicans andmany other birds on our outings atLake San Antonio. Dress warmly inlayers. Bring your boat and equip-ment, PFDs, windbreaker, warmclothes, lunch and binoculars. PhoneJack Beigle, 773-2147 for reserva-tion, park fees and details.Sat., Feb. 5, 8:45 a.m., OATSPEAK-COON CREEK LOOP: Hikefrom Spooner’s Cove Ranger Stationalong gradually ascending openridge to lunch at Oats Peak. Afterlunch, we’ll descend along a spurridge through a canopy of oakwoods through Coon Creek valley tothe ocean. Loop may be finished byBluff trail or roadway back to theRanger Station (9 mrt, 1500 ft. elev.gain). Meet 8:45a.m. in Santa Mariaat the North SB County GovernmentCenter’s easternmost parking lot.Rain cancels. SLO residents call formeeting time and place. Hikes aresubject to change so always contactthe leader. JERRY 928-3598 (AR)Sun. Feb. 6, 11 a.m.,SUPERBOWL ALTERNATIVEHIKE AND POTLUCK: If bears,dolphins, and eagles sound like ani-mals, not teams, join us as we hikePoint Sal Road to our potluck lunchdestination (5 mrt, 1300 ft. elev.gain). Bring a daypack with food toshare, as well as a plate, utensils, andwater for yourself. Meet at the OrcuttLong’s Drugs parking lot at 11am.Hikes are subject to change, alwayscontact the leader. JIM 937-6766(AR)

Sun. Feb 6, 9:30 a.m. PISMODUNES PRESERVE: Meet at Melo-drama in Oceano at 0930. Secretpassageway to spectacular dunes.Dogs on leash OK. Water and wind-breaker. Confirm a few days before.Details call Bill at 929-3647 [email protected]., Feb. 12, 10 a.m., BIRDINGIN MORRO BAY: We will tour theback bay to see how many shorebirds we can find. Bring your boatand equipment, PFD, windbreaker,bird book, binoculars and a picniclunch. HIGH TIDE 12:19 PM 4.7'Launch at MB Park State Marina, lowtide, 6:36 PM 0.4' Put in at 10:00 amJack Beigle 773-2147Sun., Feb. 13, 9:30 a.m. POINTSAL: Meet at end of Brown Rd atlocked gate at 0930 climb 2.5 milesto ‘pass’ and then decide. Dogs OK ifthey do not chase cattle. Water, lunch,windbreaker,nos, and a friend. De-tails call Bill at 929-3647 [email protected]., Feb. 19-21, SouthernNevada Hot Spots: President’s Dayfield trip to visit two key threatenedpublic land areas. Join a day hikeSaturday to the new Sloan CanyonNational Conservation Area, justsouth of Las Vegas, where helicopteroverflights are a serious concern, if aproposed new heliport is built. Sun-day and Monday join overnight carcampout to the Gold Butte area at theeastern edge of the state where cul-tural artifacts and unique geologicformations are in danger of beingoverrun by increases in recreationuse by off-road vehicles. We’ll seethese troubled treasures for ourselvesand learn how we can help. The over-night features central commissary.Leader Vicky Hoover is assisted byseveral local [email protected], (415-977-5527). SF Bay/CNRCC DesertComSun., Feb. 20, 9:30 a.m., MUSSELROCK: Meet on Guad. Beach at 0930,Hike south. Dog on leash OK at thistime of year. Details call Bill at 929-3647 or [email protected].

A Carrizo pronghorn Bob Stafford

Documents

Santa Lucian · GRAPHICS CONSULTANT The Santa LucianSanta Lucian is published 10 times a year. Articles, environmental information and letters to the editor are welcome. The deadline