The Agriculture Water Quality Alliance, or AWQA, is a partnership working to protect the health of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and the productivity of Central Coast agricultural lands. The AWQA promotes a collaborative approach, trying to find a way to meet water quality objectives without relying primarily on governmental regulation. Since 1999, AWQA partners have focused on how best to reduce runoff from agricultural fields, thus reducing the discharge of sediments, nutrients, and pesticides.

The AWQA is advertising a Farm To Market Workshop, sponsored by another organization, CAFF, the Community Alliance With Family Farmers. CAFF events are focused on “real world” ways to promote a healthy agricultural economy, while also promoting healthy food, and environmentally sensitive agricultural practices. The CAFF workshop is tomorrow, from 12:00 o’clock to 3:00 p.m. at the Morgan Hill Community Center. This workshop will provide beginning farmers and ranchers with an afternoon of information sharing, including an informal Q&A with panelists representing wholesalers, distributors, grocery stores, restaurants, and tech companies. There is a complimentary lunch! You can get more information below.

More Information

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• What is the AWQA? Website
• CAFF Website
• Event Information Online
• For more event information contact Rosemary Quinn
  • Email - rosemary@caff.org
  • Telephone - 408-337-5644

Drought is on everybody’s mind, or it ought to be. Today is Earth Day, and that means it’s a good time to talk about environmental challenges facing California and the Central Coast. Drought is certainly among them.

Today, both the Monterey County Board of Supervisors and the Santa Cruz City Council are taking actions in response to drought. The City is imposing water use limits. The Monterey County Board is calling for voluntary action.

Later this morning, the Democratic Women’s Club of Santa Cruz County is holding a special Earth Day luncheon, with a presentation titled, “You Don’t Miss Your Water Till Your Well Runs Dry.” Speaking will be the water directors of the City of Santa Cruz and the Soquel Creek Water District. The event will take place at the Santa Cruz Police Station Community Room, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. A light lunch will be served, but they are going to charge you $10 for the privilege of attending.

On Wednesday, April 30th, the League of Women Voters of Santa Cruz County is sponsoring a luncheon meeting also focused on our difficult water situation. It will be held from noon to 2:00 p.m. at the offices of the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County. Kim Adamson, the water director of the Soquel Creek Water District, will talk about the mid-county water crisis, and what can be done about it. That League event won’t cost you any money, but you should bring your own lunch!

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Agenda – Monterey County Board of Supervisors
• City of Santa Cruz Report on Water Supply Outlook
• Agenda – Santa Cruz City Council
• Community Foundation of Santa Cruz Website
• Santa Cruz League of Women Voters Website
• Event Page - Democratic Women’s Club

Water and agriculture seem to be the “themes for the week” here on the Land Use Report. Today, let me alert you to some upcoming meetings being hosted by the State Water Resources Control Board. These “Expert Panel” meetings will be of particular interest to farmers in the Salinas Valley.

The State Water Resources Control Board governs water use, and oversees water quality regulation, throughout the entirety of the state of California. Under directions provided to the Board in 2008, by a legislative enactment in an extraordinary legislative session held that year, the Board was required to develop pilot projects focusing on nitrate in groundwater in the Tulare Lake Basin and in the Salinas Valley, and to submit a report to the Legislature on the scope and findings of the pilot projects, including recommendations.

One recommendation that came out of this direction was that the Board should convene a panel of experts to assess existing agricultural nitrate control programs and to develop further recommendations, as needed, to ensure that ongoing efforts are protective of groundwater supply quality.

An Expert Panel has now been selected. Meetings will be held on May 5th and 6th, here in the Central Coast Region. Both meetings will be held in San Luis Obispo. You can get comprehensive information below.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• State Water Board Notice - Expert Panel Meetings
• Expert Panel Information

This morning, I want to alert listeners to a presentation being given tonight up on the UCSC campus. Wes Jackson, one of the foremost figures in the international sustainable agriculture movement, will speak from 7:00 to 8:45 p.m. His topic? “We Can Now Solve The 10,000 Year Old Problem of Agriculture.” Jackson is the founder and president of The Land Institute in Salina, Kansas. Jackson’s presentation will be at the UCSC Sustainable Living Center, A3 Building. You can get full information, including directions, below.

Wes Jackson has pioneered research in Natural Systems Agriculture — including perennial grains, perennial polycultures, and intercropping — for over 30 years. He has been listed as one of Smithsonian's "35 Who Made a Difference," and in 2000, he received the prestigious Right Livelihood Award, known as the Alternative Nobel Prize, for his “single-minded commitment to developing an agriculture that is both highly productive and truly ecologically sustainable." 

Tonight’s presentation is sponsored by the Common Ground Center, which seeks to connect both students and the community with visionary innovators, activists, and leaders to create a more just and sustainable future. I hope that many KUSP listeners will be able to attend tonight’s presentation.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Information on April 24th Presentation
• The Land Institute Website
• Information on Wes Jackson
• Wes Jackson Video
• Right Livelihood College at Kresge

Let me report on a grassroots, community-based effort to head off or change a major project being proposed by the Pacific Gas & Electric Company. This is a proposed power line project that would affect Aptos, Corralitos, and Watsonville, all located within Santa Cruz County.

One of the first environmental controversies I remember learning about, when I was a high-school student at Palo Alto High School, in the early 1960’s, was a proposal by PG&E to build a new, high-voltage power line through the communities of Woodside and Portola Valley. Huge, ugly power line stanchions were proposed. They were absolutely vital, according to PG&E, to provide reliable electric service. Nothing you could do about the ugliness. As it turns out, there was something that could be done about the ugliness. An attorney named Pete McCloskey, later a member of Congress, and then an anti-Vietnam War candidate for President, represented the community and won. McCloskey, incidentally, came to a Palo Alto High School “Career Day,” and convinced me that I ought to be a lawyer.

The Santa Cruz County project has a lot of similarities to that earlier controversy. A group called Neighbors Organized to Protect Our Community is going to be fighting the dramatic changes to the current system that PG&E says are required. If you would like to learn more, or to get personally involved, check out the links below.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• PUC Website on Power Line Project
• IndyBay Report on Proposed Power Line Project
• NOPOC Facebook Page
• NOPOC Website