Rick Chelew & Nick Leahy

The Resource Conservation District of Monterey County (RCDMC) Fire Fuel Mitigation Program and the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) are reaching out to residents in Carmel Valley, Big Sur and Salinas Valley with an opportunity to receive funding to help pay for fuels reduction work, forest health management and other vegetation management work. This is being offered through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, also known as EQIP. By enrolling in EQIP, landowners can save money by offsetting their costs of forest or fuels management activities on their lands. If you have at least two acres and are willing to register through the Farm Service Agency and the NRCS, we can help create plans with you to help accomplish this work and also compensate a portion of the costs associated with implementing this type of management.

 

If you are interested in hearing more about this opportunity, join the RCDMC and the NRCS on Tuesday, October 12^th at 5:30 pm in a virtual workshop to find out more and ask any questions you may have about this program. If applicants meet the criteria for the program, have the minimum amount of acreage and are looking to implement fuels reduction or forest management on their land, we encourage you to check this workshop out. The Zoom link is below.

 

Thank you and we hope to see you there!

Join Zoom Meeting:

 

Meeting ID: 831 6966 8455

Passcode: 523701

One tap mobile

+16699006833,,83169668455#,,,,*523701# US (San Jose) 

From Monterey Geriatric Care Manager

Your health and safety are the top priorities for the Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s®. Out of an abundance of caution — and in partnership with local leadership — we're asking you to Walk From Home on October 9th, as we will not be gathering together.

Walk is happening — we’ll just be safely participating in our own neighborhoods instead of all together. We’re disappointed that we won’t all be gathered in person, but the last year has shown us that even when we’re apart, we can still rally together to fight Alzheimer’s.

How to Walk From Home:

On Walk day, watch the prerecorded Opening and Promise Garden Ceremony via the app or your local event webpage. Visit the augmented reality Promise Garden in the mobile app, select a flower plant it among others, and review the route map to track your at-home Walk. Then, start walking! Be sure to wear purple and post photos to social media using #Walk2EndAlz and #ShowYourPurple.

Update from Supervisor Mary Adams' Office on the Carmel River Floodplain Restoration and Environmental Enhancement Project (CRFREE):

CRFREE Project and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Plan was approved by the County of Monterey Board of Supervisors June 15, 2021. This begins a two-year pre-construction and permitting phase.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has initiated its analysis of the Project as part of its consideration of the $22.9 million grant funds proposed for the CRFREE project, inclusive of funding for Carmel Area Wastewater District’s project to underground its force main and sewer outfall pipes spanning the south arm of the Lagoon.

Construction and permitting is in progress. The current implementation schedule anticipates construction to begin in early 2023. Construction will last approximately twelve to eighteen months. The Project will work with Caltrans, community members, event organizers and other stakeholders to minimize impacts or disruptions along Highway One during construction.

The Big Sur Land Trust and the County are working with consultants to initiate environmental permitting that kicked off with Project approval in June.

Grant funding is estimated to cost approximately $42 million. Approximately $11 million in grant funds have been awarded, with a further $30 million applied for and pending. The California State Coastal Conservancy will award the amount of $4.25 million, pending acceptance of the award by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors – anticipated in September 2021.

The Monterey County supervisors will be considering approval of a Vacation Rental ordinance when the environmental review is finished. We wish to present as many letters as possible. The ordinance, in its current form with the direction of the majority of the supervisors, would do the following:

The nonprofit Fire Safe Council for Monterey County (FSCMC) serves local communities and individual property owners by creating awareness, presenting information, facilitating access to available resources, and aiding with coordinating efforts to better prepare for wildfire. FSCMC has joined forces with the National Fire Protection Association’s Firewise USA® recognition program to help neighbors to reduce wildfire risks at the local level. There are now 5 Firewise recognized communities in Monterey County: Rancho Tierra Grande, Robles del Rio, Club Place, Boronda Garzas and Pattee Ranch.

 The tentative date/time for the next quarterly meeting is Tuesday, November 9, 6:00 – 7:30pm.

The topics of discussion are participant directed, so I would like to enlist your help in determining what you would like to see addressed. Please respond to the following questions to aid in that process:

Please join your CV neighbors who are taking direct responsibility in the protection of their community from the threat of wildfire, by becoming a Firewise community yourself. For additional information about Firewise USA please email me directly at firewise.fscmc@gmail.com or visit NFPA firewise.org or FSCMC firesafemontery.org

Sign up at alertmontereycounty.org

Carmel Valley Association is one of the oldest, largest, and most successful community organizations in Monterey County. We are entirely volunteer, with no paid employees. Our mission is to defend the beauty, resources and rural character of our beautiful valley. We do that by working with residents, businesses, and government.

 Meet Our Board Members

Douglas Steakley www.douglassteakley.com