Slough Niche: Birding the Sloughs

I parked my pick-up at the reserve corner and got out. It was late afternoon in October and
the sun’s oblique rays ricocheted across grassy fields and row crops, highlighting western
aspects with chartreuse fire. The hills dove and swooped together like the wakes of goldfinches, at
once evocative of a child’s drawing and infinitely more refined.

I was waiting for a flock of teachers but may as well have beckoned will-o’-the-wisps, because grades
were due (as usual) and wheels were turning towards hot desk lamps and foreshortened hours of rest. Only
the redoubtable Gary M—. swung up at the appointed hour, emerging with ineradicable smile warm as the weather.

We saluted our lost comrades, exulted in the radiant conditions and watched as several “V’s” of Canada
geese emerged from Harkins slough and honked grandly towards the lake district. Strings of cormorants at the same altitude and bearing sped past in the distance, their frenetic pace — genetic legacy of long pelagic foraging trips— excessive for the short flight inland.

A large raptor profiled over the old Cardoza Ranch, prompting us to quickly raise our glasses. Not long before, Gary had introduced a field biology class here to a golden eagle: he was primed for another sighting. You’ll notch eagles perhaps 5-10 percent of the time in the sloughs – a number that has tapered with the reduction of ground squirrel colonies. Our bird turned out to be a large female red-tail, little
more than half the size of a golden eagle.
I remembered the winter of 2004, when a pair
of eagles courted around the tall eucalyptus trees in
upper Harkins, arresting passers-by with spectacular
“crop-dusting” displays. But that was the same winter
that Home Depot relocated part of the Struve Slough
watershed to a Harkins side-canyon, and the eagles
demurred from nesting. Too bad: once a nest site is
established, eagles will return year after year.
I showed Gary the deep curtain drain that was
dug to shunt water around the farmland just below
the high school’s playing fields. The drain may lower
groundwater tables enough to help drain the playing
fields, which were built without their own drains
of their own over a seep spring once frequented by
shorebirds and herons. The seep, still there, once fed
a swale that runs down to the east dogleg of Hansen
Slough. The school and the curtain drain both disrupt,
if perhaps only temporally, the wet-area erosion that
carves sloughs out of the hillsides over geologic
time.
Upper Hansen Slough — once an
odiferous feedlot that sustained more
pigeons and ground squirrels than
cattle – we found now devoted to the
production of Jalapeno peppers. The
ploughing had forced the
ground squirrels and meadow
voles into the road margins;
the road cuts over Harkins Slough
looked like Swiss cheese. We even saw the
brown glimmer of a vole or two.
You could hardly keep track of the white-tailed
kites, so numerous where they. Gary felt confident
that we had tallied a dozen or fifteen; I thought the
number more at 7-10. A good number, either way – a
number that served as a coefficient for 15-30 semitranslucent,
black-shouldered wings organizing the
balmy afternoon air into tight eddies and smooth slipstreams.
When the voles thin, the kites will float over
the hills to the east to search for new pockets of ore.
Searching the cleared ground for seeds and
sprouts, white- and golden-crowned sparrows and
California towhees sputtered into the hedgerows as
we sauntered by, gliding back on quiet wings when
the disturbance passed.
The Watch Spring 2006
ley High School and at local native plant nurseries.
Our Fall field trips were a great success and we
are excited for more field trips and community involvement
in the Spring and Summer. In addition to
school groups, we are working with local job training
programs and will be holding four workshops
over the coming year on water quality, the cultural
uses of native plants, invasive species removal, and
career opportunities in restoration and the sciences.
We’ll also continue our bi-weekly community restoration
days on the second and fourth Saturday of each
month. We’re still open to more schools and community
groups interested in participating in field trips
and wetlands education and we’re always looking for
volunteers interested in helping with restoration and
our many school visits.
The Watsonville Ecological Reserve is returning
to a native and balanced ecology, and it continues to
be an outdoor classroom, a field of study, and a place
where the community can come to learn from and appreciate
the deeply valuable natural environment that
lies beneath our town.
– Jonathan Pilch
Down in Harkins Slough, we were rewarded for our devotions with the sight of several scarleteyed,
cinnamon-splashed teal dabbling in the shallows below the crossing. There were grebes and
coots, cormorants and gulls, egrets great and small and a blue heron or two. In this once small puddle-
cum-lake sailed a group of white pelicans, their great orange beaks pulled up snug against curved,
swan-like necks. We reflected on other warm, fall afternoons like this when flocks of white pelicans spread
white-and-black, eagle-sized wings in magnificent gyres over the site of the high school.
