Coast Dairies National Monument? - Not So Fast

we don't need or can afford another monument.

This is the time for both constituants and legislators to get on the same theme of how many downside impacts this National Monument foreseeably brings to the immediate area.

At the very least, has anyone given a thought to how so much extra traffic in the coastal corridor is going to affect an already overwhelmed Mission Street?

This would roll back years of ecological process in the coastal mountaing & prairies.

Leave nature alone. Stop stomping on land, that belongs to those, who cannot stand up for self.

Development of a management plan and completion of a study of potential environmental impacts should be prerequisites before considering whether a national monument designation is appropriate for the Coast Dairies public lands.

SLOW DOWN Monument designation!!!!! Study local environs impact AND sustainability assurances first!!!!

I support a detailed and thorough study to determine how this change to monument status will affect local communities and eco systems prior to any designation of National Monument status for the Coast Dairies public lands.

Weekend congestion, garbage in nature areas, erosion from human presence, illegal fishing, human waste and trespassing on private property with disregard for closing gates and destruction of the natural environment with graffiti, carving or taking of trees are just some of the things I witness as a person raised on this coast. Unfortunately the environment cannot handle further human invasion which is exactly what the publicity of this type of status would bring.

Since the bobcats, coyotes, feral pigs, coho salmon, steelhead trout, mountain lions, badgers, acorn woodpeckers, woodrats, bush rabbits, and other permanent inhabitants of the Coast Dairies land are not computer users, I am presuming to sign this petition on their behalf. I can assure you that we will see a lot less of them (if we see them at all) if the thousands of visitors a national monument is likely to draw come to traipse through their habitat.

this is SO important - please listen

Please don't take the "Fire, Ready, Aim" approach to this.

In addition to a thoroughgoing environmental assessment of the potential impacts of national monument status, there would need to be a commitment to an ongoing operating budget sufficient to provide ranger services, trail building and maintenance, environmental remediation--especially with regard to the creeks and adjacent watersheds, a plan for facilities management and garbage collection, etc. Furthermore I have never understood how/why BLM management makes sense in an area where the adjacent wild lands (Wilder and Cowell Redwoods) are managed by the state. This checkerboard approach to wilderness management will only result in conflicting rules and regulations and ultimate damage to the land that this effort seeks to preserve.

2/3's of that area are already protected so why would they add to the traffic, fire danger, policing and trash. Big creek is a great neighbor and they are very proactive in the health of our watershed. They are also very regulated so everyone knows what to expect. Having a outside agency come in would be a disaster for already exceptional high traffic issues and over use of the systems that are already stretched beyond there means. It is just not necessary lest keep it as is and keep that tax revenue from being pulled away from the existing kids/schools in the area. I guess Boxer and Eshoo are into pulling even more funding from the schools to help some of the richer land owners donate property for the tax credit and then buy them back to get them back as open-space. less the property tax.

The Nat Monument status does not provide sufficient recourse for the locals that will have to deal with the problems that will arise.

We have responsibilities to the land, water, wildlife and future generations of humans to discover the most effective way to steward such a unique place.

The proponents of National Monument Status are trying to push this process as quickly as possible. They have shown no regard for the effects that is will have on local communities. HW1 North of Santa Cruz is already inundated with traffic on any sunny day. Every Monday there is garbage spread around all possible beach access parking spots. The BLM as stated that they have not surveyed more than 2% of the property yet there are going to open it to the public with little resources for management. The property already has all environmental protections written into the deed. National Monument Status will not give it any further protection. In fact, such status will draw even more people onto the land. Is turning the property into an advertised tourist destination truly protecting the flora and fauna? As a life long resident of the North Coast and Swanton Road area, I, as well as everyone I know is dedicated to the preservation of the land as well as the natural and human communities it supports. The Sempervirens Fund and the BLM have not shown any interest other proposals for the preservation on this land. Their primary focus is day hikes for hundreds of thousands of people from the SF bay area. With this petition, I, as one of the people who live here and protect this place am saying that I believe a Coast Dairies National Monument will only degrade the the region.

Go slow and think/act regionally.

We aren't ready for this "monument" status, we don't need this designation, and our precious coast can't stand more abuse from massive crowding.

I have worked on this unique property conserving the rare species it hosts since 2007. I believe the designation is premature and against the best interests of the public trust. Coastal tourism is already at near-unsustainable levels. Encouraging more of it without necessary protections in place for the species that depend on these spaces is a short sighted mistake that may cause long term/permanent damage. I urge you to reconsider.