About the Natural Heritage Committee

Areas of Concern

SOD Blitz 2023

From: Kerri Marie Frangioso kfrangioso@ucdavis.edu

When: Anytime between 10am Saturday April 1st – Noon Tuesday April 4th
Where:  

Dear Sudden Oak Death (SOD) Friends, Colleagues and Supporters,   
   
Sudden Oak Death (SOD), a serious exotic disease, is threatening the survival of tanoak and several oak species in California. Currently SOD is found in the wildlands of 15 coastal California counties, from Monterey to Del Norte. While patchy in distribution, with each passing year, the swath of infestation continues to grow. Researchers have discovered that Phytophthora ramorum, the pathogen that causes SOD, spreads most often on infected California bay laurel leaves when it rains. Symptomatic bay leaves are often the first sign that SOD has arrived at a location, and generally bay laurel infection precedes oak infections. Some management options are available (sanitation, chemical preventative treatments, bay removal), but they are effective only if implemented before oaks and tanoaks are infected; hence, timely detection of the disease on bay laurel leaves is key for a successful proactive attempt to slow down the SOD epidemic.  

The SOD Blitz Survey Project (www.sodblitz.org) informs and educates the community about Sudden Oak Death, gets locals involved in detecting the disease, and produces detailed local maps of disease distribution (go to www.sodblitz.org to see results from previous surveys). The map can then be used to identify those areas where the infestation may be mild enough to justify proactive management. We have had several drought years in a row, and 2022 had the lowest percentage of SOD positive samples since the program started in 2008. This makes sense, given that the SOD pathogen requires water to produce infectious spores.This year is especially important because of the huge amount of rain received this year after multiple years of drought and will allow us to understand how quickly the pathogen can recuperate. The SOD Blitzes will also allow us to identify where the pathogen really is, something that is hard to do in a drought when it can be dormant or hard to detect.    

Since 2020, a more aggressive strain of the disease, dubbed “EU1” has entered California forests, so far in limited areas. If it were to join the original NA1 strain, tree mortality could significantly worsen. The plan is to eradicate any new outbreak caused by EU1, but in order to detect it in a timely fashion, we need to run lab tests at U.C Berkeley. That is why we need the help of as many volunteers as possible to canvas our parks and woodlands and collect suspicious plant material.  

So please, come on out again this year and help contribute to the growing knowledge about Sudden Oak Death in your community and the state.  I encourage you to share the attached flyer to advertise the event.

Dark Skies

April 19, 2022, at 7 PM Carmel Valley Association President C.S. Noel met with Meredith Nole at mid-valley shopping center to survey existing lighting systems along Carmel Valley Road, and a few side streets. Starting by Kasey’s our findings as follows:

KASEY’S shopping area:

Exterior lighting on Kasey’s building is all High Pressure Sodium ( HPS ) fixtures. Some fixtures are flood lights. most all fixtures face outward, allowing light for the gas & parking areas to illuminate the entire area. This is important for safety, and this area has spillover lighting and some medium “glare”. HPS is the second most energy efficient lighting (next to Low Pressure Sodium which is monochromatic ), yet LED lighting is much more energy efficient & cost effective as the same fixtures can be used by simply removing the ballasts and screwing in LED lamps (bulbs) for some fixtures and repositioning. Flood light fixtures can easily be changed out to more Dark Sky friendly, with aiming downward & not outward, yet safety & security of the gas station area is primary. This particular location, due to functionality, need very specific placement of any fixture changeout.

FROM KASEY’S WEST:

Colonial type fixtures on poles along the street areas, some have low wattage white color LED
lamps, and others have HPS. This fixture type has 360 degree light spread, and if decided, can easily have the fixtures changed to down lighting fixtures that can fit onto the existing poles. These fixtures are not glare, yet can become more Dark Sky friendly.

POST OFFICE:

Existing new LED post top fixtures on poles. The LED arrays are in the top of fixtures allowing
good Illumination levels for see-ability for parking lot area, yet the light spills out the sides in 360 degrees.

Next door to the Post Office is a residential building, and light from the Post Office poles, reach the side windows of the residential building. Additionally, the residential building has wall packs and wall mounted fixtures, that are all facing outward, not downward. The residential building does have the option of changing the exterior fixtures to downlight fixtures.

TULARCITOS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL:

This school did the exterior lighting right. All cut-off wall pack fixtures along the rear side area of the building, and all fixtures we saw. Congratulation to TULARCITOS ELEMENTARY!!

DRIVING WEST ON CVR:

Along the ride west from Ford Road, no specific light fixtures produced any noticeable glare or spillover light. There were a couple of light fixtures noticeable, but not intrusive.

HACIENDA HAY & FEED:

Each business needs see-ability for it’s location & a form of advertising, and everyone does the very best they know how to achieve their objective, yet the string lights surrounding the signage actually blocks out reading their sign when the lights are on. To have their sign easily readable. A thin linear LED fixture facing downward onto the sigh from the top of the sign, would wash the their sign with light, allowing all letters to be easily seen, without seeing any glaring light blinding out their sign.

Also, this location has run linear string lights far behind their shop. I will check to find out the hours these lights are kept on at night, to find out if the lights interfere with natural darkness for all & any living things in the area. Having light interfere with natural dark cycle is not healthy for any living animal – or person.

EARTHBOUND FARM:

Major changes here, with additional string lights, patios, etc. which appear to indicate some type venues to occur there. This area, as well as next door at Hacienda Hay & Feed produced the most lit area on CVR. There are no direct residential areas where spillover lights occur, yet I’m inclined to think these light is this area, may be visible from some homes up hills, or other locations. NOTE: All LED lighting must be 2700 kelvin color temperature where ever possible, this is Carmel’s color of lighting. 3000 kelvin is the next closest, yet more white in color.

The project will restore habitat and help significantly reduce flood risks to over 300 homes and businesses in the lower Carmel River watershed, including housing on Rio Road and Mission Fields, and businesses in the Crossroads Shopping Center.

This project is one of the most extensive and important multi-benefit flood protection and riparian habitat restoration efforts on the Central Coast! Using a nature-based green infrastructure solution, it will reclaim the southern floodplain to direct water away from developed areas north of the river.

Read More about Carmel River Free on the Big Sur Land Trust Website

Water & Flooding