Join Santa Cruz Redwoods National Monument Campaign!

From the Sempervirens Fund:

The campaign to gain national monument status for the Coast Dairies property will kick off at a public event scheduled for February 12, 2015 featuring former Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt and other speakers from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the campaign’s Community Advisory Committee, and representatives from other California communities which have recently established new Monuments.

The event, which is free, and open to the public, will take place from 6 pm to 8 pm at the Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz.

Following the presentations there will be time available for Q&A.

RSVPs are encouraged, as seating is limited.

The campaign website has a link to both support the Monument, and RSVP for seating at the kick-off event;

www.santacruzredwoods.org. Please, RSVP.

Former Secretary Babbitt is a long-standing and highly regarded conservationist. As Secretary of the Interior, from 1993 to 2001 during the Clinton administration, he was responsible for identifying and gaining protections for rare and critically important lands throughout the United States.

Secretary Babbitt is a proponent of protecting and stewarding the nation’s natural resource through establishment of National Monuments and other protective mechanisms with community consensus and comprehensive resource management plans.

“The prospect of gaining National Monument status here in Santa Cruz, for the beautiful and unique property known as Coast Dairies is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Babbitt said.

“Establishing a new Santa Cruz Redwoods National Monument will permanently protect and enhance the six productive watersheds, including rare plants and endangered species, while making public access and passive use available to all. The property has been acquired through generous private donations, and this new Monument, and all it can become will be made available at no taxpayer expense, and without taxes or fees increasing. It is a win for the environment, it is a win for the public, and I urge the community to learn more and support this proposal wholeheartedly,” he concluded.

“This is a large (5,800 acres) and diverse parcel, which includes 500 acres of coast redwoods, myriad rare plants and animals, a healthy and vital watershed, and an entire coastal ecosystem which helps provide drinking water, aquifer re-charge, and a healthy National Marine Sanctuary,” said Stephen Reed, the campaign manager for the Santa Cruz Redwoods National Monument. “This property, which has been closed to the public for almost 100 years includes sweeping hillside views of Monterey Bay, deep canyons and ravines, grasslands and forest,” he continued.

Starting with the February 12 kick-off event, the campaign hopes to provide the community with more information about the proposed Monument, and most importantly ask that the residents of Santa Cruz County simply sign the petition in support of the Monument.

Families and kids can sign up to support the Monument, and all names will be forwarded to President Obama as he considers the Monument designation for Coast Dairies.

The campaign to establish the Santa Cruz Redwoods National Monument is being sponsored by Sempervirens Fund, Conservation Lands Foundation, The Land Trust of Santa Cruz County, Save the Redwoods League, Peninsula Open Space Trust, The Nature Conservancy, Resources Legacy Fund, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Local campaign sponsors include (partial list), Hilltromper, Sentinel Printers, Coastal Watershed Council, Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz County, and KUSP FM.

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