FONC History
IN THE OCEAN WIND brings together seventeen people who describe the past, present and future of a relatively small length of the Pacific Coast.
"These residents and former residents of Santa Cruz range from a newspaper writer to university professors, from county planners to a house-wife, from authors to students — all linked by a common concern."
"Herein will be found history, science, poetry, a fairy tale, law, a journal, stories, photography and drawings. No specific topics were asked of these people; rather that they simply chronicle what they know and care about regarding this area — those few miles of coast lying north from Santa Cruz to the county line near Año Nuevo."
"At a public planning meeting, the oldest man in the room said, 'Yes, I have seen Eden. And it is not very far away. It is right over there.'"
"We learn from what has already been lost has crucial it is to save what remains."
"At this time the north coast of Santa Cruz County remains reasonably uninhabited, long miles of Brussels sprouts fields and of cattle ranches. It is no longer a natural wilderness, nor has it been for over a hundred years. It has been logged and overgrazed and filled with pesticides and fertilizers. Yet it retains a quality of wilderness and provides open space and recreation
areas."
"Although we have changed the coast from its original state, our alterations have not been overly violent, until today. This is the last time we will have an option to choose which future we will allow the north coast and ourselves. The lesson we can best learn from the Indians is not to destroy that which sustains us."
"By all means, let us defend our coast. It is beautiful and irreplaceable."
"These residents and former residents of Santa Cruz range from a newspaper writer to university professors, from county planners to a house-wife, from authors to students — all linked by a common concern."
"Herein will be found history, science, poetry, a fairy tale, law, a journal, stories, photography and drawings. No specific topics were asked of these people; rather that they simply chronicle what they know and care about regarding this area — those few miles of coast lying north from Santa Cruz to the county line near Año Nuevo."
"At a public planning meeting, the oldest man in the room said, 'Yes, I have seen Eden. And it is not very far away. It is right over there.'"
"We learn from what has already been lost has crucial it is to save what remains."
"At this time the north coast of Santa Cruz County remains reasonably uninhabited, long miles of Brussels sprouts fields and of cattle ranches. It is no longer a natural wilderness, nor has it been for over a hundred years. It has been logged and overgrazed and filled with pesticides and fertilizers. Yet it retains a quality of wilderness and provides open space and recreation
areas."
"Although we have changed the coast from its original state, our alterations have not been overly violent, until today. This is the last time we will have an option to choose which future we will allow the north coast and ourselves. The lesson we can best learn from the Indians is not to destroy that which sustains us."
"By all means, let us defend our coast. It is beautiful and irreplaceable."
Unite for a Common Cause
For its first undertaking, Friends of the North Coast produced a debut celebration in November of 1991: a series of lectures, poetry readings, hikes, concerts, and art exhibits, called “In Praise of the North Coast”. With this event, the community at large was able to better share an appreciation of the unique values of our North Coast.here to edit.
For its first undertaking, Friends of the North Coast produced a debut celebration in November of 1991: a series of lectures, poetry readings, hikes, concerts, and art exhibits, called “In Praise of the North Coast”. With this event, the community at large was able to better share an appreciation of the unique values of our North Coast.here to edit.
Save Gray Whale and Coast Dairies
Gray Whale Ranch, under severe threat of development and inappropriate logging in the early nineties, was purchased in 1996 by the Save-the-Redwoods League, and subsequently incorporated into Wilder Ranch State Park. Save-the-Redwoods League purchased and protected the 7,900 acre Coast Dairies & Land property two years later, and gave it to the Trust for Public Land to manage. Deed restrictions prevented development of the land and limited its future use to public recreation and preserving the environment for the animals and plants that live there.
Gray Whale Ranch, under severe threat of development and inappropriate logging in the early nineties, was purchased in 1996 by the Save-the-Redwoods League, and subsequently incorporated into Wilder Ranch State Park. Save-the-Redwoods League purchased and protected the 7,900 acre Coast Dairies & Land property two years later, and gave it to the Trust for Public Land to manage. Deed restrictions prevented development of the land and limited its future use to public recreation and preserving the environment for the animals and plants that live there.
In 2014, after separating out parcels which are leased for agriculture, TPL gave the 5,800 acres of the uplands to the federal Bureau of Land Management, but kept the water and mineral rights.
Protect Cotoni-Coast Dairies
After the struggles to keep Gray Whale Ranch and Coast Dairies from private development, Friends of the North Coast turned its attention to a campaign to make Coast Dairies a national monument, and we organized to oppose it. Despite the monument campaign’s misrepresentations, we knew that the Deed Restrictions and conditions of the Coastal Development Permit were adequate to protect Coast Dairies, and that monument status had the potential to attract so many visitors that it would endanger its fragile environment. It would also increase impacts on the beaches of Coast Dairies State Park, which already are suffering from litter, graffiti and drunken parties. Nevertheless, in January 2017 President Obama proclaimed Coast Dairies part of the California Coastal National Monument, naming it Cotoni-Coast Dairies NM. We are now trying to help the BLM to find ways to balance recreation with wildlife protection, to steward the land so that the creeks continue to run clear for generations, and to help to educate the many visitors about this special place we call the North Coast.
In 2020, FONC became a non-profit corporation, dedicated to ensuring that those precious parcels, as well as nearby preserved properties in southern San Mateo County, don’t suffer from overuse from an ever-growing San Francisco and Monterey Bay population.
After the struggles to keep Gray Whale Ranch and Coast Dairies from private development, Friends of the North Coast turned its attention to a campaign to make Coast Dairies a national monument, and we organized to oppose it. Despite the monument campaign’s misrepresentations, we knew that the Deed Restrictions and conditions of the Coastal Development Permit were adequate to protect Coast Dairies, and that monument status had the potential to attract so many visitors that it would endanger its fragile environment. It would also increase impacts on the beaches of Coast Dairies State Park, which already are suffering from litter, graffiti and drunken parties. Nevertheless, in January 2017 President Obama proclaimed Coast Dairies part of the California Coastal National Monument, naming it Cotoni-Coast Dairies NM. We are now trying to help the BLM to find ways to balance recreation with wildlife protection, to steward the land so that the creeks continue to run clear for generations, and to help to educate the many visitors about this special place we call the North Coast.
In 2020, FONC became a non-profit corporation, dedicated to ensuring that those precious parcels, as well as nearby preserved properties in southern San Mateo County, don’t suffer from overuse from an ever-growing San Francisco and Monterey Bay population.
Click HERE for detailed timeline of Cotoni-Coast Dairies actions.