While the Steering Committee
& Technical Advisory Committee continue the work of building a community-driven management plan for two watersheds totaling
700 + square miles, keeping the public informed and engaged is a TOP PRIORITY.
BELOW AND IN
THE NEXT COLUMN ARE PRESS RELEASES from the NACITONE PROJECT:
2008 August
2008 February
2007 September
2007 June
2006 September
February
2008 PRESS RELEASE
Water Quality, Roads, Grazing Get a Closer Look In DRAFT
Plan for LakesWatersheds
Clean water and air, healthy and accessible
forests, high quality rangeland and farming, recreational opportunities, a thriving local economy, well designed roads, and
developments that minimize disturbance of the landscape and maximize the quality of life is the vision being built page by
page in a DRAFT Watershed Management Plan for the Nacimiento and San Antonio watersheds.
The public is invited on Saturday, February 16th,
6:00pm to HeritageRanchSeniorCenter for a presentation
and discussion on “What’s Happening In Your Backyard?.”
The evening is hosted by the Nacitone Steering
Committee.Welcomes will be made by San Luis ObispoCounty, District 1 Supervisor Harry Ovitt and Richard Morgantini, Chair
of the Board of Monterey County Water Resources Agency.
“As a long time supporter of public participation in the planning process, I am encouraged to see area residents
actively participating in the development of this watershed management plan,” says Harry Ovitt, first
District Supervisor in San Luis ObispoCounty.
“It is essential that those who know the area best take the lead in developing a plan that will have the support it
needs to be effective.”
Phil Humfrey,
lives on the south shore of lakeNacimiento
and has been a long-time advocate of recreational uses of the lakes sitting on the Board of the Nacimiento Regional Water
Management Advisory Committee.Humfrey has agreed to be Co-Chair of the Nacitone Steering Committee.“The watershed plan should be a road map to a prosperous future and abundant good water quality
without destroying the natural resources that make this the kind of place people want it to be,” says Humfrey.
Steph Wald, the Plan Writer
and a biologist from Grover Beach-based Central Coast Salmon Enhancement is in charge of bringing all the information together
in a readable plan. “We hope people come to us with stories and pictures that will help us protect what they love about
these places.”
Two years ago, the Monterey County Water Resources Agency drew together
some of the biggest landowners in the watersheds like Fort Hunter Liggett, CampRoberts, and SLOCounty.Their agenda?Coordinate the management of the reservoirs to ensure that
water quality is protected and that federal requirements on reservoir operations are not compromised by other uses.Then they handed the reigns over to a community Steering Committee.
“What comes out of
this process should really reflect what the community wants to protect now and into the future by having the most complete
and accurate watershed information possible,” says Nacitone Steering Committee Co-Chair Duane Wolgamott who is also
a Lockwood landowner and Co-Owner of Marin’s Vineyard.
The two watersheds encompass 705 square miles (Nacimiento 361 and San Antonio
344) and contain business and residential areas, oak woodlands, streams, military bases, recreational centers and water supplies
at the lakes, farming and ranching, and miles and miles of roads.
Community members from Heritage Ranch, Lockwood, Fort Hunter Liggett, and ranchers/property owners from both watersheds
have already spent many hours working together on the Plan.No one wants their homes or businesses
scrutinized or their choice of recreational activity limited.Recognizing these concerns, the
Nacitone Watershed Steering Committee adopted the following Vision Statement: “The Nacimiento and San Antonio
Watersheds Management Plan should protect water quality and watershed uses for all stakeholders.”To that end, the group is focused on maintaining and improving water quality by identifying
issues and ways to address them in support of the Vision Statement.
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AUGUST 2008 PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Traci Roberts, Facilitator
831-750-5875
Watershed Group Asks Counties to Work Together
It is difficult to imagine a more complex, confusing, and valuable part of the CentralCoast than the Nacimiento and San Antonio
watersheds.Like a shot-gun wedding, these two watersheds are destined to link southern Monterey county to northern San Luis Obispo
county even if their kin folk don’t always get along.
The watersheds, each with a stream and a man-made reservoir of the same name, are linked to the SalinasRiver and the Monterey Bay National
Marine Sanctuary.For this reason, water quality and fishery habitat in these watersheds are of
great interest to the State Water Resources Control Board and the National Marine Fisheries Service.Two years ago, the state offered grant funds to develop a protection plan for the area.Sitting
in the middle of a complex web of overlapping county, state, and federal agencies and seeing an opportunity to protect their
homes and natural resources residents formed a group, to undertake the development of a “Watersheds Strategy”
and description of “Current Watershed Conditions” to form the basis for a Watersheds Management Plan rather
than allow any agency to plan for them.The Monterey County Water Resources Agency and the county of San Luis Obispo
have both been supportive of this group and their efforts.
