MONTEREY – A seemingly nondescript plot of land off Monterey-Salinas Highway 68 near the Monterey Regional Airport has been acquired by the Big Sur Land Trust to conserve and protect its significant attributes.
The Land Trust says that conserving the 84-acre Hiss Parcel preserves an important portion of the larger Canyon Del Rey watershed.
“From time to time BSLT will reach out to a property owner – kind of like a cold call – and see whether they would consider a potential conservation sale of their property if we see from its location and attributes that it has high conservation values and community benefits,” said Rachel Saunders, Big Sur Land Trust Director of Conservation, in an email. “Because of its location in a larger landscape of conserved lands … and its values supporting high quality oak woodland, grassland and wetlands habitats, we reached out to the property owner.”
Saunders said that conversation with the property owner that began in 2021 culminated in the acquisition of the property this week. During that time, the Land Trust learned of the cultural importance of the land to the Ohlone/Costanoan-Esselen Nation.
The property is located within a corridor of protected areas on both the north and south side of Monterey-Salinas Highway 68 including the Fort Ord National Monument, the Joyce Stevens Monterey Pine Preserve, Jacks Peak County Park and Palo Corona Regional Park.
Canyon del Rey Creek – also known as Arroyo Del Rey Creek – passes through the site, as does another unnamed seasonal creek. The wetlands conserved on this property trap sediment, improve water quality and decrease the flood risk for the downstream communities along the Canyon Del Rey watershed, according to the Big Sur Land Trust. These ecosystem benefits will help reduce climate change impacts related to increased storm flows of water and sediment. The wetlands also help to sequester carbon, and the property’s location in a wildlife corridor will allow species to move across landscapes to find more hospitable microclimates. Proper management of this land will reduce wildfire risk for the surrounding wildland urban interface of Monterey and Del Rey Oaks.
“The Canyon Del Rey Watershed is a sub-watershed of the Monterey Bay Watershed that includes Canyon Del Rey Creek and its tributaries that feed into it,” said Saunders. “Canyon Del Rey Creek is an ephemeral stream that drains to the Pacific Ocean from an area of 16.8 square miles – approximately 10,750 acres – along Highways 68 and 218, beginning near the Laguna Seca raceway at the eastern end of the watershed and flowing west into the Monterey Bay. The watershed includes portions of Seaside, Del Rey Oaks, Monterey and unincorporated Monterey County.”
The Canyon Del Rey Watershed also includes the Frog Pond Wetlands Preserve in Del Rey Oaks, as well as Laguna Grande and Roberts Lake in Seaside. The conservation of the Hiss Parcel will benefit those three bodies of water as they are located downstream from it.
“If the property were to be developed and those wetlands disappeared, water quality would worsen and sediment build up would occur in both of the lakes,” said Saunders. “The wetlands on the property absorb water flows during extreme storm events, mitigating flood risk for communities downstream as well.”
The acquisition was made possible with a $2,750,000 grant from the State Coastal Conservancy, the state agency established in 1976 to protect and improve natural lands and waterways, help people access and enjoy the outdoors and sustain local economies.
Saunders said the Coastal Conservancy provided the funding because of the property’s natural resource conservation, California Native American tribal cultural resource conservation, and access and habitat connectivity values.
“The conservation values of this acquisition are substantial,” said Jeannette Tuitele-Lewis, president and CEO of Big Sur Land Trust, in a press release. “By preventing potential development, we are protecting important habitats that are part of a valuable wildlife corridor. Deer, coyote and black bears have been spotted on the land.”
Tuitele-Lewis added that the land also holds cultural values of significant importance to the Ohlone/Costanoan-Esselen Nation and together it is committed to a shared goal of eventual ancestral land return. Big Sur Land Trust looks forward to collaborating with the Ohlone/Costanoan-Esselen Nation on a conservation management and restoration plan for the long-term stewardship of the property.
“With this land, my hope is for my people to learn how to protect the earth and to reclaim what was taken from them, their homeland,” said Louise J. Miranda Ramirez, Ohlone/Costanoan-Esselen Nation’s Tribal Chairwoman, in the release. “I hope to provide a place for my people to spend as much time together as possible to build back their families, their culture, language, songs and stories.”
The acquisition of a comparatively small piece of land like this is important depending on how it aligns with the Land Trust’s mission.
“It’s great if you can conserve larger acreage if the conservation values are there and the funding is there and there is a willing seller, of course, but smaller properties also contribute to meeting our mission and to helping meet the state’s 30×30 goals of protecting 30% of California lands and waters by 2030,” said Saunders. “We are committed to working with tribal, agency and community partners to help meet 30×30 goals throughout Monterey County.”
Now that the Big Sur Land Trust has acquired the Hiss Parcel, its first step will be basic land management and care.
“We also plan on conducting further ecological and cultural assessments that will help us develop a sustainable land management plan for long term restoration and stewardship of the property,” said Saunders. “We will be collaborating with OCEN on these assessments as well as furthering our relationship and developing a process for implementing our shared goal of ancestral land return.”
Beside the Coastal Conservancy, Big Sur Land Trust thanks The Arthur L. and Elaine V. Johnson Foundation for their contribution toward the acquisition of this property and the Barnet J. Segal Charitable Trust for their generous support of this project.