Back on the terrace, a kestrel devoured a vole that must have once weighed almost as much as itself – a
tribute to the strength of the modest talons gripping the carnage to the wire. The bird hardly looked at us as it
tore at the flesh, pausing only to shift down the wire as we neared.
A bit further, over the crest of the hill, a smaller kestrel ripped up another rodent, a mousy tail just visible
beneath the busy beak in the waning light. Nearby, an uncommon loggerhead shrike, neither mouse nor cricket
gracing its tenterhooks, watched hungrily after its bedtime.
When we returned to our corner, Gary was exuberant – an energy state only slightly higher than his resting
phase. “Kestrels eating voles, fifteen kites, white pelicans …”
“A loggerhead shrike …” I chimed in.
“A loggerhead shrike, cinnamon teal … those teachers don’t know what they’re missing – but I’m going to
tell ‘em,” he reveled.
“You can see a lot, just walking along the road,” I concurred. Grades and dinners to prepare notwithstanding,
we felt eons ahead of the game.
– Jerry Busch
National Fish & Wildlife Foundation Funds Community Restoration
Project in West Struve Slough
In Watsonville Wetlands Watch, the National
Fish and Wildlife Foundation has found a perfect
partner for not your ordinary habitat restoration
project. The West Struve Slough Community Restoration
Project continues the community driven effort
to protect West Branch Struve Slough and restore
the 120-acre Watsonville Ecological Reserve located
across the street from Watsonville’s new environmental
High School.
Led by the stewarding hands of Pajaro Valley
students, neighbors, and restorationists, four acres of
the reserve are being planted with native plants and
monitored for water quality, wildlife populations, and
ecological health. The main focus of the project is
the creation of a grassed waterway and filter strip at
the base of the High School, an innovation in native
plant technology. The grassed waterway will be
one acre in size and will be fully restored with native
grasses, rushes, and sedges - all functioning to
control erosion and pollution from the High School.
All of the new plants introduced into the reserve will
have been grown from locally collected seed and
grown by students at Amesti Elementary, Pajaro Val-
NICHE continued
Spring 2006 The Watch
Patrick J. Fitz WERC Open House Scheduled for March 18
fied School District. Come take a look at our state-ofthe
art computer lab featuring the latest GIS software,
donated by the Pajaro Dunes Homeowners’ Association
and networked by Wetlands Watch volunteer
Henry Robinson from Friends of Pajaro Dunes.
Finally, come experience the beginnings of the
new Ruth Hofmeister Memorial Greenhouse, where
we will be propagating native plants for our National
Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) grant. Restoration
Specialist Jonathan Pilch and Wetland Steward
John Pritchard will be on hand to provide information
on the plants we are growing and opportunities to get
involved with our volunteer restoration program.
We look forward to seeing you for this landmark
celebration!
– Rachel Garrett
Join our volunteers!
Docent Training for 2006 will begin this February.
Be a part of this community-wide program
that protects, restores and informs people about
the Watsonville Wetlands. Sign up for our next
training program, starting the first week of February.
Learn from the experts about the history and
geology of the wetlands and gain skills in teaching
others about wildlife habitats in the Pajaro Valley.
To learn more about this outstanding opportunity
and very important program please see our website:
watsonvillewetlandswatch.org
and M. Samis Wetlands Lab donated by Pondsaway,
Inc., the Chuck and Ramona Allen Visitor Center, the
Ruth Hofmeister Memorial Greenhouse, and the outdoor
classroom featuring a breathtaking view of the
sloughs and central Monterey Bay coastline.
At our open house we’ll unveil the new “teaching
wall” in the Visitor Center - a state of the art display
of the Watsonville wetlands designed by Wildways,
Inc. featuring detailed depictions of wetland
flora and fauna. The display includes a key in English,
Spanish, and Latin, as well as the following in-depth
glimpses of our own Watsonville sloughs:
• “Hidden in the Grass” - an exploration of the
coastal prairie ecosystem
• “Mating in the Marsh” - a look at wetland
courting rituals
• “Against all Odds, New Generations Thrive”
- birth and development of wetland fauna
• “In Nature’s Cafeteria, Everybody is on the
Menu” - a look at the wetland food web
• “Murder in the Meadow” - a nocturnal view of
the wetlands
In the “Shaping our Wetland Environment”
temporary exhibit, we explore the theme of human
interaction with the wetlands through ecological restoration
and good stewardship. A unique plant exhibit
features key native species and “worst of the worst”
non-native species found in the Watsonville wetlands
and coastal prairie ecosystems. Our “Wetland Stewards”
display showcases four local heroes who have
given countless hours of their own time to protect,
restore, and appreciate our wetland environment.
