Getting Ready for Fire Season: Sawyer Camp Trail Closure June 12-13 for Emergency Training Exercise

The entire Sawyer Camp Trail, from the Skyline Entrance to Hillcrest, will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday, June 12-13, for public safety during a fire-fighting exercise Calfire will hold on the Peninsula Watershed for first responders. 

Calfire announced tentative plans for the  training session at a recent reunion of firefighters, police officers, park rangers, watershed keepers and other first responders, hosted every year by the SFPUC Natural Resources Division. But, as in previous years, dates for this kind of activity depend on the condition of the grasses, weather, winds, and other factors that are not predictable well in advance. If current dates are postponed for any of those reasons, we will post updates on this blog.  

As the second largest landowner on the Peninsula, the SFPUC is constantly on the watch throughout the 23,000-acre watershed and some 30 miles of pipeline right of way for potential fires and other disasters. Conditions are changing, Natural Resources director Tim Ramirez told the crowd at the Pulgas Temple  lunch time gathering. “Every year seems to be different, and the fire season is getting longer.”

The SFPUC routinely teams with neighboring agencies on day-to-day issues of trail management, tree clearances and public safety as well as sudden fires, injuries, and other emergencies.  Partner agencies already have access to the routes they could need at any time.  And our watershed keepers—trained responders as well—help with fires or other disasters on neighboring lands and come with emergency drinking water vehicles when needed.  “Those are times when people really come together,” said acting watershed manager John Fournet. 

The Pulgas event is a standing occasion to renew bonds and get acquainted with newcomers. “This way,” Fournet said, “we already know each other when something happens.”

Temporary Weekday Closures of Sawyer Camp and San Andreas Trail Segments

The San Mateo County Parks Department will close parts of the Sawyer Camp and San Andreas trails, on different midweek dates during the first two weeks of June, for annual mowing to make the trails more usable and reduce fire risk. Here are the dates for each trail segment.   

·        June 5-6: Sawyer Camp Trail south half, Skyline entrance to the Jepson Laurel (mile marker 3.5), starting the evening of the 4^th and reopening the evening of the 6th

·        June 7-8: Sawyer Camp Trail north half, Hillcrest entrance to the Jepson Laurel, from the evening of the 6^th, reopening the evening of the 8^th

·        June 12-13:  San Andreas Trail, from the evening of the 11th, reopening the evening of the 13th

Cyclists, please use alternate routes on those dates. 

For updates or unexpected changes, please visit https://parks.smcgov.org/crystal-springs-regional-trail.

Life on the Watershed: Flight Season

Spring is “flight season”—that time of year when we’ll see different colorful butterflies fluttering between native wildflowers as they feed on the nectar before mating, egg laying, and then dying. One species that’s out on the watershed these days—after the larvae have been dormant over the winter—is the endangered Mission blue.  

  

The small coastal Bay Area native was originally named for its proximity to Mission Dolores in San Francisco, and over the years its essential coastal scrub habitat has been lost to development.

Butterfly species in general each have their own specific larval ‘host” plant that is critical for their survival. For Mission blues, it's one of three perennial lupine species, with the summer western lupine species being the most plentiful on the watershed. 

The female lays its eggs on the lupine leaves, stems, flowers and seed pods. The eggs hatch within a few days, and the larvae feed on the plant for the next several weeks. Then they leave to lay dormant in the leaf litter at the base of the plant until the following spring, when they emerge and the cycle begins again. 

Chalcedon checkerspot butterfly

Also in flight at different times throughout the spring and early summer are the more common Monarchs, Tiger swallowtails, Red admirals, Checkerspots, California sisters, and others. The timing depends on individual species schedules, climate, and other variables. 

Monarch butterfly

Besides brightening the landscape, butterflies are fundamental to the entire ecosystem. They pollinate the flowers they’re gleaning nectar from—automatically picking up pollen from the one flower and transmitting it to the next. And—while certain species (like the Monarch) are toxic—many others, along with their eggs and larvae, are food for spiders, birds, reptiles and other small organisms. 

