San Gregorio Environmental Resource Center

Did you know that 80% of trash that enters the ocean from California comes from inland areas?

Coastal Cleanup Day is Saturday, September 17th 9am-Noon.  Join SGERC at San Gregorio State Beach or at any of the Coastal or Inland cleanup sites.  You can look for sites and preregister at:

http://www.coastal.ca.gov/publiced/ccd/ccd.html

Bring Your Own reusable: bucket, gloves, water bottle, etc.  Also bring sturdy shoes, sunscreen and layered clothing.  Weather can be unpredictable!

After a brief orientation, volunteers will work in teams to collect debris and record the trash picked up.  The data collected from these events guide efforts to reduce trash and their impacts on the environment.  Picking up the trash ... well, you immediately see the difference!

Parking for volunteers is free at San Gregorio State Beach - one of the state's ways of saying "Thank You!!!"

Watch the YouTube video "Trash Frog" http://www.youtube.com/user/CACoastalCleanupDay#p/a/u/1/mFiKFVSwupg

Sign up today at coastforyou.org.

• The Watershed Working Group held a public meeting February 18th, 2010 in La Honda to review and comment on the final draft of the Watershed Management Plan. Comments centered on ways to improve the process and notification of residents. Issues of control and involvement of local or government agencies were also addressed. The WMP is a community plan and is designed to be updated and amended as necessary through the years. The final Plan is scheduled for completion in April 2010.
• The Technical Advisory Committee met February 17th, 2010 to review and comment on the final draft Watershed Management Plan.
• The Watershed Working Group met December 3rd, 2009 to discuss the Assessment and first look at the Management Plan.
• The Technical Advisory Committee met in early November 2009 to comment on the draft Watershed Assessment. They provided many substantive comments which will be addressed and incorporated in a revised draft presented to the public and Watershed Working Group Dec. 3rd, 2009.
• A public meeting was held September 25th 2008 to inform the public of the project and allow members of the community to participate in a workgroup that will help guide this project. See the "Watershed Information" page of this website to see comments, questions and concerns raised by the community. The next public meeting will be early in 2009.
• The Technical Advisory Committee met in November 2007, March 2008 and July 2008 to discuss the scope of the Assessment and Plan and provide guidance for the project and discuss needed field monitoring for the upcoming season. Their next meeting will be in early 2009.
• Several exciting results of our efforts:
  - A "Watershed Information System" will be available to all on the Web. This tool will allow anyone to see all the studies and reports that have been done in the San Gregorio Watershed over the past decades. You may select any study or report and link to the actual document or photograph. The unveiling of this website should come soon.
  - GIS map layers have been created for our watershed. These map layers allow for modeling to be done that identify data gaps, or areas that need further study. Modeling also allows for scenarios to be created that help guide future planning for the watershed.
  - New monitoring equipment has been purchased for water quality monitoring. The new equipment allows for more precise and accurate measurements as well as compatibility with other monitoring programs and databases throughout the state. The majority of our monitors have now been trained in the use of this new equipment. We have also installed several continuous measurement devices for temperature and sediment.
  - Field studies have been conducted by Stillwater Sciences. All data from the Assessment is currently being analyzed in preparation for presentation of a Draft Plan later this year.
• Due to a State freeze on Bond funding, no progress was made on our project through most of 2009. On September 1st, the funds were unfrozen, allowing us to return to work. A draft plan should be ready for public and technical review in November, with the hope that the final plan will be completed before the end of 2009, or at the latest March 2010.

SGERC, with the Natural Heritage Institute and several partners, has been awarded a $500,000 grant for a Watershed Assessment and Plan for the San Gregorio Watershed.  This Assessment and Plan will allow us to better understand the current state of the watershed and determine what, if any, steps should be taken in the future to ensure water quality, water quantity and the general health of the environment. This will benefit all water users, residents and visitors in the watershed. This will be a two year project beginning in January of 2007. More information will be available on the Watershed Info page of this website in coming months.