A Conservation Blueprint: An Assessment and Recommendations from the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County May 2011 Redwoods in clearing storm (Photograph by Jodi McGraw) Land Trust of Santa Cruz County 617 Water Street Santa Cruz, CA 95060 (831) 429-6116 [email protected] www.landtrustsantacruz.org This project is funded, in part, by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Recommended Citation: Mackenzie, A., J. McGraw, and M. Freeman. 2011. Conservation Blueprint for Santa Cruz County: An Assessment and Recommendations from the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County. Land Trust of Santa Cruz County. Santa Cruz, CA. May 2011. 180 pages. Available at http://www.landtrustsantacruz.org/blueprint What we do Our goal is to protect and care for the spectacular beauty and natural resources that make Santa Cruz County special. We protect working lands, like farms and timberland, and natural lands with high conservation value—thus protecting water supplies, wildlife habitats, and open space. How we do it We believe that a relatively small investment now can save what we love forever. We protect land through a variety of means. Sometimes we buy the land from willing landowners. Sometimes we reach preservation agreements with landowners. Always, we serve as good stewards of the land under our care. We work with a wide variety of conservation partners to accomplish our goals. What we’ve done The Land Trust was founded in 1978 and has directly protected 3,200 acres of land and worked with partners to protect another 10,000 acres. We have protected redwood forests, rare sandhills habitat, wetlands at the heart of the Watsonville Sloughs, and 1,400 acres of farmland in the Pajaro Valley. Who funds our work Our work is funded by donations from individuals, as well as foundation and government grants which multiply the impact of individual gifts. During the past three years individual donations were matched $23 to $1 by grant funding. Our Board The Land Trust is a 501(c)(3) non-profit under the Internal Revenue Service Code (tax ID # 94-2431856) and is governed by a Board of Trustees that includes farmers, landowners, business people, conservationists, and community volunteers. BOARD OF TRUSTEES STAFF Cindy Rubin, President Terry Corwin, Executive Director Robert Stephens, VicePresident Stephen Slade, Deputy Director Lloyd Williams, Secretary Matt Freeman, Director of Conservation Katherine Beiers Val Cole Lisa Larson, Finance Director Harriet Deck Lynn Overtree, Stewardship Manager Cathleen Eckhardt Dan Medeiros, Acquisitions Manager Will Garroutte Andre Lafleur, Major Gifts Officer Bill Gielow Calah Pasley, Membership and Events Manager John Gilchrist Bernie Goldner Jeffrey Helmer, Land Steward Ron Hirsch Carolyn Johnson, Senior Administrative Assistant Larry I. Perlin Tim Tourkakis, Morgan Preserve Caretaker Rogelio Ponce, Jr Barry Baker, Stewardship Assistant Jim Rider Melody Sharp Sue Sheuerman The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, established in 2000, seeks to advance environmental conservation and cutting-edge scientific research around the world and improve the quality of life in the San Francisco Bay Area. For more information, visit www.moore.org. Conservation Blueprint: Contents Assessment and Recommendations Table of Contents List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. vii List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... viii Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................................... ix Foreword ...................................................................................................................................... xii Executive Summary ..................................................................................................................... xiii Part I. Overview and Setting ........................................................................................................... 1 1. Overview .................................................................................................................................. 2 1.1 Santa Cruz County’s Threatened Resources: A Call to Action ............................................................ 2 1.2 A Vision for Santa Cruz County’s Resource-Rich Legacy ..................................................................... 4 1.3 Blueprint Purpose ............................................................................................................................... 5 1.4 Blueprint Role and Relationship to Adopted Plans and Policies ......................................................... 6 1.5 Blueprint Development Process ......................................................................................................... 7 1.6 Blueprint Organization ....................................................................................................................... 7 2. Regional Setting and Challenges .............................................................................................. 9 2.1 Conservation Challenges .................................................................................................................. 13 2.1.1 Population Trends and Future Growth Challenges ................................................................... 13 2.1.2 Resource Conservation and Viability Challenges ....................................................................... 18 2.1.3 Climate Change ......................................................................................................................... 19 2.2 Regulatory and Policy Framework .................................................................................................... 19 Part II. Conservation Approach ..................................................................................................... 21 3. Conservation Goals ................................................................................................................ 22 4. Integrated Conservation Approach ....................................................................................... 23 4.1 Priority Multi-Benefit Conservation Areas ....................................................................................... 23 4.1.1 Upper San Lorenzo .................................................................................................................... 24 4.1.2 North Coast Watersheds ........................................................................................................... 31 4.1.3 Sandhills .................................................................................................................................... 31 4.1.4 Upper Corralitos ........................................................................................................................ 32 4.1.5 Larkin Valley .............................................................................................................................. 32 4.1.6 Interlaken .................................................................................................................................. 33 4.1.7 Watsonville Sloughs/Lower Pajaro River ................................................................................... 33 4.1.8 Pajaro Hills ................................................................................................................................. 34 Land Trust of Santa Cruz County iii May 2011 Conservation Blueprint: Contents Assessment and Recommendations 4.1.9 Riparian and Riverine Systems .................................................................................................. 34 4.2 Prioritizing Conservation Work in Multi-Benefit Areas .................................................................... 35 4.3 Conservation Tools ........................................................................................................................... 36 4.4 Ecosystem Services: Benefits and Innovative Models ...................................................................... 38 4.5 Critical Next Steps ............................................................................................................................ 40 4.5.1 Biodiversity ................................................................................................................................ 41 4.5.2 Water Resources ....................................................................................................................... 41 4.5.3 Working Lands ........................................................................................................................... 42 4.5.4 Recreation and Healthy Communities ....................................................................................... 43 Part III. Conservation Assessment ................................................................................................ 45 5. Biodiversity Assessment ........................................................................................................ 46 5.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 46 5.1.1 Biodiversity Planning Goals and Objectives .............................................................................. 47 5.1.2 Biodiversity Planning