Some people drive by the Watsonville Wetlands and see a big useless swamp. Others see something that could be drained and replaced with giant Miami Beach-style condos. And you can be sure others see a place that could be drilled, baby, drilled for fuel.
But groups of heroic locals see a piece of nature and history that must be saved, despite a climate that seems to favor short-term profits over long-term wildlife sanctuary.
The Pajaro River, which flows 100 miles from Pinnacles National Park, to the Pacific Ocean through Watsonville, has been designated as the most endangered river in the U.S. because of pollution, problems with the levees, and neglect.
The things that aren’t obvious when you travel past it are that wetlands are the nursery of wildlife, Richard Stockton and Julie Flannery explain in their important cover story. “One-third of all bird species depend on wetlands,” says Land Trust Santa Cruz County Director Bryan Largay. “Wetlands are where all the amphibians go to lay their eggs. The frogs and salamanders will lay their eggs there. The wetlands are where biodiversity happens. We think of them as a nursery for life. They’re the cafeteria and snack bar.”
We should thank our good fortune that people who care about the environment live here and spend their time fighting the good fight to save things too many people overlook.
And not just overlook: there is a national proposal to stop funding projects that save and study wildlife in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, which despite his claims otherwise, the incoming president has shown he is partial to.
And can environmentalists and the farmers who grow crops along the river get along? Read this story to see the answer.
Thanks for reading.
Brad Kava | Editor
PHOTO CONTEST
MOONSCAPE Taken Dec. 14 in Capitola. Photograph by Julie Bitnoff
GOOD IDEA
United States Representative Jimmy Panetta praised the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s proposal to list the monarch butterfly as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. This action follows Panetta’s letter demanding the Biden Administration take action to protect this iconic species whose remarkable migration and cultural significance are at risk due to environmental pressures. Panetta has been an outspoken leader on monarch conservation, passing legislation to support pollinator-focused habitat restoration and continuing to lead bicameral legislation to expand monarch preservation and protection.
GOOD WORK
The “Staging Area” at Año Nuevo State Park has been renovated to improve the visitor experience and the new space opened Dec. 15, in time for the start of Guided Elephant Seal Tours.
The more than $500,000 project provides park visitors with a greater area to shelter from inclement weather and allows for larger interpretive tours and talks. Coastside State Parks Association and Año Nuevo volunteer docents began a fundraising campaign in 2018 to improve the Staging Area. Fires and COVID slowed progress, but construction started in June of this year.
“The Coastside Board of Directors is pleased that the project is being completed this week, meaning we will be ready for the annual breeding season as planned,” said Coastside Treasurer Janet Oulton.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.”
–Oscar Wilde
