UPDATED! ACTION ALERT: Cotoni Coast Dairies National Monument Public Workshops!

• LOUDEN NELSON - December 4, 2018 | 5:00-7:00p Louden Nelson Community Center, Multipurpose Room 301 Center Street, Santa Cruz
• BONNY DOON - December 13, 2018 | 5:00-7:00p Bonny Doon Elementary School, Auditorium 1492 Pine Flat Road, Santa Cruz

MBOSC’s Position Regarding Access Points for Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument:

• Public access to public land should be given equal consideration to conservation in the CCDNM planning process.
• Multiple access points to the property should be provided to allow for ease of access to different parts of the monument.
• The BLM should charge for parking to create a sustainable funding source for management of the property and enforcement of regulations.
• Parking facilities should include
  • Bathrooms
  • Trash receptacles
  • Horse trailer parking with adequate space for equestrian staging
  • Seating areas
  • Signage
    • Interpretive
    • Wayfinding
      • Including suggested routes for various trail users
    • Regulations
• Parking areas should be strategically located and built to adequate size as to minimize parking impacts to town of Davenport and residents of Swanton
• Parking Areas should be gated/closed when trail conditions/fire danger would necessitate closure.

At these workshops the BLM will be explaining the planning process and seeking feedback on potential access points to the property. There will be facilitated group discussions to gather community feedback. It is extremely important that we, as trail users, show up and express support for the development of parking and staging areas which have been controversial on the North Coast. There is a very active and vocal community who will be working to minimize the amount of public access to the property so we will need to show lots of support for access and trails. Trail development will be contingent upon identifying adequate parking areas and feasible points for public access so lets show up and support the BLM in identifying proper areas.

Why is trail access at Cotoni Coast Dairies National Monument important? CCDNM sits between San Vicente Redwoods, and Davenport and the forthcoming Rail Trail. Trail access to that property will be essential to providing connectivity between the planned 30 miles of trails at San Vicente Redwoods and the coast. This will be a key component for better trail connectivity in the county. See the map online here for reference.The BLM will take public input very seriously when doing its planning so it is essential that the community speak up and advocate for trail access.This will be the first workshop for this planning process. Future meetings will get into specifics for land and trail access so stay tuned. Please consider giving a few hours of your time to attend one of these meetings to ensure that this amazing property is accessible to the public.