In the Samis Wetlands Lab and Classroom, we
will feature student work funded by a Bay Watershed
Education and Training (BWET) grant from the
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, as well as
student artwork from throughout Pajaro Valley Uni-
It’s official! On
Saturday, March
18th, the Patrick J.
Fitz Wetlands Educational
Resource Center will celebrate
its grand opening with a public
open house from noon to
4:00 p.m. Come share in our
excitement as you tour the K.
The Watch Spring 2006
A Thumbnail Sketch of Three New Employees
can’t wait to see that light bulb go off when they start
to connect the dots and begin to discern the importance
of protecting and restoring this unique ecological
system.”
JONATHAN PILCH, Restoration Specialist
During a semester off from studies at UC Berkeley,
Jonathan Pilch took an apprenticeship at Aprovecho,
an organic garden near Eugene, Oregon. He
learned a lot about organic gardening, sustainable
forestry, and solar technology. “This awakened me,
and I came back to UC much more focused.” He
completed his Geography major in short order and
graduated in May of 2004. His days at UC included
involvement in a community struggle to preserve a
university-owned farm and convert it into an urban
agriculture demonstration farm. The struggle continues.
After graduation, and under the guidance of
a colleague of one of his UC professors, he joined
several other students in work and travel in South
America, mostly in Ecuador and Peru. “We worked
on rural development —sustainable agriculture projects-
organic coffee, and a native potato project in the
Peruvian Andes,” he explained. “Organizing small
farmers in sustainable agriculture projects was very
challenging but pretty amazing,” he added. He began
the five-month experience in Ecuador by completing
an intensive course in Spanish and living with a family.
He is fluent. After college, he also worked on a
seed farm in Vermont.
His assignment with the Wetlands Watch includes
principally the restoration of 30 acres of the
Fish and Game reserve near the new Pajaro Valley
High School. Officially, it is called the West Struve
Slough Community Restoration project. Also, under
a National Fish and Wildlife Grant (NFWF), he is
working with John Pritchard (see later paragraphs)
and others to construct a grassed waterway. He is also
working on a housing mitigation project. WWW is
restoring small pieces of property next to the expansive
new housing developments. Jonathan also
has assignments at Amesti Elementary School in the
Greenhouse. Fourth graders come to the Greenhouse
to learn about the various plants, and how to propagate
native plants. He does classroom presentations
about the watersheds and the wetlands and is one of
By Ann B. Jenkins
WWW has welcomed three outstanding new
employees in the past nine months. As you read you
will understand why each is a ‘perfect fit’ for his or
her particular job title.
RACHEL GARRETT, Coordinator, Patrick J. Fitz
Wetlands Education Research Center (WERC)
“My real passion is wetlands and watersheds, so
it was natural to focus on these during my graduate
work for an M.A. at the Monterey Institute of International
Studies,” explained Rachel Garrett. “Originally,
I thought I’d like to be involved with policy on
a broader level. But, the longer I lived on the central
coast, the more I realized that everything happens
locally. Here there is a real sense of community
ownership of our natural resources.” Although she is a
native of Colorado and graduated from the University
of Colorado with a major in Spanish and a minor in
Biology, Rachel said she fell in love with the natural
beauty of the central coast when she came to visit her
grandparents during vacations.
Before doing graduate work, Rachel worked as
a program manager for Quirk, a software company
in Denver. “I worked with translators translating into
Spanish and Italian.” At Quirk, she said she learned a
lot about “managing projects, coordinating schedules
and working with diverse personalities.” She has also
been an intern at the Elkhorn Slough Foundation and
the Nature Conservancy and did specialized outreach
to the Spanish-speaking community for the Monterey
Bay Regional Water Pollution Control Agency.
She is bi-lingual and has lived in Mexico City,
studied in Costa Rica and traveled in Bolivia.
The Fitz WERC center is a valuable asset to the
wetlands system. For Rachel it is “a unique placebased
resource for the Pajaro Valley.” “It represents
this unique wetlands system. It can’t be duplicated
anywhere else,” she added. She loves the variety in
her job and would not like to be “pigeonholed” in one
project. She is intrigued by all the energy and enthusiasm
behind the WERC project-coming from all
sections of the community.
