The federal Bureau of Land Management Central Coast field office is seeking public input on an environmental assessment and draft amendment to the resource management plan for the California Coastal National Monument that will provide management direction for Cotoni-Coast Dairies public lands in Santa Cruz County.
The 30-day public review period ends March 19.
Two open house meetings will take place 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 4, at Bonny Doon Union Elementary School District, 1492 Pine Flat Road, Santa Cruz, and Thursday, March 5, at Louden Nelson Community Center, 301 Center St., Santa Cruz.
Plans are to provide public access and recreation on the nearly 6,000 acres of Cotoni-Coast Dairies public lands while protecting natural and cultural resources.
Access to the property is currently limited to guided tours. All of the alternatives provide for increased public access to this property.
This effort advances the administration’s goals identified in Secretarial Order 3366, “Increasing Recreation Opportunities on Lands and Waters Managed by the U.S. Department of the Interior;” Secretarial Order 3347, “Conservation Stewardship and Outdoor Recreation;” and Secretarial Order 3372, “Reducing Wildfire Risks on Department of the Interior Land Through Active Management.”
Cotoni-Coast Dairies, donated to the BLM in 2014, extends along Highway 1 near Davenport. This area is marked by six forested perennial streams that flow from the Santa Cruz Mountains into the Pacific Ocean and between these riparian drainages are broad marine terraces. There is a wide variety of habitats and wildlife, including coho salmon, steelhead trout, California red-legged frogs, mule deer and mountain lions.
Written comments may be submitted electronically at https://go.usa.gov/xEJAw, via email to [email protected], by fax to 831-582-2266, or mail to BLM Central Coast Field Office, Attn: Cotoni-Coast Dairies RMPA/EA, 940 2nd Ave., Marina, CA 93933-6009.
Before including addresses, phone numbers, email addresses or other personal identifying information in a comment, commenters should be aware that the entire comment, including personal identifying information, could be made publicly available at any time. While the public may ask the BLM to withhold personal identifying information from public review, the BLM cannot guarantee that it will be able to do so.
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The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 Western states and administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate nationwide. The agency reported fiscal year 2018 activities authorized on BLM-managed lands generated $105 billion in economic output, supported 471,000 jobs and contributed substantial revenue to the U.S. Treasury and state governments, mostly through mineral royalties.