Thousands of volunteer hours later, residents from Lockwood-Jolon Road
to the San Antonio Mission, from Chimney Rock Road
to Nacimiento Lake Road and points in between are
asking their neighbors, colleagues, and the public at large to comment on their work.The 23-member
self-named “Nacitone Steering Committee” released the draft Nacimiento and San
Antonio watersheds management plan on August 15th for a 30 day review and comment period
ending September 13th.The group welcomes constructive input from the community.
One of the primary recommendations
the steering committee makes in the Plan calls for improved communication and coordination across all agencies and organizations
working in the watersheds – especially between the two counties.“It has gotten to
the point that almost no one understands which agency does what,” says committee co-chair Duane Wolgamott, “and
there are too many stories of homeowners being bounced back and forth between county departments, and even across counties,
trying to find out who they should be talking to.”
According to Phil Humfrey, the steering committee’s other co-chair, “The issue is that we residents truly
need our counties to be able to work side-by-side in serving the diverse needs of their publics - we think this Plan has the
potential to help with that.”Toward that end, the steering committee is calling for more
county to county communication and coordination and better information sharing by both counties to the public.The group cites the creation of a cross-county land use map, prepared for the Plan, as an example of improving communications.The two county planning departments had to sit down and harmonize their very different land zoning
categories in order to make the map.
The draft Watersheds Management Plan addresses many issues including protection of recreational opportunities, agriculture,
water quality, and plant and animal communities, preventing the introduction of invasive species, the need for public education
and outreach, and enforcement of existing regulations.It also addresses the timely issue of fire
in the watersheds.All of these issues are addressed with an emphasis on voluntary action rather
than introducing any new regulations.
A question the steering committee is grappling with now is, “whether and how to keep working to implement some
of the ideas in the Plan?”Having a Plan in place means there could be significant dollar
amounts available to these communities to do some of the work the Plan suggests.
The 137 page draft plan contains
6 maps and 33 tables and other graphics in an attempt to provide all interested parties with a greater understanding and appreciation
for where they live, work, or vacation.
Get a copy of the DRAFT Nacimiento & San Antonio River Watersheds Management Plan by going
to www.Nacitonewater.org and clicking
on the WHAT’S NEXT tab at the top of the page. Then click the link to “Draft Watersheds Management Plan.”Or, contact the group’s facilitator to request a copy at traci@montereycfb.com and 831-750-5875.
September 2007 PRESS RELEASE
Pour Out Your Watershed Knowledge: Meeting seeks public comment
If you use water, this may concern you.
Public input and goal development is
needed to direct the use of a $487,000 grant obtained by the Monterey County Water Resources Agency for the creation of
the Nacimiento and San Antonio (Nacitone) Watersheds Management
Plan.
The Nacitone Watershed Steering Committee will host a Community Advisory meeting, slated for 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday,
Sept. 19, seeking input from the public as problems and concerns facing the watershed are being compiled. Find out who is
on the steering committee and what issues have been listed so far.
Attendees will also be updated on how two major projects
will affect the lives of people, plants and animals living within the bounds of the Nacimiento and San Antonio valleys. The SLO Nacimiento Water Project and the Salinas Valley Water Project
are scheduled for construction over the next two years. Learn the purpose of these projects, who they serve, how they will
be paid for and what they mean for the future of the watershed.
The meeting, the second of several that will take
place over the next 12 months, is being held at the HeritageRanchSeniorCenter
on Heritage Road by the Nacitone Watersheds Management
Plan Steering Committee. Facilitator Traci Roberts, environmental resources coordinator for the Monterey County Farm Bureau,
will be joined by plan writer Stephnie Wald, a biologist with Grover Beach-based
Central Coast Salmon Enhancement and Ken Ekelund, project coordinator for the Monterey County Water Resources Agency.
The non-regulatory
management plan being drafted for the Nacitone Watersheds is intended for use by public officials, agencies, community groups
and others to base decisions on the best available information documented in the plan. Public input is vital to the success
of the project and to the future of life within these watersheds.
The community-based steering committee meets regularly
and relies on meetings like this to ensure the public’s concerns are being addressed. Public participation is vital
to the success of the project and to the future of life within these watersheds. Come to ask questions, listen, and share
your watershed knowledge.
