South County Habitat Restoration Program
Summary
SCH Number
2026020039
Lead Agency
Santa Cruz County
Document Title
South County Habitat Restoration Program
Document Type
MND - Mitigated Negative Declaration
Received
Present Land Use
R-R, R-UVL, AG, C-C, C-N, C-O, O-R, P, O-C, O-l, O-U
Document Description
The Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County (RCD) proposes the implementation of the South County Habitat Restoration Program. The comprehensive program includes the large-scale removal of eucalyptus within the 11,585 acre Program Area in South Santa Cruz County (South County) to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire and property damage and the restoration of native habitat to aid the recovery of the Santa Cruz long-toed salamander (SCLTS) and other endemic wildlife.
Contact Information
Name
Mark Connolly
Agency Name
County of Santa Cruz Community Development & Infrastructure Department
Job Title
Principal Planner
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Name
Janet Kung
Agency Name
Ecosystems West Consulting Group
Job Title
Environmental Project Manager
Contact Types
Consulting Firm
Address
Phone
Email
Name
Laurel Bard
Agency Name
Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County
Job Title
Forest Health and Wildfire Resiliency Project Manager
Contact Types
Project Applicant
Phone
Email
Location
Coordinates
Cities
Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley (unincorporated area)
Counties
Santa Cruz
Regions
Countywide, Unincorporated
Cross Streets
N/A
Zip
95076
Total Acres
11585
State Highways
HW1
Railways
Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line
Airports
Watsonville Municipal Airport
Schools
Pajaro Valley Unified School District
Waterways
Corralitos Creek, Valencia Creek
Township
N/A
Range
N/A
Section
N/A
Base
N/A
Other Location Info
The 11,585-acre Program Area is located in the unincorporated communities of Day Valley, Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley, and Corralitos. The Program Area is roughly bounded by Trout Gulch Road to the northwest and incorporates Day Valley, Pleasant Valley, and portions of Corralitos to the north and northeast. From Amesti Road in the east, the Program Area boundary cuts through agricultural fields to the junction of Freedom Blvd and Buena Vista Drive, the southeast corner of the Program Area, to extend to the intersection of Manfre Road and State Route 1, the southern corner of the Program Area. State Route 1 forms the southwestern boundary of the Program Area, capturing the Larkin Valley-Aptos Hill communities east of the highway.
Notice of Completion
State Review Period Start
State Review Period End
State Reviewing Agencies
California Air Resources Board (ARB), California Department of Conservation (DOC), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Bay Delta Region 3 (CDFW), California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), California Department of Parks and Recreation, California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), California Department of Transportation, District 5 (DOT), California Department of Water Resources (DWR), California Fish and Game Commission (CDFGC), California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (OES), California Highway Patrol (CHP), California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC), California Natural Resources Agency, California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Coast Region 3 (RWQCB), California State Coastal Conservancy (SCC), California State Lands Commission (SLC), Office of Historic Preservation, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water
Development Types
Other (Habitat Restoration Program)
Local Actions
Habitat Restoration Program (Programmatic IS/MND)
Project Issues
Aesthetics, Agriculture and Forestry Resources, Air Quality, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Cumulative Effects, Energy, Flood Plain/Flooding, Geology/Soils, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Growth Inducement, Hazards & Hazardous Materials, Hydrology/Water Quality, Land Use/Planning, Mandatory Findings of Significance, Mineral Resources, Noise, Population/Housing, Public Services, Recreation, Schools/Universities, Sewer Capacity, Solid Waste, Transportation, Tribal Cultural Resources, Utilities/Service Systems, Vegetation, Wetland/Riparian, Wildfire
Public Review Period Start
Public Review Period End
Attachments
Draft Environmental Document [Draft IS, NOI_NOA_Public notices, OPR Summary Form, Appx,]
Notice of Completion [NOC] Transmittal form
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