Land Ownership

Land ownership is an important factor in salmonid recovery planning, with implications for many other factors in salmonid recovery planning such as management of existing salmonid habitat and funding and implementation of restoration projects. How public and private lands are held is also important. For example, parks and reserves are managed differently from state and national forests, and private residential lands pose different management challenges than private agricultural lands.

In San Mateo County, Resource Management Districts – which include land uses from agriculture to mining – comprise about one-third of the land use (San Mateo County Planning and Building Representative, personal communication 2003). In Santa Cruz County, 31 percent of the land is zoned for agriculture and 24 percent is zoned for timber production (Santa Cruz County Planning Department 2003). In both counties, there is a shift in private land ownership patterns from a few large tracts of land being used for resource extraction to many small plots of land used as residences or for commercial development (see the Current Socioeconomic Profile section for information on economic trends).

Total Study Area Land Base

San Mateo County comprises approximately 287,420 acres (California Department of Finance 2001), while Santa Cruz County includes about 282,000 acres (California Association of Resource Conservation Districts 2002). Santa Cruz County has approximately 29 miles of ocean coastline and San Mateo County has approximately 135 miles of both ocean and bay coastline. The counties' decisions and activities greatly impact salmonid recovery planning in both coastal and inland Central California.

Federal, state, and local government agencies own or manage lands in San Mateo and Santa Cruz Counties. In addition, some near- and off-shore areas from San Mateo and Santa Cruz Counties are publicly managed and protected.

Government and Private Ownership

In San Mateo and Santa Cruz Counties, approximately 470,300 acres (82.6 percent) are privately held. The United States government owns approximately 1,200 acres, the State of California owns approximately 54,000 acres, and local governments own approximately 21,000 acres (California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection 1999). The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) owns the majority of the 23,000-acre Peninsula Watershed in San Mateo County (SFPUC 1998).

Parks and Open Space

In San Mateo County, about 133,771 acres of parks and open space exist within or near the county's borders. These lands are owned by federal, state, and local governments, non-profit organizations, and private entities (Bay Area Open Space Council 2003). In Santa Cruz County, more than 43,000 acres are protected as state, county, and city parks. The State of California owns and maintains 42,334 acres of parks in Santa Cruz County and the county maintains 850 acres of parks (Santa Cruz County 2003). In total, about 146,490 acres of land exist as open space within or near the county borders. Of that land, about 84,413 acres is trust or open space land (Bay Area Open Space Council 2003). San Mateo and Santa Cruz Counties are also bordered by the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, along with four other coastal counties. The Sanctuary encompasses 276 miles of shoreline and 5,322 square miles of ocean.

Timberland

Timberland is defined as "forest land capable of growing 20 cubic feet or more per acre per year of industrial wood and not in a reserved status through the removal of the area from timber utilization by statute, ordinance, or administrative order and not in a withdrawn status where it is pending consideration for a reserved status" (Shih 1998). Timber practices can greatly affect salmonid recovery. Timber practices have been linked to sedimentation, loss of riparian habitat, road building, landslides, and other habitat factors important to salmonid survival (see the Factors Limiting Salmonid Production section). Timber harvest can be managed to decrease impact on salmonid habitat (see the Private Lands Management section for more information). Creation and maintenance of riparian buffer zones, select harvest-thinning rather than clear cutting, and monitoring to identify sedimentation sources are all methods by which some timber operators are aiding with recovery planning and implementation. Currently in Santa Cruz County, there is a trend for small timberland owners to sell their land for residential development due to county restrictions that limit logging. However, properly managed timberland may provide more opportunities for salmonid recovery than does residential development.

In 2001 in San Mateo County, private farmers owned 7,000 acres of timberland and 47,000 acres of timberland were owned by other private entities. This was a decrease from 55,000 acres owned by other private entities in 1996. In Santa Cruz County in 2001, 22,000 acres were owned by forest industry entities, private farmers owned 30,000 acres, and other private entities owned 103,000 acres. This pattern was the same as the pattern of land ownership in 1996. Also in Santa Cruz, the Soquel Demonstration State Forest covered 2,681 acres, although only 1000 acres were designated as timberland (Regents of the University of California 2001; California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection 2003).

In 2001, the total acreage of timberland in San Mateo County was 55,000 acres, and the total acreage of timberland in Santa Cruz County was 156,000 acres. Lands zoned for timber production in 2001 (Timber Production Zones, or TPZ) (see the Resource Use section) were considerably less in both counties than in 1996. In 1996, San Mateo had 31,850 acres of TPZ land and Santa Cruz had 62,726 acres of TPZ land. In 2001, TPZ land dropped to 29,000 acres in San Mateo and 53,000 acres in Santa Cruz (Regents of the University of California 2001; California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection 2003).

Resource Extraction

Resource extraction may impact salmonid recovery by potentially increasing sedimentation, habitat loss, road building, or otherwise negatively impacting salmonid habitat (see the Factors Limiting Salmonid Production section). When conducted for a long time on a large scale, extraction of rock and gravel could diminish the amount of gravel available for recruitment into streams. Quarry operations can be managed to decrease negative impacts on salmonid habitat (see the Private Lands Management section for more information).

