Life on the Watershed: Watch for Baby Snakes along the Sawyer Camp Trail

It’s been called “one of the most beautiful snakes in the U.S.”

And the early fall is when the endangered San Francisco garter snake numbers are on the rise, with females giving birth to about 16 young each.  The baby snakes are about 5 to 7 inches long at birth, the ones that survive will reach adulthood at age 2, and they can grow to about 3 feet in length.

The protected San Mateo County species travels between vegetation or burrows and nearby bodies of fresh water (such as Crystal Springs Reservoir). Its favorite food is the tree frog, but it also likes other amphibians, including bullfrogs and the California newt, which is poisonous to most earth species.

The San Francisco garter snake is not dangerous, and—if you’re lucky enough to encounter one along the trail some September day—chances are it will slither away to safety quickly.  So watch it while you can!

Photos 1 and 2 by Elizabeth Larsen, USFWS.

Gathering and Sowing Native Seeds

Here crews are harvesting hayfield tarplant –a common native grassland species--near the eastern shore of the Lower Crystal Springs Reservoir. They will be part of a special seed mix that we’ll disperse nearby to help restore habitat later this fall when the soil is wet from the first rains and the weather is cool. 

  

Other native grass and forb seeds we’ve been collecting for the mix include yarrow, yampah, tufted hair grass, and Crystal Springs lessingia. We use locally harvested seeds for our new habitat sites whenever possible because they are so well suited to our watershed’s unique climate, soils, and hydrological conditions .

Later this fall, watch for the displays of Crystal Springs lessingia. Though rare, it happens to be abundant on our watershed’s serpentine grasslands, where it produces swathes of pink or lavender along I-280 when it flowers in the fall. 

                                Crystal Springs lessingia in bloom.

The removal of non-native trees and understory plants continues along the mid-section of the Sawyer Camp Trail through October. We’ll be hydroseeding those newly opened areas with native serpentine grass seeds too—and acorn plantings will follow.   

Life on the Watershed: The Return of the Bald Eagles

A breeding pair of  Bald eagles returned to the watershed this year and has successfully reproduced again. Three healthy eaglets—the largest number yet—fledged this year. 2016 was the fourth year in a row that the pair had nested on the Peninsula Watershed. 

“They were missing from San Mateo County for more than 100 years,” according to watershed keeper Sarah Lenz. “Our watershed has the land and resources to provide a good home for them and allow their chicks to sustain themselves and thrive.”

“It’s a testament to how we preserve the habitats that give wildlife a chance to stay wild without pressure from humans,” watershed keeper Peter Panofosky added.

Though the eaglets have left the nest area, they will continue to fly and hunt in the general vicinity. 

Our 2016 Crystal Springs eaglets will keep their brownish mottled color for the next few years before they acquire the distinctive white head at age four and full maturity. One or more could return as adults to start another nest in the protected lakes of the watershed.

Bald eagles mate for life, and—because they live up to 30 years in the wild—chances are that more eaglets will begin their own long lives on the Peninsula Watershed in future years.    

Wildlife Protection Fence along Sawyer Camp Trail

If you’re on the Sawyer Camp Trail mid section when it’s open for through use on weekends or a holiday, you’ll see our Wildlife Exclusion Fence (WEF) enclosing the entire Habitat Restoration Project  area.  

This specially designed woven fabric fence prevents endangered San Francisco garter snakes, California red-legged frogs,and other reptiles, amphibians and small animals from entering the work area. Mesh funnels at the fence base, placed approximately every 100 feet, allow them to exit the area safely, while the narrow opening with a one-way flap at the end prevents them from returning. The WEF also prevents silt from flowing into adjacent drainages.

An environmental inspector monitors the work area for compliance with various environmental requirements, and our biologists check for the presence of special-status species and other vulnerable wildlife, such as roosting bats, nesting birds, and San Francisco dusky-footed woodrats. Active bird nests are protected by a buffer zone around the tree until the young successfully fledge from the nest. 

Wildlife Exclusion Fencing minimizes the potential for harm or injury to state and federally listed species near the work area. It is required by State and Federal permitting resource agencies and the California Environmental Quality Act for construction projects where such special status species may be present.

The fence will be taken down after the vegetation removal is finished later this year.

Temporary Closures of Sawyer Camp Trail Mid-Section Start Aug. 1

A mid-section of the Sawyer Camp Trail, from approximately mile 1-1/4 to mile 3-1/2 (by the Jepson Laurel) will be temporarily closed on weekdays for public safety during tree removal in preparation for habitat restoration over the following period:

Monday-Friday, August 1 through October 28, 2016

The trail will be fully open on weekends and holidays. 

Though through use will not be available on weekdays, the trail will still be open on those days for about the first  1-1/4 miles from the south entrance at Crystal Springs Road,  and for 2-1/2 miles from the north entrance at Hillcrest. 

Bicyclists wanting through access should use alternative routes during this period.  

Chalcedon checkerspot butterfly

This work includes the physical removal of approximately 22 acres of non-native invasive trees that have choked out and displaced the original watershed forests.  It is part of a long-term project throughout the watershed to bring back and maintain about 180 acres of native oak woodland and grassland habitats, and the diversity of plant, bird, butterfly, and other wildlife species that depend on them. 

Looking for an alternative?

Check out the San Andreas Trail, just across the paving from the Sawyer Camp north entrance at Hillcrest. The first 0.7-mile southern segment is unpaved and not open to cyclists (who can take  the frontage road just east of I-280). The rest is paved and extends all the way to San Bruno Avenue. You’ll pass through a variety of habitats, from evergreens to coastal scrub and grassland, and the further north you go, the better the vistas of our northernmost reservoir, the San Andreas.  

Questions:  (866) 973-1476; mliapes@sfwater.org; blauppe@sfwater.org

Peninsula Pipeline Project Receives Top Project Award!

San Andreas Pipeline No. 3 installation in San Bruno

Water & Wastes Digest selected the Peninsula Pipeline Seismic Upgrade (PPSU) Project as one of their Top Projects for 2016! Congrats PPSU project team, hopefully this is the first of many awards!

The PPSU project repaired and replaced several sections of water delivery pipelines in northern San Mateo County, to ensure these critical pipelines can withstand a major earthquake. This project completed all WSIP work in February 2016.

For more information about this project, visit www.sfwater.org/PPSU. 

Sawyer Camp Trail Reopens for Weekday Through Use

The mid-section of the Sawyer Camp Trail that has been temporarily closed for habitat restoration activity is open again for daily use through the month of July.

The trail will be open every day, sunrise to sunset. However, pedestrians and cyclists are requested to be on the lookout for trucks on weekdays, when we will be hauling away vegetation. Please make room for them to pass safely during those periods.

When You Go

Watch for crimson-capped Acorn woodpeckers maneuvering and tapping various oak or other hardwood trunks and branches in nearby open areas. Named for the acorns it hoards in multiple tree cavities it drills, the Acorn woodpecker is just one of many native California species sure to flourish in the watershed’s expanded oak woodland habitat.

Future Trail Schedule

The second temporary partial closure (and the last of the long ones for habitat restoration project) is scheduled to begin in August. The same mid-section of the trail, from about mile 1-1/4 to mile 3-1/2 will be closed to through use for public safety, Monday through Friday, for removal of non-native trees until late October. The entire trail will be open all weekends and holidays.  

As during the first closure, the trail will be open for the first 1-1/4 miles from the South Gate at Crystal Springs Road, and for approximately 2-1/2 miles from the North Gate at Hillcrest.