Santa Cruz County Measure Q
By Sarah Newkirk
Sometimes it’s hard to believe more than four years have passed since a rare summer lightning storm ignited the CZU Lightning Complex Fire. The fire scorched more than 86,000 acres, destroyed almost 1,500 structures and caused the evacuation of more than 60,000 people, including my family.
After sagely burying his valuables in a previously excavated hole in our backyard, my son Logan quietly said as we drove away, “Mom, I don’t want our house to burn down.”
We were fortunate – our house survived the blaze. Many of our neighbors were not so lucky. The landscape was also ravaged. San Vicente Redwoods and Big Basin State Park, along with thousands more acres of forested land, burned with an intensity that our trees are most certainly not adapted to tolerate.
Santa Cruz County faces “weather whiplash” with climate change: extended droughts and fires, alternating with periods of extreme precipitation and flooding. Flooding on the Pajaro River, San Lorenzo River and Soquel Creek has destroyed homes and upended lives. Sediment and pollution impair the water quality of the San Lorenzo River and Pinto Lake.
The good news is there are nature-based strategies that can help reduce these impacts and protect our magnificent natural and working lands so they will be more resilient to the growing impacts of climate change.
In Measure Q, the Water and Wildfire Protection Act, we have a way to locally fund these strategies and more. We can’t wait for the state or federal governments to do this for us. Right here in Santa Cruz County we have the knowledge and expertise needed to manage our complicated landscape.
Measure Q will raise $7.3 million annually, through an $87 annual parcel tax. The funding will be used to fund projects that advance forest health, vegetation/fuel reduction, water quality protection, flood risk reduction, wildlife habitat, and clean beaches and parks.
Measure Q will strongly position our communities to attract millions in matching funds through state and federal grants. Priorities for spending Measure Q funds will be set in an open, transparent process by a group of nine residents from around the county. Final spending decisions will be made at public meetings of the County Board of Supervisors, with 100% of funds legally required to be spent only for Measure Q purposes.
Who will carry out the projects that Measure Q funds? Public agencies that manage land – think of all the work that parks districts and public works departments do to reduce fire risk and improve water quality. Organizations, including nonprofits, as well as individuals with proven expertise, can also receive funding. Local fire districts that want to reduce fuel loads are eligible. So are indigenous groups with expertise in prescribed burning. Local residents can also access funds for wildfire risk reduction on private property by working in partnership with the Resources Conservation District of Santa Cruz County.
Measure Q will enable our local communities to take a stand in the struggle to withstand intensifying climate impacts. Our elected representatives know first-hand how high the stakes are for Santa Cruz County. That’s why federal, state and local elected officials support Measure Q including U.S. Rep. Panetta, State Senator Laird, Assemblymembers Addis and Pellerin and all five county supervisors.
Community groups with firsthand knowledge of climate impacts and proven solutions have endorsed Measure Q, including Firesafe Council of Santa Cruz County, Valley Women’s Club, the Sierra Club, Save Our Shores and Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Stewardship have all endorsed Measure Q.
Measure Q is Santa Cruz County’s first ballot measure that will be exclusively dedicated to creating a more resilient natural environment that is better able to protect our community and way of life. Please join me in voting yes on Q.
Sarah Newkirk is the Executive Director of the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County.
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