“I am really looking forward to working with the
youth and harnessing all that creative and optimistic
energy. The young people are really the keystone. I
Spring 2006 The Watch
Habitat Improvements Proceed At Pajaro Valley High School
mentation of the nine wetland and upland habitat
modifications to the BRP put forward by WWW
and approved by the CA. Coastal Commission as
Addendum #2 to the BRP.)
WWW is looking forward to involving more
of its members, as well as the public, in restoration
and monitoring activities during 2006. Coming up
on Saturday, January 28th at 9:00 AM (meet in front
of the campus entrance off Harkins Slough Road)
is our third Community Planting Day. PVUSD
has over 1,500 native plants that need to get in the
ground as soon as possible during the rainy season
to establish their roots.
Later in the Spring we will be performing plant
maintenance activities including weeding, plant
protection, and (when needed) plant replacement. In
the realm of monitoring, we now have two years of
Bird Point Count Sampling Surveys that are looking
promising. Under discussion are several wildlife
enhancement projects that will reinforce this trend.
We look forward to letting WWW members
and others know more about these and other efforts
taking place during the next year .... All of which
are part of WWW’s ongoing commitment to the
helping this area become a living monument to the
betterment of both the wildlife that depend upon
this site for their survival and of the students for
whom it is integral to their future.
by Chris Lyons, Planning & Conservation
Committee Member and WWW representative to
the PVHS Environment and Construction Oversight
Partnership Committee.
Pajaro Valley High School (PVHS) habitat
restoration activities were in full force during 2005.
This is good news since there were timeline delays
in 2004 in meeting the Biological Restoration
Plan (BRP) requirements due to difficulty with site
preparation, plant & seed acquisition, as well as the
weather. As most “The Watch” readers know, the
BRP is the road map for how to preserve, restore
and enhance the environmentally sensitive habitat
areas (ESHA), as well as the storm water detention
basins, on the 38 acres of sensitive habitat outside
the developed area of this new high school.
Implementation of the BRP measures continued
to receive close monitoring by Watsonville
Wetlands Watch (WWW) in 2005, the third of an
eight-year program schedule for restoration and
enhancement. This work is greatly facilitated by the
PVHS Environment and Construction Oversight
Partnership Committee composed of PVUSD, City
of Watsonville and WWW representatives.
Primary 2005 restoration and enhancement
activities included:
* Soil Preparation on both the West Struve
Slough ESHA and the Hanson Slough ESHA;
* Irrigation System Implementation
* Seeding and planting of West Struve Slough
ESHA in the Spring;
* Seeding of most of the Hanson Slough ESHA
in the Fall;
* Flagging on the Hanson Slough ESHA with
planting of approximately 100 plants;
* On-going plant maintenance; and,
* Monitoring (including oversight of imple-
Time to renew!
We try to keep our renewal cycle starting at the beginning of the year, so would appreciate your renewal
membership to the Watsonville Wetlands Watch at this time. Membership of $25 a year/$15 student or senior,
supports efforts to preserve and protect slough systems in the Watsonville area. You will also receive The
Watch, our quarterly newsletter.
Name________________________________
Address______________________________
City/State/Zip _________________________
Send your check to Watsonville Wetlands Watch
Post Office Box 1239
Freedom, CA 95019-1239
The Watch Spring 2006
Watsonville City Planning Commission Opens Its Ears To Watsonville
Wetlands Watch Concerns.
through the wetlands corridor on the Watsonville
Slough.
• Special status designation for species that are
'locally unique', with a published list of these important
residents of the wetlands.
• A plan to reduce the impact of development
on the natural habitat for the Menabe Burgstrom
Property (soon to be annexed).
• Environmental oversight of Larkin Valley/
Buena Vista area which is scheduled to be annexed
within the next 25 years.
• Expansion of the Glossary of Terms in the
General Plan to include accurate definitions of:
'Riparian Habitat', 'Wetlands', 'Environmentally
Sensitive Habitat' and 'Special Status Plants and
Animals'.
• Opportunity for public comment on Watsonville‚
s General Trails Plan.
We are concerned about the spiraling growth
rate predicted by AMBAG for the City of Watsonville
in the next 25 years (47.5% increase). This will
require our continued vigilance. Future land use
plans should require creative solutions to house our
burgeoning population within the city boundaries.
We must try to protect farmland and open space as
much as possible. The quality of life for all of us,
including the wild things, depends on this.
