BSMAAC South Coast Report – March 2020 Any questions? Please message me at: [email protected] Caltrans: Are all of these rides issued a Permit? USFS & MoCo – Road conditions: ambulance could not drive up • January 18-20: The Coast Ride grew to over 400 riders this year. and Helicopter could not land. Annual ride: www.thecoastride.org $165 covers SAG Vans, drivers, January 31st between 7:30 – 9:30 a helicopter couldn’t land pizza, maps, water bottle, turn sheets. because no safe landing spot and an ambulance couldn’t drive up • April 5-6: Eroica California Bicycle Ride Cayucos - Piedras Blancas Los Burros Road due to conditions of the road. Helicopter circled for • May 11-12: Phil Gaimon's Fondo Bike Tour of California Monterey- over an hour at San Marten Top area. Cambria, on 13th Cambria – Santa Maria. • Los Burros Road: MoCo DPW jurisdiction www.philsfondo.com/cookiecorner • Helicopter pad at San Martin Top: USFS jurisdiction. • May 15-17: The Quail Motorcycle Ride on Highway 1 - 100 Night landing minimum 100’x100’ clearance required. motorcycles. www.motovational.com/registration-tickets • NO AMGEN TOUR THIS YEAR • June 27: Gene Cerise Country Coast Classic Bike Ride Cambria to Ragged Point • September 12: Best Buddies Bikes for IDD Isolation Carmel to San Simeon. www.bestbuddieschallenge.org/hc • October 5-7: Arthritis Foundation California Coast Classic Bike for arthritis - 250 riders. Carmel to Cambria. • October 10-11 dates to be confirmed: Tour de Fresh. www.tourdefresh.com • October 16-18: Challenged Athletes Foundation. www.challengedathletes.org/events/million-dollar-challenge USFS - Visitor Use Management https://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/programs/nvum/ • Tom Collins introduced us to USFS’ Visitor Use Management framework and asks for it to manage visitors within Ventana, LPNF, and Silver Peak Wilderness. • Sally Christ of Big Sur Destination Stewardship Plan reports that “A number of comments received describe issues around backcountry access, camping, etc.” • DSP met with Mike Splain of VWA and is in contact with Lis Novak of USFS IVUMC and USFS LPNF MRD office in King City. • VWA completed the attached “South Coast Visitor Impacts Survey, Los Padres National Forest Monterey Ranger District.” BSMAAC South Coast Report – March 2020 Any questions? Please message me at: [email protected] A resident asks: Traffic Counts Graph: “There are a ton of people camping up here. Would be nice if law January 1st until March 11. Weekend spikes, Saturdays specifically. enforcement would budget for at least one weekend night Midweek lows. Plaskett receives as much traffic as South Coast patrol...Sat. Night from 6 pm to 10 pm would be most helpful. We Ridge Road, with Los Burros a close third. Counts below should be have asked for years for this. FS response has always been 'no halved for inbound/outbound of one vehicle. money'. Why could they not budget for this 4-hour shift, once a week?” In this photo: Madrone that had been alive and standing. Campers wrapped chains around tree and attached the chains to their truck, dragging it from where it stood alive, to topple it and burn as their campfire. January 4, Saturday Los Burros: 98 NF-South Coast Ridge Road: 204 Plaskett: 123 Vehicle counts increase President’s Day Weekend: February 15, Saturday Los Burros: 365 NF-South Coast Ridge Road: 425 Plaskett: 416 With Sunday February 16 the peak for SCR and Plaskett: February 16, Sunday Los Burros: 257 NF-South Coast Ridge Road: 465 Plaskett: 444 BSMAAC South Coast Report – March 2020 Traffic Counts - per day. Day Los Burros NF- SCRRoad Plaskett 2020-01-01 2020-01-02 83 88 95 2020-01-03 112 130 142 2020-01-04 98 204 123 2020-01-05 64 88 80 2020-01-06 73 42 70 2020-01-07 102 61 72 2020-01-08 85 37 51 2020-01-09 96 45 41 2020-01-10 111 61 82 2020-01-11 124 106 115 2020-01-12 146 59 117 2020-01-13 56 28 39 2020-01-14 121 28 43 2020-01-15 78 29 35 2020-01-16 42 21 22 2020-01-17 85 88 51 2020-01-18 159 170 154 2020-01-19 127 141 159 2020-01-20 65 70 126 2020-01-21 69 33 59 2020-01-22 62 44 78 2020-01-23 67 61 44 2020-01-24 80 73 74 2020-01-25 74 131 89 2020-01-26 63 100 89 2020-01-27 44 39 70 2020-01-28 89 36 41 2020-01-29 67 36 44 2020-01-30 61 18 45 2020-01-31 81 117 48 2020-02-01 123 207 120 2020-02-02 51 93 73 2020-02-03 48 29 62 2020-02-04 85 41 44 2020-02-05 63 53 54 2020-02-06 70 43 56 2020-02-07 80 92 119 2020-02-08 94 162 187 2020-02-09 88 175 98 2020-02-10 