The La Honda Voice

The May 2021 Edition of the La Honda Voice

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Go With the Flow! Barriers to Fish Passage

This is the season Steelhead (and hopefully Coho) swim upstream to the reach where they spawned so they can create a new generation of fish. Nature has a wonderful way of keeping the streams flowing and clear of debris so this cycle continues. Unfortunately, the cycle can be disrupted by a variety of events. Sometimes weak winter storm flows aren’t strong enough to clear fallen trees or branches and create a passage. Other times human beings interfere with the natural process.

It’s a time-honored tradition for young folks to play in the creek; skip stones, wade in the water, swim in the pools, and build dams. Thankfully most of these activities are not too disruptive to the ecosystem, but creating and leaving dams or obstructions in the flow are extremely harmful. This is especially true in “low flow” situations such as we’re experiencing this year. There’s hardly enough water in many places for these beautiful 20” – 24” fish to struggle upstream from the ocean to their birthplace, and they can be completely stopped by any barriers.

Artificial dams have been a recurring issue in the stretch of La Honda Creek flowing past the Playbowl area. It’s not surprising this is a popular place to play and hang out. It’s a natural get-away for adults and youngsters alike. The volunteers from SGERC (San Gregorio Environmental Resource Center) that monitor the stream systems in the San Gregorio watershed have often had to break up artificial dams in the flow which can be just an inch or two deep some years. We’d like to get the word out to parents and young people about the importance of keeping the flow going! If you move rocks around in the stream (not a great idea for many reasons), be sure to remove any barriers before you leave the area.

This is a great opportunity to enlighten your friends, students, neighbors, and children about how they can help keep our environment healthy, and how innocent actions can sometimes create a significant threat to our wildlife.

With gratitude from the fish and the community volunteers of SGERC.

The Face of Local Music - Three on the Tree

Three On The Tree at the San Gregorio Store April 30th

 

by craig eddy

Hopefully we are beginning to see things starting to open up as the pandemic numbers in California continue to look promising. Many businesses that provide musical entertainment have been starting up again with outdoor shows.  Alice’s Restaurant, the San Gregorio Store and soon the Loma Mar Store all are getting their music programs going again.  I just saw Three on the Tree at the SG Store on Friday the 30th.  They set up outside and even though it was a bit foggy and gloomy they put on a great show for about fifty fans. Three on the Tree has kept rehearsing throughout the last year and are at the top of their game.  They were obviously thrilled to be playing their first real gig in over year.  All the members are stellar musicians and they complement each other perfectly. Keep them in mind as they fill out their gigging schedule if you are up for a great show.