This was a small but significant victory. We
now have a receptive audience among the Watsonville
City staff and within the Planning Commission.
Now our job is to keep the planners, the staff
and the City Council informed about environmental
issues affecting the Pajaro Valley's wetlands.
Members interested in these absorbing politics
should call Jim Van Houten, Chairman of the Planning
and Conservation Committee, (684-1861).
– Marian Martinez
Since the beginning of WWW's existence, we
have been the mosquito in the ear of Watsonville
City Planners, always advocating for the preservation
of wetlands, their protection and their appreciation.
We finally have the attention of the current
Planning Commission with regard to the Updated
Watsonville General Plan. This has come about
through the efforts of many of us who have sat
through countless meetings, spoken out at most of
them and written more than several letters.
In November, 2005 the Commission accepted
and recommended for approval to the City Council
the General Plan Update 2030, incorporating the
following recommendations:
• Minimum setbacks to be established between
development and environmentally sensitive lands.
• WWW participation in forming the specific
plans for the Menabe /Burgstrom Property targeted
for industrial development.
• Establishment of a wetlands management
policy.
• Areas west of Highway 1 not now in the city
to be deleted from the Plan.
We will continue to negotiate with the Planning
Commission and the City staff about the
details of these recommendations, and we will be
offering more recommendations as development
continues within and around the city. Nothing in
land use policy is ever complete, but the important
gain in these last events is that we now have the
City's respectful attention. We have learned that
persistence and the spirit of compromise work.
Some of the issues we will be pursuing in the
future:
• Wider setbacks to ensure habitat protection.
• Funding for a comprehensive wetlands maintenance
plan
• Adequate migration space for wildlife
Spring 2006 The Watch
the resource specialist-guides during the student field
trips to the Fish and Game Reserve property. “I enjoy
teaching the young folks experiential science and
encouraging them to be active players in our community.
I can’t imagine a more satisfying job in terms of
end results. I get to spend all of my time giving back
to the environment, and the end result will be to make
this area a better place in which to live.”
JOHN PRITCHARD, Wetlands Steward
John Pritchard is working under the umbrella of
a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Grant and
is part of the team working on the Grassed Waterway
Project. “All the runoff from the new Pajaro Valley
High school flows through the retention basins and
through the Fish and Game reserve and 400 feet to the
slough. Our charge is to put native plants along the
waterway to filter this now heavy runoff. I am also
charged with maintaining the 30 acres of Fish and
Game grasslands – mowing and planting plots,” he
explained.
After a couple of years at Cal Poly, Pritchard
(from Woodside) decided he would rather be outdoors,
hiking or volunteering in various ecology projects.
So, he proceeded to tote up 15 years of volunteer
work with various environmental and ecological
groups. He worked as a volunteer with the Wildlands
Restoration Team organized in Santa Cruz County.
He worked with Santa Cruz State Parks in the removal
of invasive plants and exotics.
Pritchard then worked 10 years with the Elkhorn
Native Plant Nursery as a project coordinator. “This
was a great experience. I learned about all the different
aspects of the Native Plant Nursery. I worked in
the office, did sales of native plants and went out into
the field searching for seeds and cuttings – like a big
treasure hunt.” Pritchard said he learned a lot about
plants that way. He also did landscaping and habitat
restoration for the nursery.
He joined Wetlands Watch about nine months
ago fulfilling various assignments. Last year, he attended
a symposium sponsored by the California
Invasive Plant Council. After the conference, he went
on a field trip to the Llano Seco Ranch where the
native California Hibiscus grows and where he had a
good look at Sand Hill Cranes. He has backpacked in
Lassen Park in October (cooold) and commented that
“all the sedges turned to color.”
In five years, he hopes to still be involved with
habitat restoration. “I enjoy everything I do. I especially
enjoy encouraging people to get closer to wild
things.” Recently on one of his sojourns on the Fish
and Game property, he was delighted to discover the
burrows (and their occupants) of burrowing owls.
“Surprises like this make the stewardship a whole lot
of fun,” he added.
BAY BREEZE PLANTING DAY - March 11 Come
out and join the neighborhood in planting native
and beautiful plants along the wetland waterway.
Meet at 9:00 at either the corner of Ohlone Parkway
and Harkins Slough Road, or in front of
Erik’s Deli at Green Valley and Main St. Please
wear layered clothing, a hat, and bring a bottle of
water. We’ll supply the plants, tools, gloves, and
a snack. Hope to see you out there!
