Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Boardwalks to be built for fairy shrimp

Short-term solution to permit reopening of popular South Bay trail

A popular and vital connector trail in the Sweetwater Regional Park that was closed in December by the unexpected arrival of endangered fairy shrimp may be open again soon.

"Everything is going the way we hoped it would," said Diane Carter, president of the Bonita Valley Horsemen Association. "We don't have the final permit yet, but U.S. Fish & Wildlife tells us we're on the fast track."

Sponsored
Sponsored

County supervisor Greg Cox led the Bonita Valley Horsemen's charge to find a solution that lets the Fish & Wildlife Service protect the endangered species while allowing public access: county funds — earnest money in the amount of $30,000 — will go toward building low bridges over the critters' new habitat.

In December, water provider Sweetwater Authority, which owns the land where the fairy shrimp showed up, announced it would have to close the portion of the South Side trail. The fairy shrimp in Sweetwater have been protected residents for more than a decade in vernal pools near the trail, according to federal documents. They apparently moved to ponds that formed in ruts in the trail.

Equestrians, mountain bikers, and hikers have long enjoyed the trail, which connects to areas as far as Jamul, and hundreds showed up at a hastily scheduled meeting on December 3 to voice their concern over losing the trail.

Cox attended the meeting and began negotiating with both the Sweetwater Authority, which has an agreement to let the park use its land, and with Fish & Wildlife. Following its procedures, the federal agency has drafted a permit for the temporary solution of building low boardwalks over the new habitat.

The permit was posted for comments on March 17, and the comment period closed on April 16 — with just one comment received — in favor. A final decision on the permit should come next week, Fish & Wildlife staff said. There's no date yet for construction to start, but the county and park users are optimistic it will be soon. Meanwhile, Cox will ask the county Board of Supervisors to approve $30,000 for the boardwalk on Tuesday. He noted that they still need to come up with a long-term solution, like rerouting the trail.

“This would provide a temporary solution that is acceptable to all the agencies involved," he said. "For the short term, it’s a win-win.”

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Jazz guitarist Alex Ciavarelli pays tribute to pianist Oscar Peterson

“I had to extract the elements that spoke to me and realize them on my instrument”
Next Article

Two poems by Marvin Bell

“To Dorothy” and “The Self and the Mulberry”

A popular and vital connector trail in the Sweetwater Regional Park that was closed in December by the unexpected arrival of endangered fairy shrimp may be open again soon.

"Everything is going the way we hoped it would," said Diane Carter, president of the Bonita Valley Horsemen Association. "We don't have the final permit yet, but U.S. Fish & Wildlife tells us we're on the fast track."

Sponsored
Sponsored

County supervisor Greg Cox led the Bonita Valley Horsemen's charge to find a solution that lets the Fish & Wildlife Service protect the endangered species while allowing public access: county funds — earnest money in the amount of $30,000 — will go toward building low bridges over the critters' new habitat.

In December, water provider Sweetwater Authority, which owns the land where the fairy shrimp showed up, announced it would have to close the portion of the South Side trail. The fairy shrimp in Sweetwater have been protected residents for more than a decade in vernal pools near the trail, according to federal documents. They apparently moved to ponds that formed in ruts in the trail.

Equestrians, mountain bikers, and hikers have long enjoyed the trail, which connects to areas as far as Jamul, and hundreds showed up at a hastily scheduled meeting on December 3 to voice their concern over losing the trail.

Cox attended the meeting and began negotiating with both the Sweetwater Authority, which has an agreement to let the park use its land, and with Fish & Wildlife. Following its procedures, the federal agency has drafted a permit for the temporary solution of building low boardwalks over the new habitat.

The permit was posted for comments on March 17, and the comment period closed on April 16 — with just one comment received — in favor. A final decision on the permit should come next week, Fish & Wildlife staff said. There's no date yet for construction to start, but the county and park users are optimistic it will be soon. Meanwhile, Cox will ask the county Board of Supervisors to approve $30,000 for the boardwalk on Tuesday. He noted that they still need to come up with a long-term solution, like rerouting the trail.

“This would provide a temporary solution that is acceptable to all the agencies involved," he said. "For the short term, it’s a win-win.”

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Conservatives cry, “Turnabout is fair gay!”

Will Three See Eight’s Fate?
Next Article

The vicious cycle of Escondido's abandoned buildings

City staff blames owners for raising rents
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader