One small step for a forest, a giant step for the California coast

Decision on Del Monte Forest could set huge precedent for Coastal Act;
come to Coastal Commission in June in Santa Rosa to defend our coast

Hundreds of Club members and our allies flocked to Monterey for the March meeting of the California Coastal Commission - to help protect 17,000 threatened Monterey pine trees in the Del Monte Forest (see March-April Yodeler, page L).

The Pebble Beach Company has asked permission to cut down these trees to build yet another golf course at Pebble Beach. Beyond the number of trees or the size of the development, at stake is a bedrock concept of California's landmark Coastal Act. These lands have been identified by Coastal Commission staff as an Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Area (ESHA). Further, the project would require development in wetlands and on land previously set aside for "permanent" protection through conservation easements. If the Commission allows such development, the precedent would have dire consequences for the entire coast.

Sierra Club has led the struggle to stop this development. The Commission's hearing lasted 13 hours; some Club members waited more than 12 hours to testify. The day ended encouragingly: no vote was held, but no commissioner disputed the staff's designation that the forest deserved protection.

"The fact that the Del Monte Forest is the largest coastal forest of threatened Monterey pine trees left in the world is important," said Sierra Club's coastal director Mark Massara. "But the Commission is also well aware of the dangerous precedent that this development would set. If this massive project were to be approved, it would bankrupt the very concept of permanent protection anywhere on California's coast."

WhatYouCanDo

The final vote on protection for the Del Monte Forest is expected when the Coastal Commission meets in Santa Rosa this June.

Write to:

California Coastal Commission
Central Coast District Office
725 Front St., #300
Santa Cruz, CA 95060-4508.

Urge the commission to protect the last intact Monterey pine forest ecosystems for future generations. Golf can be played anywhere; once the Monterey forests are gone, they are gone forever.

Better yet, come speak at the Coastal Commission meeting in Santa Rosa in mid-June. We don't yet know on which day the commission will take up this issue. For details, contact Owen Bailey at (213) 387-6528, ext. 211, or email savethecoast -at- sierraclub.org

For more information on how to help, visit http://www.sierraclub.org/ca/coasts/hotbox/pebble.asp and http://www.savepebblebeach.com

Owen Bailey