Good Neighbors to the Slough
It was the sweeping views of Struve Slough that
enticed Tony and Lorrie Rubio to leave their longtime
residence in Fremont and move to the new Bay
Breeze development off Ohlone Parkway in April
2004.The couple had always known they would retire
someday somewhere along the California coast, and
over the years they had looked at houses from Ft.
Bragg down to Santa Barbara. The day they first saw
what was to become their new neighborhood in the
summer of 2003 was Lorrie’s birthday. That was the
reason Tony joined Lorrie and her sister and brotherin-
law, Elaine and Scott Brazelton for an antique
outing to Moss Landing, and on the way home on
a whim they all stopped by Bay Breeze in virtually
unknown Watsonville to check it out.
As Tony puts it, “I saw the house adjacent to the
slough and asked ‘Where do I sign up?’” Even the reality
of a longer commute over the hill to Santa Clara,
where Tony works 50-hour weeks as a surveyor for
Kier & Wright, was not a deterrent. When asked what
in particular attracted him about the slough, Tony
refers to the entire ecosystem: “It’s the openness, the
frogs, the birds, the tranquility, the setting sun.” He
chuckles when he remembers the purchase contract
contained a disclosure statement about the “noisy”
frogs and says that the first spring “the frogs were so
loud their dogs (Maggie and Moose, two Jack Russels)
were scared.”
Once moved in, Tony started taking pictures every
Saturday morning from his second story balcony
of the view, compiling a vivid picture of the seasonal
changes in the slough. Lorrie, a California Certified
Nursery professional who had previously managed
Orchard Supply Hardware’s retail nursery in Newark,
put in a lovely garden. However, the couple grew
increasingly dismayed to see tall weeds flourishing in
the easement which sloped down to the walking trail
and the slough behind all the neighborhood houses.
But what to do? Who to ask?
Intrigued by a WWW flyer left on his doorstep
recruiting volunteers, Tony became a regular on the
Watch’s bimonthly Saturday workdays. There he
learned from Laura Camera, our Restoration Specialist
at the time and a passionate advocate for the
slough, that the weeds in his backyard were Italian
thistle, Fennel, Poison hemlock and Harding grass.
These opportunistic invasives were choking out native
California rose, Coyote Brush, and Coffee berry
planted by WWW personnel. When Tony and Lorrie
attended a Restoration Committee meeting in the fall
of 2004 and learned of the lack of funding add manpower
to adequately maintain the Struve Slough easement
at Bay Breeze, Tony quickly suggested that the
neighbors would probably be very glad to help out if
they just knew how. The Rubios offered to spearhead
an outreach, and so the Bay Breeze Project began to
take shape.
Like most good ideas, implementation required
patience, perseverance, and vision. Over the next
11 months many collaborated. Jerry Busch, John
Pritchard and Tom Schroeder compiled a plant list of
26 different wildflowers, grasses, sedges and shrubs
indigenous to the Pajaro Valley watershed for the
neighbors to plant. It was vitally important to use
only locally propagated stock to protect the unique
genetic makeup of the slough flora from contamination.
Two local native plant nurseries, Elkhorn
Native Plant Nursery and Native Revival Nursery,
reviewed the list to ensure they had sufficient supplies
of locally propagated stock for purchase. No trees
were included in the list so as not to block views of
the slough. To help homeowners understand that they
were creating good habitat for local fauna as well,
plants which supply nectar for hummingbirds or constitute
a food source for birds and other animals were
starred on the list. Tom got the Department of Fish
and Game to sign off on the list, while Bob Culbertson
got City of Watsonville approval for homeowners
to plant designated natives on a 15-foot wide strip
adjacent to their back fences.
Meanwhile Tony and Robin Spring created
a flyer to educate homeowners about natives: the
importance of winter planting, soil preparation, and
irrigation requirements. Included was information on
the location of native plant demonstration gardens,
as well as books and online resources about growing
natives. Robin, Rachel Garrett, and Jonathan Pilch
translated the flyer into Spanish. A special thanks is
due to San Jose Blue who printed the colorful 4-page
flyer at cost. Other handouts included copies of the
Watch’s latest newsletter, California Native Plant
Society’s “Why Use Native Plants?”, CA Invasive
Plant Council’s “Don’t Plant a Pest!”, and Dept. of
Fish and Game’s bilingual brochure on how to prevent
contamination of local water sources. Lorrie
assembled the packets for distribution in special bags
that could be hung on doorknobs if no one was home.
