• The Sierra Club continues to participate with the city and non-profits to address water quality issues at Cowell Beach. Progress is being made and by the beginning of 2018, a report from the technical advisory committee is expected to guide further assessment of the sources of intermittent high e-coli readings and their eradication.

• The Sierra Club has been working with local environmentalists to address the restoration of Jessie St. Marsh, located at the inner bend of the San Lorenzo River, as it turns seaward towards the trestle bridge. Such restoration was mandated as mitigation for expansion of the Wastewater Treatment Plant at Neary Lagoon. There had been no progress on this issue until recently when the city held a public meeting and announced plans to begin restoring at least parts of the marsh. No longer will the tules be cut each year and water will once again be allowed to flow into the marsh.

• Members of the Conservation committee tracked the city's Parks Master Plan and the Executive Committee submitted concerns regarding proposed increased mountain bike trails in Pogonip open space.

• Comments were submitted by the Sierra Club on the Downtown Recovery Plan Environmental Impact Report (EIR) as well as the County's Cannabis Ordinance EIR.

• The Sierra Club explored the adoption of Bird Safe Design guidelines for city-approved buildings with the new city planning director. As of writing, the director is supporting the adoption of such guidelines as part of Conditions of Approval for new buildings that are discretionary, meaning they require such conditions.

• The Sierra Club has volunteered to help plant trees under a grant secured by the city to conduct an inventory of the city's heritage trees as well as to plant trees throughout the city.

Transportation Committee

Our local Sierra Club Transportation Committee invites you to participate, in 2018.  Our next meeting is tentatively February 21, at 7 pm.  Call Jack at 831-429-6149 (no texts) if interested!  We advocate for sustainable transportation options, including bicycle, pedestrian, and public transit improvements, and we oppose large scale expansions for automobiles, with greenhouse emissions in mind.
We support keeping the public transit option on the rail-trail corridor and are excited about the 2018 start of construction of rail-trail segments (bike-ped trail) on the S.C. west side and in Watsonville.  Please see the following 80 second video "Top Ten Reasons to Build the Rail Trail" on youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkeKsdzTxxU&feature=youtu.be

Outreach and Events Committee

Part of our work is informing the public about environmental issues as well as sharing travel stories to beautiful, natural places. This year we organized 6 presentations in Santa Cruz County. We usually have refreshments and social time before each presentation.
We're looking for someone to donate their Mac laptop to the Group for use in our slideshow events. Often our presenters do not have one and we have to scramble to get a loaner. If you are interested in donating yours, please contact Steve Bakaley (slbakaley-at-gmail-dot-com). Please note that this donation would not be tax deductible.

Political Committee

Our task is to evaluate all local elections whether candidates or issues, and make a determination if we will attempt to make any endorsements.  The Sierra Club endorsement is highly regarded to voters and carries a lot of weight so we take our job seriously.