In San Mateo County, there are currently three active quarries. These are the Langley Hill Quarry near Skyline Boulevard, which produces crushed rock and gravel, the Pescadero Quarry near Half Moon Bay, which produces sand and gravel, and the Brisbane Quarry in the northern part of the county, which produces large boulders down to crushed rock and gravel. The total area used by the quarries is approximately 107 acres (San Mateo County, personal communication 12/8/03, Mike Schaller; San Mateo County personal communication 12/11/03). The San Mateo County Surface Mining Ordinance regulates mining activities in San Mateo County. Mining is permitted in Resource Management and TPZ districts. Resource Management Districts comprise about one-third of land in the county (Mike Schaller, San Mateo County, personal communication 12/11/03).

In Santa Cruz County, there are currently eight active quarries. These are the Bonny Doon Quarry near Felton, Felton Quarry, Hanson Quarry, Quail Hollow Quarry, Wilder Quarry, Olive Springs Quarry, Cabrillo Quarry, and Olympia Quarry (also known to local residents as Lonestar Quarry). The Bonny Doon Quarry produces limestone and shale, the Felton, Quail Hollow, and Lonestar Quarries produce sand, the Cabrillo Quarry supplies landscape materials, and the other three quarries produce sand, gravel, baserock, riprap, and asphalt. The Felton Quarry is in the process of closing operations due to resource exhaustion and the Lonestar Quarry has already shut down active mining. The Cabrillo Quarry is also slowing down mining operations due to resource exhaustion (David Carlson, Santa Cruz County Planning, personal communication 2003). The approximate amount of land area owned or leased by the quarry operators is 1,898 acres with approximately 886 acres (46 percent) of that land zoned and used for active mining operations (David Carlson, San Mateo County Planning, personal communication 2003, Santa Cruz County Planning Department 2003).

Agriculture

Agricultural practices may have negative effects on salmonid habitat through sedimentation, runoff pollution, removal of riparian habitat, or channelization of streams (see the Factors Limiting Salmonid Production section). Management practices such as cover cropping, fencing creeks, leaving or creating riparian buffers, and integrated pest management can ameliorate some of the detrimental effects of agriculture on salmonid habitat. Opportunities exist for farmers, ranchers, and orchard and vineyard owners to restore and preserve riparian habitat while protecting their economic investment (see the Private Lands Management section for more information).

In Santa Cruz County, approximately 84,200 acres or about 31 percent of the total land is zoned for agriculture. Of this land, 181 small farms use approximately 12,300 acres (4 percent), 160 commercial agriculture enterprises use approximately 43,600 acres (16 percent), and 566 residential agriculture operations account for approximately 28,300 acres (10 percent) (Santa Cruz County Planning Department 2003). In San Mateo County, agriculture is the first listed of 26 permitted uses in Resource Management Districts. It comprises about one-third of the County (Environmental Services Agency 1999, San Mateo County personal communication 12/11/03).

Tourism

In Santa Cruz County, most of the tourism is nature-based recreational tourism, although historical, amusement, and agricultural tourism also occur. In San Mateo County, tourism includes nature-based, historical, amusement, agricultural, cultural, and Bay Area tourism. Tourism that results in increased development can be detrimental to salmonid recovery planning by increasing impervious surfaces, pollutants, roads, and other infrastructure detrimental to salmonid habitat (see the Factors Limiting Salmonid Production section). Tourism that focuses on natural resources can greatly benefit salmonid recovery planning by creating another industry that profits from habitat recovery and preservation – ecotourism.

In Santa Cruz County, approximately 90 acres (3 percent) is zoned for commercial tourism and visitor accommodation (Santa Cruz County Planning Department 2003). San Mateo County has a special zoning district called the Coastside Commercial Recreation District, which was created to limit and control the use and development of commercial recreation land on the coast in order to meet the needs of visitors and residents and to protect coastal resources (Environmental Services Agency 1999).

References

Bay Area Open Space Council. 2003. Open Space in the San Francisco Bay Area [Web page]. Bay Area Open Space Council [cited January 11, 2003]. View on-line source.

California Association of Resource Conservation Districts. 2002. RCD - Watershed Information Sharing Project [Web page] [cited 2003]. View on-line source.

California Department of Finance. 2002. County Profiles: San Mateo County [Excel file] [cited 2003]. View on-line source.

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. 2003. Updated California Forest Statistic Abstract [Web page] [cited December 12, 2003]. View on-line source.

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. 1999. ESRI Shape File: GOVOWNERSHIP.

Environmental Services Agency. 1999. "Zoning Regulations." San Mateo County Planning and Building Division. 663 pp. View on-line document.

Regents of the University of California. 2004. Counting California [Web page] [cited December 6, 2003]. View on-line source.

Santa Cruz County. 2003. Santa Cruz County Government: About Santa Cruz County [Web page] [cited December 5, 2003]. View on-line source.

Santa Cruz County Planning Department. 2003. Planning Information Interative Map - ESRI Shape File: zonescw [Interactive mapping server] [cited 2004]. View on-line source.

San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. 1998. "Draft Peninsula Watershed Management Plan.". View document (PDF).

Shih, T.T. 1998. Glossary for the Updated California Forest Statistic (Abstract) [Web page]. California Department of Forestry, Fire and Resource Assessment Program [cited December 4, 2003]. View on-line source.

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