Mark Your Calendars!
The Community Restoration Calendar
Join the community effort to restore the wetlands of Watsonville. Meet rain or shine at 9:00 am in front of
Erik's Deli Café, in the Orchard Supply Parking lot at the corner of Green Valley and Main St. Wear layered
clothing, sturdy shoes (or rubber boots) and a hat. We supply gloves, tools, and something nutritious to keep
us working. All ages welcome. We work until noon and always include time for hiking, bird watching, and
learning about the wetlands and local native plants.
Docent Training: February 2006. To learn more
about this outstanding opportunity and very important
program please see our website: watsonvillewetlandswatch.
org.
March 18: WERC Open House From12 to 4 PM
tour the new Patrick J. Fitz Wetland Educational
Resource Center at the new Pajaro Valley High
School.
Tuesday February 7 From 4 to 6 PM. BWET
integrated curriculum sharing session at the Fitz
WERC center.
Teacher training. Teacher training at Elkhorn
Slough and CSUMB with continuing education
units offered. For more information visit: www.
elkhornslough.org
Native Plant Demonstration Gardens at the Patrick
J. Fitz Wetlands Educational Resource Center. We
are designing and creating these gardens in collaboration
with the native plant landscaping class
at Cabrillo Horticulture Department. If you are
interested in participating or contributing resources
or time to this project, please contact: Jonathan
(728-4106)
Saturday January 28 A school & community wide
effort to turn once-farmed fields into important
wetland habitat around Pajaro Valley High School.
Saturday February 11 More mulching, weeding, and
planting of natives in the uplands of the ecological
reserve.
Saturday February 28 Weeding and planting continue.
Join us for these last days of Winter!
Saturday March 11 Join the community of Bay
Breeze to restore the slopes of the neighborhood
for this planting day in the sloughs.
Saturday March 25 Celebrate Spring by planting
natives and helping to weed around and care for
the native plants on the ecological reserve.
Saturday April 8 Planting and weeding continue.
On a bright Sunday in late September, Lorrie, Robin and Tony knocked on the doors of all 56 houses adjacent
to the slough. The 27 different people we talked to welcomed the idea with interest, many grateful to have a
chance to get rid of the weeds. By December it was clear the project was taking off. As many as 15 easement
plats were weed-free and little planting flags were sprouting all over the hillsides. Hoping to inspire others
by example, Lorrie and Tony have added Beeplant, Yarrow and Little Hill-dweller Sedge to the existing wild
roses and coffee berries on their back hill. Just in time for the winter rains, they are sowing seeds of Miniature
Lupine and California Poppy for a show of spring color. The Rubios hope their native plant demonstration
garden will be an inspiration to all who walk by and will continue the ‘domino effect’ as more and more slough
residents become active participants in the project.
When Tony and Lorrie first saw Struve Slough, they sensed immediately it was a special place. Now they
know just how special this freshwater slough habitat actually is, they are working with their neighbors at Bay
Breeze to keep it that was - one backyard at a time! – Robin Spring
GOOD NEIGHBORS...
The Watch
Watsonville Wetlands Watch Newsletter
Post Office Box 1239
Freedom, CA 95019-1239
Building Our New Wetlands Library at the WERC!
YES! I would like to support wetlands education
by contributing to the WERC resource library.
Enclosed please find my donation of:
$25 (each bookplate) x ___ bookplates =$_______
I would like my name to read as follows on my
bookplate:________________________________
Help us meet our goal to build an outstanding
Pajaro Valley focused library at the new Patrick J.
Fitz Wetlands Educational Resource Center. We are
looking for local and regional resources in the following
topic areas:
• Flora & Fauna
• Watersheds & Wetlands
• Public Resource Management & Land Use Policy
• History, Archeology, & Ohlone Culture
• Geology & Hydrology
• Photography, Art & Nature Journals
• Geography & GIS
• Technology & Science
• Agriculture
• Horticulture & Native Landscaping
• Weather/ Floods
• Monterey Bay and Marine Sanctuary
We are also interested in field guides, activity
guides, maps, aerial photos, and video, published
after 2000. All donated resources should be in good
condition.
For our 'wish list', please refer to our website,
www.watsonvillewetlandswatch.org.
Please e-mail or mail us a list of the resources
you are interested in contributing, and we will call
you when we are ready to receive them.
Thank you for your generous support of the
WERC! We look forward to seeing you at our open
house this spring.
Thank you!