Painted lady butterfly 

The 23,000-acre watershed is a vital refuge for approximately 60 butterfly species as well as other insect, bird, and animal species. We’ll continue to safeguard and restore our lupine for the Mission blues, as well as multiple other native plants that—common or rare—are vital, not only to certain butterfly species, but a whole ecosystem of diverse plant, insect, bird and animal life.  

Groundwater Well Work at Centennial Trail Starts May 21

We at the SFPUC are looking for up to three additional groundwater well station locations to complete the Regional Groundwater Storage and Recovery Project (GSR). One potential location is adjacent to Centennial Trail behind South San Francisco High School between West Orange Avenue and South Spruce Avenue. Beginning Monday, May 21, 2018, a test well will be drilled to determine if this is a viable site production well site. We will test the well for two months to determine whether or not the site is viable.

What to Expect

• A crew of approximately 8 people will operate a drill rig to dig an approximately 700 foot well.
• Expected start of work: Crews will be on site starting May 21, 2018.
• Anticipated Drilling Duration: Six weeks.
• Duration of Testing:  two months.
• Construction Work Hours:  Daytime Work: Monday-Friday 7:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. No weekend or nighttime work is expected at this time.
• Centennial Trail will remain open to the public throughout construction.
• The rig and equipment will stay on site for the duration of the work. The construction area will be fenced off for safety. A security guard will monitor the area after work hours when the contractor is not on site.
• The contractors will make every effort to minimize dust and noise in accord with South San Francisco noise ordinances.
• Please avoid the equipment for your safety.

In order for vehicles to safely make the turn into the site from El Cortez Avenue, we will post no parking signs on a portion of El Cortez near the school fire lane for the duration of construction (see below).

 Questions? ecox@sfwater.org. 

Safeguarding Our Pipeline Right of Way

If you live along or near the SFPUC Right of Way (ROW), you may have a neighbor question or concern, as neighbors anywhere sometimes do. The ROW harbors the pipelines just underground that convey drinking water to our customers, and ROW Manager Emily Read is, in effect, our property manager for the vital transmission corridor.  

Any given work day she’ll be dealing with facility security, maintenance issues, emergency repairs, enforcement of our  policies, and collaboration with the many ROW neighbors whose cooperation we need to keep our water supply reliable.  

    

One part of the job is vegetation management to protect both water supply and adjoining private property. Annual mowing of spring grasses gets going as soon as the ground is dry. In spots where the slopes are too steep for the equipment, Emily commissions goats to eat away the overgrowth. 

She and her team are also routinely on the lookout for illegal dumping, garden extensions, structures intruding from neighbors’ backyards onto the ROW, and other unpermitted uses.The usual first approach to resolving potential conflict is to engage neighbors early. They'll talk about  our ROW policies, and  how a trivial-seeming infringement can hinder our access for essential pipeline maintenance or emergency response to breaks—and even jeopardize the lines themselves.

 “It can be hard for people to have land just beyond their backyards that looks unoccupied but that they’re not allowed to use,” she says. “But, the fact is, it’s not vacant space. It’s home for a water system serving more than 2.7 million people, including them. So we do our best to safeguard our water supply and be a good neighbor. 

"In the end, most people are fine with the restrictions when they realize the importance of a clear, unobstructed pipeline ROW.“

It's the kind of mutual understanding that can make a ROW Manager’s day. 

Sawyer Camp Trail Update: South Half to Reopen Afternoon of May 9

The County of San Mateo  is completing its scheduled construction activities near the Skyline Bridge today, and the Sawyer Camp  Trail south half will reopen sometime this afternoon (Wednesday, May 9)—in time for Bike to Work Day, Thursday, May 10.  

For the most current information, please visit:

 https://parks.smcgov.org/crystal-springs-regional-trail

Two-Day Closure of Sawyer Camp Trail South Half Wednesday and Thursday, May 9-10

The County of San Mateo will close the southern half of the Sawyer Camp Trail for two days, from the Skyline entrance to the Jepson Laurel at mile 3.5, on Wednesday and Thursday, May 9-10, for public safety during construction activities. The north half of the trail will be open from the Hillcrest entrance to the Jepson Laurel.  

Cyclists please use alternate routes during that period.