80 56 46 2020-02-11 76 56 51 BSMAAC South Coast Report – March 2020 Traffic Counts - per day. Day Los Burros NF- SCRRoad Plaskett 2020-02-12 57 40 38 2020-02-13 63 34 66 2020-02-14 173 178 184 2020-02-15 365 425 416 2020-02-16 257 465 444 2020-02-17 135 188 208 2020-02-18 74 45 90 2020-02-19 76 78 60 2020-02-20 80 49 80 2020-02-21 93 53 96 2020-02-22 111 165 178 2020-02-23 75 112 117 2020-02-24 67 32 55 2020-02-25 107 38 43 2020-02-26 58 50 62 2020-02-27 87 33 77 2020-02-28 96 73 144 2020-02-29 100 164 151 2020-03-01 94 132 122 2020-03-02 77 44 72 2020-03-03 67 63 52 2020-03-04 68 46 57 2020-03-05 104 39 40 2020-03-06 93 98 85 2020-03-07 107 62 95 2020-03-08 84 65 86 2020-03-09 61 39 83 2020-03-10 66 36 40 2020-03-11 BSMAAC South Coast Report – March 2020 VWA Visitor Impacts Survey May 2018 South Coast Visitor Impacts Survey, Los Padres National Forest Monterey Ranger District Sponsored by the Ventana Wilderness Alliance Conducted May 15-17, 2018 by: Charles M. Heard Gordon Johnson Mike Splain Purpose: The last decade has seen a substantial increase of visitor use in both the Big Sur and South Coast regions of central California. Fueled by social media postings, there has been a dramatic surge in the number of dispersed campsites in the portion of the Los Padres National Forest Monterey Ranger District (MRD) located south of the Nacimiento - Fergusson road. The intent of the survey was to ascertain and document the number and locations of dispersed campsites, and to provide a baseline campsite count for future surveys. Note that land and resource management recommendations are not included in this report. To protect resources from further impacts, campsite locations are not described in this report. Due to time constraints, the area of the South Coast Ridge Road south of its intersection with the Los Burros Road was not included in the survey. During the inventory, when practicable, rubbish was collected, and where appropriate, fire rings were removed. Resource management of the area surveyed is the responsibility of the United Sates Forest Service (USFS). It is important to note that the MRD is both seriously understaffed and underfunded. Addressing the issues raised by this survey will be difficult without an increase in both workforce and monetary resources. Dispersed Camping Defined: The following is excerpted from the USFS definition of dispersed camping which is generally permitted within the MRD. “Dispersed camping is the term used for camping anywhere in the National Forest OUTSIDE of a designated campground. Dispersed camping means no services; such as trash removal, and little or no facilities; such as tables and fire pits, are provided.” Methodology: Campsite locations were determined and documented using a GPS equipped DSLR camera. The criteria for determining whether a campsite was suitable for inclusion in the survey was whether it contained the following elements; a fire ring or charcoal deposits and/or noticeable evidence of transient human occupation. Some roadside turnouts were observed to be potentially usable as campsites, and possibly are, but unless clear evidence of past camping was witnessed, these were excluded from the survey. Survey Findings: 102 distinct dispersed campsites were observed within the area surveyed. Five designated campgrounds were not included in this total. Discussion: In general, there appears to be a correlation between the number of dispersed campsites and the ease of vehicle access. A notable exception is upper Prewitt Ridge, where ease of accessibility is not a determining factor for high use. The factors driving the intermittent high use of this area are beyond the scope of this survey. Both Prewett Ridge Road and upper Alms Ridge Road displayed numerous severe human impacts. Vegetation trampling, denudation, and off road motor vehicle use are evident in the area above the official Prewett Ridge Campground. Owing to the amount of barren ground observed, actual dispersed campsite utilization during high use periods likely exceeds our observations. Miguel Campground, located just below the South Coast Ridge Road, is no longer being accessed by motor vehicles due to poor road conditions. The campground, and most of the former access route, is located within the Silver Peak Wilderness. From Lower Plaskett Ridge Road, an un-barricaded and unauthorized vehicle route extends into the Silver Peak Wilderness for approximately 800’.