Throughout the wet winter months, the mindful stewardship of lands within Santa Cruz County have kept our Access and Stewardship staff very busy. With the ongoing maintenance of the trail corridors at San Vicente Redwoods, Laguna Creek, Byrne-Milliron, Antonelli Pond, and Glenwood Open Space, our small team has cleared over 150 blockages from downed trees between December and March.

Our access to some of these areas requires full days of fully equipped hiking, all while maintaining safe work practices in some challenging scenarios. In addition to our seasonal tree work, we have also hosted a variety of volunteer events with local partner agencies to continue removal and management of Genista monspessulana (French Broom), Hedera helix (English Ivy), and Acacia mernsii (Black Acacia).

The aggressive nature of invasive species requires our team to target the populations of a variety of species across the county within specific annual timeframes, managing thousands of acres of land with a relatively small crew. We continue to rely on the dedication of local volunteers to help us in the ongoing battle against the persistent threat of biodiversity loss posed by exotic invaders.

Speaking of weeds, you may have noticed our crew and site hosts at Antonelli Pond. They're working to keep back annual grasses and agricultural weeds to promote the success of mitigation sites and pollinator gardens, which were installed last fall during our ADA trail project. We're putting the finishing touches on our all-access ADA trail project at Antonelli Pond, and the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County will be hosting a celebration to recognize the project completion on Sunday, April 14th. We hope to see you all there. Stay tuned for our future updates!