Rachel Garrett, Coordinator, Fitz WERC Center 831-728-1156
– John Pritchard

General Meeting for All Members and Friends of Watsonville Wetlands Watch
______September 12, 6:00-8:00 pm
______All Saint’s Episcopal Church,
______437 Rogers St. Watsonville
______The Speaker: Chris Johnson- Lyons
___The Subject: Restoration plans for the Environmentally Sensitive Lands Near Pajaro Valley High School
___Did you know that Watsonville Wetlands Watch is responsible for managing the Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Areas adjacent to the Pajaro Valley High School.? Did you know that Chris Johnson-Lyons, our speaker for the evening, will bring us up to date on our restoration plans for it? She will show us on maps where these lands are located and tell us in detail about the plans we have to restore and maintain them as native habitat. There will be opportunities for us to ask her questions and to learn how we can become actively involved in the restoration work. You may not want to wield a pick and shovel, but you surly will want to know about this important WWW project. Refreshments will be provided and there will be fellow WWW folk to visit with. Come join in a rare gathering of the whole bunch of us, and learn something new in the process.

Mow thanks!
___We would like to thank C&N Tractors for their generous donation of a tractor mower for 2 days of heavy mowing. The Kubota tractor that they lent us was tough and dependable. Mowing reduces the seed produced by invasive plants. It removes thatch and creates a disturbance that encourages native wildflowers to germinate and thrive. It also changes the structure of vegetation to be very low, a situation that favors predators such as hawks and owls as well as the majestic California ground squirrel.

A WERC in Progress
___A lot has happened since the May groundbreaking of the Wetlands Educational Resource Center. Our building is now over 40 percent complete, and should be done well before the end of the year.
___Here’s a brief recap of the building process thus far. In early summer, the building’s footprint took shape. The contractors dug the foundation and poured the cement in May and June. In July the framing began, and is nearing completion. You can stroll through the rooms of the WERC and envision how this fantastic epicenter of environmental learning will look once complete!
___Not only is the building coming together, but committees are coming together to plan the inner workings of the WERC. The Visitor Center committee came up with a design and display plan for the WERC’s reception area, which they are now transforming from concept into reality. The Restoration Committee is moving forward on the greenhouse, having selected a builder and site. We are also making progress on the landscape plan, outdoor classroom, and the implementation of a new WERC program advisory committee.
___Thanks to a Coastal Commission grant, we have been able to put together a list of equipment and supplies for the WERC classroom. Many kind friends of the WERC have purchased books for the resource library. To thank our contributors, everyone will receive a custom bookplate for each $25 they donate to the resource library.
___Carol Whitehill has worked tirelessly to acquire furniture for the WERC. She has arranged a reburbishing “party” to revive 20 chairs donated to the WERC by Cabrillo College. This event will take place September 24th from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., and all are welcome to attend. (See following information.)
___The Watsonville Wetlands Watch would also like to thank the Pajaro Dunes Homeowners’ Association for generously contributing over $6000 for computers and a printer in the WERC classroom. This amazing gift is a huge help!
___Thanks again to all for your long hours working to make the WERC prosper. We look forward to seeing all of you at our opening celebration in a few months!
___If you would like to donate books or money toward the WERC resource library, or would like to attend the furniture refurbishing event, please contact Rachel at the WERC office at 831-728-1156.
___The WERC’s mission is “To inspire research, education and conservation of the wetlands and watersheds of the Pajaro Valley.”

Late Summer Members' Picnic
___It's always fair weather when good friends get together, just like the old song says.
___On Sunday, August 14th we good friends of Watsonville Wetlands Watch got together for a potluck picnic at Ramsay Park. Not only was the weather almost perfect, but the food we all shared was spectacular. Speeches were made about very deserving and devoted volunteers. We shared some laughs and fellowship and reminded ourselves that this band of merry folk is doing some terrific work. We talked about the splendid progress we have made over this last year and outlined the somewhat overwhelming agenda we face in the near future. Can you believe it? We are building the Patrick J. Fitz Wetlands Educational Resource Center! We will probably be occupying it in December! It is the work of dedicated volunteers that is making it happen! Thank You, everyone!

Gifting Stock
WWW now has the capability to efficiently accept donations of stock. As a non-profit corporation, we can accept stock without any capital gains tax consequences. Consult your tax advisor about this type of donation for your individual situation.
Anyone interested in considering a donation of stock to WWW should contact Treasurer, Caroline Rodgers at 831-722-8503.