State Coastal Conservancy

The Watsonville Slough Wetlands Habitat Protection and Water Quality Improvement Project (the Project) Will Acquire 62 Acres of Real Property Known as Mini Ranch (the Property) to Permanently Protect 40 Acres of Nationally Decreasing Wetlands Within the Middle Watsonville Slough Wetland Complex in Santa Cruz County California. the California State Coastal Conservancy (coastal Conservancy) Submits This Project in Partnership With the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County (land Trust). the Primary Goals of the Project Are to (1) Permanently Protect the Wetland Habitat (2) Restore Historic Wetland Characteristics (3) Implement Management Actions to Improve Wetland Habitat for Migratory Birds and Resident Native Species and (4) Improve Water Quality in the Watsonville Sloughs and the Pajaro River. Historically the Watsonville Sloughs Were an Extensive Wetland System That Was Drained and Altered for Agricultural Use. This Project Aims to Reverse Some of That Degradation. the Project Will Protect Approximately 34 Acres of Palustrine Emergent Wetlands and 6 Acres of Palustrine Scrub Shrub Wetlands Which Represent About 3 Percent of All Such Wetlands in Santa Cruz County. It Will Provide Benefits to Three Federally Listed Wildlife Species and One California State Listed Wildlife Species Plus 15 Usfws Designated Birds of Conservation Concern. the Project Site Is Located in an Area Identified by the State as a Disadvantaged Community and Is Within a Quarter Mile of a Severely Disadvantaged Community. the Lands and Communities Surrounding the Property Are at Risk From Flood Events and Other Effects of Extreme Weather and Climate Change. the Project Improvements to Groundwater Recharge and Flood Abatement Through Expanded Wetland Buffers Will Benefit the Community in the Face of a Changing Climate. the Urgency of the Project Stems From the Property Being Listed for Sale. Purchase by a Non Conservation Interest May Lead to Reestablishment of Agriculture Uses and Degradation of Habitat Instead of Conservation of Wetlands in This Important Region. Finally the Project Builds on the Successes of the Middle Watsonville Slough Wetlands Protection and Water Quality Project Funded by the National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant to the Coastal Conservancy in 2008. That Project Protected an Adjacent 49 Acres of Wildlife Habitat and Actively Restored Over 20 Acres of Former Farm Fields to Wetland and Upland Wildlife Habitat on the Property.