“MPRWA” stands for “Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority.” The Authority will hold a special meeting at 7:00 o’clock tonight, in the Monterey City Council Chambers. Three significant items are on the agenda:

• First, the Authority will discuss how to respond to a Notice of Preparation for an Environmental Impact Report (or EIR) for the proposed CalAm Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project (a desalination project). Scoping meetings on that EIR are scheduled to begin on Wednesday.
  
  
• Second, the Authority will appoint a Chair of its Technical Advisory Committee.
  
  
• Third, the Authority will discuss whether to ask the Attorney General for an Opinion on whether Monterey County can legally become a member of the Authority.

Let me also alert you to a meeting of the Monterey County Local Agency Formation Commission, to be held this afternoon at 4:00 o’clock. LAFCO will consider a Notice of Preparation of an EIR for the Proposed Specific Plan, General Plan Amendment, Zoning Amendment, Planning Area and Sphere of Influence Amendment, Prezoning, Annexation, and Tentative Subdivision Map approval for the proposed Monterey Downs development. That’s an important and significant project, and will need LAFCO approval to proceed.

Links to more information can be found below.

More Information:

• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Agenda For Special Meeting of the MPRWA
• Agenda For LAFCO Meeting – October 22, 2012

Friends of Locally Owned Water (also known as Felton FLOW) is sponsoring a series of election-related discussions on key water policy issues in the San Lorenzo Valley. Today, Margaret Bruce and Randall Brown, candidates for election to the Board of Directors of the San Lorenzo Valley Water District, are holding what Felton FLOW is calling “Water Talks @ Watering Holes." These events are intended to focus community attention on the Valley's water supply, water systems, and watershed management. How the San Lorenzo Valley Water District should relate to the Lompico Water District is probably a topic that will be up for discussion. In addition, a proposed emergency water tie-in program, and progress on the District’s new “campus” in Boulder Creek, are likely topics for today’s “Watering Holes” talks.

There are two meetings scheduled for today: This morning, Bruce and Brown will be at Jenna Sue’s, in Boulder Creek, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. They will be at Joe’s Bar in Boulder Creek from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. this evening.

Similar “Watering Hole” events will take place this coming Thursday, October 25th. On Thursday, the candidates will be at Coffee 9, in Ben Lomond, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., and at Henfling’s Tavern in Ben Lomond from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

I have links to more information below.

More Information:

• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• San Lorenzo Valley Water District
• Lompico County Water District
• Joe’s Bar
• Jenna Sue's Cafe
• Coffee 9
• Henfling’s Tavern
• Felton FLOW Website
• Contact Felton Flow By Email at info@feltonflow.org

The Monterey Peninsula Water Management District has issued an invitation. Here’s how it reads:

To Stakeholders in the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel Bay, and Southern Monterey Bay (Monterey Peninsula) IRWM (Integrated Regional Water Management) Region:

On behalf of the Regional Water Management Group, MPWMD would like to invite your involvement in the second public stakeholder meeting for the 2013 IRWM Plan Update process on Wednesday, Oct 24, 2012 from 1:30 PM until 3:30 PM at the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District Office….

The key topics of discussion for the meeting will include the following:

• Reviewing Results of Stakeholder Meeting # 1
  
  
• Discussion of Resource Management Strategies for the Region
  
  
• Introduction of the Project Solicitation and Review Process for the 2013 Plan

I have placed links to materials about this meeting below.

One of the nice things about this meeting is that the District is offering an opportunity for interested persons to use the Internet to attend the meeting through remote access.

Remember, this meeting will be held this afternoon. If you are a Monterey Peninsula resident, you are a stakeholder, and you are invited!

More Information:

• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Agenda For October 24th Stakeholder Meeting
• Materials on Integrated Regional Water Management
• Webex Meeting Link

As I have mentioned before, the Ventana Wilderness Alliance is hosting a “Wild & Scenic” Film Festival tonight. You may still be able to get a ticket. There is more information below.

For over a decade, the Ventana Wilderness Alliance has led grassroots efforts to protect the wilderness qualities of the Ventana Region, along the Big Sur Coast. VWA volunteers also contribute thousands of hours each year maintaining public trails in the Ventana back country. If you check the Ventana Wilderness Website, you can find out about the “Ventana Trails Forever campaign,” and read the endorsement of Robert Redford. By the way, I can’t promise that Robert Redford will be at tonight’s Film Festival, even though Robert Redford and film festivals do go together, and even though it’s absolutely true that Robert Redford is personally urging your support for the conservation work done by the Ventana Wilderness Alliance.

The Land Use Report often focuses on what I sometimes call the “human world,” the world we create ourselves. Land use decisions have a big impact on exactly what we do create. We build our world, however, within a world of Nature that we did not create, and upon which we ultimately depend. Think about getting involved in efforts, like those of the Ventana Wilderness Alliance, that help protect and defend that Natural World.

More Information:

• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Ventana Wilderness Alliance Website
• Ventana Trails Forever Campaign
• Tickets To The Film Festival

Many different groups in our Central Coast Region are dedicated to the protection and defense of the Natural World that ultimately sustains all life – including our own. Our human powers are great, and we depend upon them greatly, and so it is easy to forget that no matter how great our powers, we are ultimately creatures here on an Earth that we did not create ourselves. Ultimately, we must learn to live within the limits of the Natural World.

Many land use policy debates (debates about water policy come to mind) are really discussions about how we propose to confront (or perhaps attempt to defy) the limits of the natural resources that are essential for all life. The “desal” debate going on around the Monterey Bay is a great example. Do we live within the limits of the fresh water resources that Nature has provided, or do we seek to “manufacture” fresh water to support growth and development?

Last night, the Ventana Wilderness Alliance, one of the local groups that attempts to keep us focused on the Natural World, held a benefit in downtown Santa Cruz. Another such group is the Elkhorn Slough Foundation, and they will hold their 30th Anniversary celebration on November 2nd, at the Monterey Aquarium. I encourage KUSP listeners to find out about the upcoming celebration, and to think about attending a splendid evening in celebration of the Natural World that sustains our lives.

More Information:

• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Elkhorn Slough Foundation Website
• Information on the Elkhorn Slough Foundation’s 30th Anniversary Event