Friends of the North Coast

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Our Mission

To honor and preserve the natural and cultural legacy of Santa Cruz County’s North Coast.

Since 1991, Friends of the North Coast has worked tirelessly to assure that Santa Cruz County’s North Coast is conserved so that future generations can enjoy the diverse wildlife, clean running streams, and beautiful beaches.

Click HERE to read Our Goals for Cotoni-Coast Dairies.

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Friends of the North Coast is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation

What's New!

Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument Grand Opening Set

The Cotoni-Coast Dairies Unit of the California Coastal National Monument will open to public access Friday, August 15th from 10:30 to 12:00 pm followed by an inaugural hike from 12:30-3 pm.

Click HERE to read more.

Crews push to debut Santa Cruz County’s first national monument trail network this summer

Click HERE for the Lookout Santa Cruz article.

Wildlife Society calls for updated California special-status animal species and sensitive species lists.

The Western Section of The Wildlife Society (TWS) requests that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) update its California special-status animal species and sensitive species lists in accordance with its guidelines for coordination and timing.

Click HERE for the letter to BLM

Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument Environmental Assessment

In March 2024, the BLM presented a new Environmental Assessment (EA) addressing the impacts of their latest plan for access to Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument. The EA examines only the proposal for a parking and trail access at a “Northern Entrance” from Cement Plant Road. Significantly missing from this revised proposal is the “Southern Entrance” at Panther/Yellow Bank that was included in the original Resource Management Plan Amendment. This entrance was specifically intended to give visitors two options for accessing C-CD.

Click Cotoni-Coast Dairies for the documents and comments

BLM welcomes public input on parking area and trailhead at Cotoni-Coast Dairies

The Bureau of Land Management is seeking public input on an environmental analysis for a proposed northern parking area and trailhead at Cotoni-Coast Dairies, a unit of the California Coastal National Monument, near Davenport, California, in Santa Cruz County. Interested parties may submit written comments during a 30-day public comment period, which ends on April 15.

Information about the project and public commenting may be submitted electronically through the BLM National NEPA Register or via email; by fax to 831-582-2266; or by mail to BLM Central Coast Field Office, Attn: Cotoni-Coast Dairies, 940 2nd Avenue, Marina, CA 93933-6009.

Click HERE for BLM press release.

Click HERE for the Northern Parking Area and Trailhead
Environmental Assessment (EA)

Click HERE for updates and plans for Alternatives 1 & 2

Public hearing on recommendation to the Board of Supervisors regarding the proposed Low-Impact Camping Area Ordinance

The Santa Cruz County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing Wednesday, March 13 at 9:30 am on a proposed ordinance that may have profound impacts on Bonny Doon and other rural areas of Santa Cruz County.

The ordinance would allow property owners in rural parts of the County to operate commercial “Low Impact Camping Areas” (LICAs) on parcels greater than 5 acres. Campgrounds would be exempt from CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) environmental review. Let the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors know your concerns.

Click HERE to download the proposed ordinance.

Please tell the Planning Commission what you think: by email, in person, or by zoom.

Click HERE for a message from Rural Bonny Doon Association describing their concerns, and instructions for providing your comments.

Improved access planned for Santa Cruz County’s North Coast

January 12, 2024

A plan to improve North Coast parking lots, build new restrooms and potentially rent cabins at Greyhound Rock County Park is being whittled down to a priority list due this spring, county leaders said.

Click HERE to read the article.

BLM Field Manager Ormsby's
11/8/2023 Presentation to RBDA

Zachary Ormsby, Field Manager of BLM’s Central Coast Field Office headquartered in Marina, was the featured program at the RBDA’s 11/8/2023 Meeting. Click HERE for a summary of the meeting and the full meeting transcript.

Draft North Coast Facilities Management Plan Review

Thursday, November 30, 5:00 pm - 7:30 pm.

Pacific Elementary School Multipurpose Room, 50 Ocean Street in Davenport

County Parks will host a hybrid - Zoom and in-person (with the Zoom meeting open to anyone, North Coast resident or not) community meeting to review the Draft NCFMP.

To join the meeting by Zoom, click HERE to register for the meeting and receive the Zoom ID and password by return email.

November 18, 2023

The Draft North Coast Facilities Management Plan (NCFMP) is released for public review.

The North Coast Multi-Agency Working Group (NCMAWG) was initiated 3+ years ago as a result of our efforts, working with then-Supervisor Coonerty, to get agencies to address problems created by increased visitation to the North Coast, which we summarized as "the four T's" - trauma, trash, toilets, and traffic - and to do so collaboratively. DNCA successfully solicited funds from the Coastal Conservancy and State Parks to support a study and planning process, and with those funds ($100,000 from each agency) the Board of Supervisors tasked County Parks with developing the plan. Through a competitive solicitation the County hired consulting firm "PlaceWorks" and for the past 2+ years PlaceWorks has been managing the plan development process.

The draft NCFMP identifies existing facilities, presents an integrated compilation of the agencies' plans for future projects, and includes a tool for considering alternative priority rankings based on different weighting criteria. Staff initially planned to limit public input to expressions of ranking preferences, but DNCA, with support from Supervisor Cummings, was able to open the door for comment on the entire plan - process, methodology, assumptions, gaps, and conclusions. The deadline for submitting comments is December 15.

Click HERE to download the Draft NCFMP (10.9 MB).
Click HERE for the Draft NCFMP Appendices
Click HERE for the Full NCFMP Project List

Updates on Cotoni-Coast Dairies
and Wildfire Mitigation Strategies

Wednesday, November 8th, 7:30 p.m.

In Person at the Bonny Doon Elementary School Multi-Purpose Room and virtually via Zoom

Bureau of Land Management Central Coast Field Manager Zachary Ormsby will discuss BLM’s myriad activities at Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument and associated fuel reduction projects as they move through the planning and implementation process of opening the property to public access. He will present conceptual renderings for potential parking lot designs and introduce us to several new members of his team.

Click HERE to download the Highlander Newsletter with details and instructions to join the meeting via Zoom.

What’s Next for Cotoni-Coast Dairies and the North Coast Facilities Management Plan?

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

A presentation from Zachary Ormsby, BLM Field Manager, to residents assembled in Davenport for a forum hosted by the DNCA on Sept. 26, included many announcements that pleased listeners and some that didn’t.

Click HERE for the report.

Wednesday, September 13, 2023

To enjoy an interesting and informative presentation on wildlife in our area, listen to Dr. Grey Hayes’ talk "Bonny Doon Wildlife: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.” at the Rural Bonny Doon Association’s Sept. 13 public meeting. Go to http://www.rbda.us/public-meeting-video-archives/ where you will find a link to the video. Grey’s talk begin’s about 13:30 minutes into the meeting following Supervisor Cummings’ update to the community.

Wednesday, May 24, 7:30 p.m.

The RBDA hosted a presentation by Jonathan Wittwer and Mike Eaton, providing a recap and an in-depth look at what’s next for both the Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument and Santa Cruz County’s North Coast Facilities Management Plan (NCMFP). The NCMFP is a planning effort among agencies, organizations, and the community to identify a shared vision, goals, and high priority projects for enhancing the North Coast visitor experience, manage visitor impacts, and preserve natural resources. The management of Cotoni-Coast Dairies and the greater North Coast region will have a major impact on Bonny Doon, Davenport and all neighboring areas, and is certain to affect generations to come.

Click HERE to view the meeting videos.

Click HERE for a Contact List of government officials involved in Cotoni-Coast Dairies planning.