Guest Perspective / Philip J. McKenna

9/24/00
The Gaviota coast: A place unlike any other place

There are only five areas in the world that exhibits the environmental characteristics of a coastal Mediterranean ecosystem. We happen to be extremely fortunate to live on the edge of the largest remaining undeveloped remnant of this ecosystem in North America -- the Gaviota coast.

The Gaviota coast is the only south-facing coastline on the West Coast of the United States. It is a gentle landscape, protected from the surf of southern storms by the unique Channel Islands, from the cool northern climate by the Santa Ynez Mountains, and from the brunt of the north Pacific Ocean by it's position in the lee of Point Conception.

The waters of our coast are nourished by the meeting of northern and southern ocean currents. Nowhere on the West Coast do you find a more diverse marine environment. The Santa Ynez Mountains, forming the backbone of the Gaviota coast, is home to rare and endangered plant and animal species. It is a wild habitat sheltering lions, bears and steelhead, but invites the visitor with lush streams and stunning views. This view of the mountains rising steeply to the ridge, juxtaposed with the sloping marine terrace leading to the bluffs at the sea, is the unique and defining vista of our coast.

The Gaviota coast largely retains its environmental integrity due to an accident of geography -- it is the most remote portion of the urbanized Southern California coastline. It's the end of the line and could appropriately be called the "last coast."

It could also become the "lost coast," as the urbanization of the Southern California coastline is just about complete. The desirability of the temperate, Southern California coastal region has been its undoing, attracting millions of residents to its easy landscape. Indeed, paradise has been paved with an estimated 250 tons of concrete created for each inhabitant of the once-verdant Los Angeles basin.

But the Gaviota coast has been largely spared the indignities of civilization. It remains intact, battered in places, but still recognizable to a time traveler from a former era.

The opening of the Bacara Resort & Spa confronts us with the necessity to appraise the high cost of coastal development in Southern California. We appreciate the tenacity of the developer in bringing his project to fruition. However, we do not share his vision -- a vision of development and exploitation. We read of the opulence and tax revenue potential of the Bacara in the News-Press, but find the cost to the environment to be excessive.

We pay for this development in the loss of the wild, the quiet and the natural. The Monarch butterflies are vanquished with the destruction of their habitat. The tranquillity of the beach known for its inviting openness is obliterated by the scale of the hotel, marching up the slope to contain the 360 rooms. And unadorned nature, weeds and all, is paved.

The Bacara is an accomplished fact, but the fate of the rest of the Gaviota coast is open to the realization of other visions.

A vision to retain and enhance the biodiversity found on our coastline and in the watersheds. Healthy environments contain the full complement of flora and fauna characteristic of their nature. Reducing the diversity of an environment through habitat destruction or degradation impacts the entire system. The listing of a creek-dwelling amphibian as an endangered specie may seem trivial, until it is understood that the health of this frog is an indicator of the well-being of the entire watershed. Little things make a difference and all beings have a place.

A vision to expand the public use, enjoyment and appreciation of our coastal environment. Currently coastal access and bluff-top hiking is largely limited to areas of county and state-owned property. Similarly, hiking access to the Santa Ynez Mountains is found only at Gaviota State Park and on National Forest Service land. The largest part of the coastline and watersheds is off-limits to the vast majority of citizens. If these citizens are to develop an understanding of their homeland, methods and techniques must be developed and implemented to blend a respect for private property rights with the interest of the public to experience their environment. Such experience leads to appreciation,

which is a precondition for preservation. Conflicts abound with regard to access, indeed some areas should be off limits to public entry, but reasoned dialogue can often find solutions were intractable differences appear to exist.

A vision of a partnership between private landowners and public agencies to preserve and protect our coastal heritage. There is no shortage of preservationist techniques. Conservation easements can be created to provide public access or prevent future development with the property remaining in private hands. Public organizations can organize the purchase of private land, such as those transactions that occurred at the Wilcox Property or the Carpinteria Bluffs. Special open space districts can be created to provide funding for the purchase of private property. The creation of a national seashore, administered by the National Park Service, could be authorized by Congress.

In all of these cases, land or easements are purchased from willing sellers at fair market value without the threat of condemnation.

And finally, a vision arises to preserve the unparalleled natural landscape at our doorstep. As the coast becomes more crowded, the value of open space increases. The preservation of an entire landscape will be a legacy of immeasurable value. We can only celebrate our natural heritage on a coastline we call home, if that coastline and the watersheds are preserved.

Visions may only be a dream, but they can also become a reality. The future of the Gaviota coast is for the community to shape, if we care and if we act.

Philip J. McKenna is a board member of the Gaviota Coast Conservancy, and editor of a book on the Gaviota coast to be published by the Conservancy.