Posted on 11/19/2022 11:33:33 AM PST by nickcarraway
After more than a decade of restoration and preparation, stalled by the effects of the CZU Lightning Complex wildfire, the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County, in collaboration with its partners, will soon open a new, multiuse trail system in the San Vicente Redwoods.
“We’re going to have trails for hikers and mountain bikers and dog walkers and equestrians,” said Sarah Newkirk. “All of this is embedded in a property that also has threatened endangered species, a commercial timber harvest and community based fire risk reduction activities.”
The 7.3 mile trail system, which opens to the public Dec 3, will feature 4.1 miles of biking trails, 2.3 miles of equestrian trails and about a mile of paths intended for dog walking. The head of the new trail system is located at 12001 Empire Grade, and features a 72 car capacity parking lot and onsite restrooms. Cellular phone service is available at the trailhead but can be spotty or absent inside the forest.
“We planned these trails to avoid conflicts with the threatened and endangered species, the other resource uses on this property and some of the more dangerous characteristics of the property,” said Newkirk. “We had to be very careful and intentional.”
The new trail opening is the first phase of a planned network of trails spanning 38 miles within the nearly 9,000 acres of the San Vicente Redwoods. Prospective hikers, bikers and horse riders are required to register for the system’s iridescent trail pass, which will give them access to the trails from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will also be a kiosk on site where visitors can register.
Interpretive signs rest amidst the ruins and recovery left in the wake of the 2020 CZU August Lightning Complex fires along the San Vincente Redwoods trails. (Jessica A. York -- Santa Cruz Sentinel) Interpretive signs rest amidst the ruins and recovery left in the wake of the 2020 CZU August Lightning Complex fires along the San Vicente Redwoods trails. (Jessica A. York — Santa Cruz Sentinel) “There are rules, but they are common sense rules that are designed to make trail users safe and to make sure that the ecosystem remains as undisturbed as possible,” said Newkirk. “We’ve already had 2,000 people sign up to register for the beautiful new trail passes, which help us to communicate if the property closes for planned or unplanned reasons.”
The trail system came about as a collaboration that began in 2011 between the Save the Redwoods League, the Sempervirens Fund and the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) and the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County, with each playing a part in the restoration, conservation and management of the preservation reserve.
“Without collaboration, we would not be here,” said Sara Barth, executive director of Sempervirens Fund. “Since Sempervirens Fund and POST purchased this property a decade ago, and began this four-way partnership, we’ve really embarked on a process of multifaceted restoration, which has led to a series of connections we would not have anticipated.”
One of the connections Barth refers to is with the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band who have worked with the conservation cohort for the past few years. Although there are no surviving members of the indigenous Awaswas-speaking people who once inhabited the San Vicente Redwoods, the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band have helped to preserve their legacy by working with the Land Trust and its partners to name the five distinct trails within the preserve in the Awaswas Language.
“Visitors to this property will see that this is a fire-resilient landscape, and has evolved with fire for thousands of years,” said Sam Hodder, president and CEO of Save the Redwoods League. “As you walk the trail, you’ll see life coming back and that nature in this landscape is used to this. It’s been there and done that, and the redwoods are at that leading edge of a recovering natural system.”
The next phase of the planned 38-mile trail system could begin within three to five years, but will depend on available funding, and visitor and wildlife behavior after the first phase of the system opens.
Ping
They say they intend to log some second growth redwoods in the property. I don't know if they have commented on their plans for fire mitigation.
Do you have any thoughts on how many miles of trails should be open to the public on a property of this size? I believe I read they have over 40 miles of roads.
Nice! What a shame seeing all the blackened trees. It’s also a crying shame that the undergrowth wasn’t cleared out and the slash burned to prevent the massive forest fire in the first place.
If you go down to Waddell Creek Beach the first couple miles or so is still accessible, but the rest of the park is closed off. A local told me that a lot of the trees still up are going to come down.
On the map, it looks like the new Vicente park is close to the Waddell Creek trailhead. Too bad the greenies will stop trail recovery efforts. They want those trees to fall naturally in 40 or 50 years.
I was hiking at English Point here in North Idaho a few days ago. The forest floor has been cleared out and the undergrowth brush all burned. It’s an open forest now.
I hope to get back to the Bay Area soon!
The subject trail system only cost 37.4 billion dollars and will offer users many more hidden and secluded areas in which they can be mugged, raped, and killed. Authorities are determined to provide increased opportunities for the ever burgeoning criminal population.
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Bears sees options
New option for the homeless too.
yippee
Mecca for the hobos
People say there are bears living in the Santa Cruz Mountains. They must be shy, I think the last sighting as in 1979 or 1980.
I never see any homeless people living where people hike. I saw a shoeless hippie type at Moore Creek Preserve once, but he was just passing through.
I never see any homeless people living where people hike
Then must have not found it yet
Not shy but full keep an eye open.
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