Author: MMPC

Caves Are No More

In several previous issues we discussed the dangerous erosion of the cliffs of the various sections of More Mesa. In October of 2014,  an incident where someone was hurt while in a cave on the western side of More Mesa precipitated a discussion of the geology of More Mesa’s cliffs. Specifically, we noted that the east side consists of a very old formation that erodes slowly, while the west, a much younger formation, erodes very quickly. In fact, sea cliff retreat in the this younger formation has been demonstrated to be about 10 inches a year, the highest rate observed along this portion of the South Coast. What this all means is that the western cliff is steep, unstable and unpredictable. At the time we advised everyone to stay out of the caves since they too, were judged unstable, unpredictable and dangerous.

But now they are gone! These very same caves collapsed last week. County firefighters conducted a precautionary search and found no evidence of any victims being trapped during the collapse. Fire Captain Dave Zaniboni issued a warning that it is extremely dangerous now that the bluffs have caved in.

The Good News: Now that the caves have collapsed there is no longer any danger that people inside them will be injured or killed.

The Bad News: Once again, we remind everyone that the cliffs on the edge of More Mesa are UNSTABLE, UPREDICTABLE AND DANGEROUS. Please stay off the trails leading down from More Mesa and take extreme care when using the Coastal Trail. Please be safe!

Our beautiful More Mesa looks bleak indeed! We need rain more than we have needed in almost 15 years! And, although we received a little rain exactly a year ago, the long awaited 2016 El Niño pattern shift has finally happened, to deliver rain for this season.

Recent predictions based on anomalous elevated equatorial sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, continue to predict an extremely strong El Niño, perhaps the strongest we have ever experienced. In addition, these same predictions contend that strong El Niño events tend to begin at the start of winter, and continue into the spring. NOAA’s latest three-month prediction is shown below.

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2015 … The Year in Review

The day we knew was coming, but wouldn’t welcome, arrived.
In late July a group with the same members who circulated development plans for More Mesa three years ago, announced that they represented the Kalid Saud Al Shebaily Group (KSSG), owners of More Mesa.

The new group’s opening salvo came in the form of objections to a number of the provisions in the updated Eastern Goleta Valley Plan (EGVP). This salvo was summarily rejected by the County. Later in the year, at a subsequent Board of Supervisors Meeting on the EGVP, a local representative of KSSG said, “We do support adoption of the plan and note that there are no proposed changes affecting the More Mesa property.” However, later in his testimony, the same speaker remarked that some of the development standards needed to be revisited at a later time … a phrase that would seem to indicate that the owner really did not agree with the fact that there were no proposed changes.

Drought etc.
The record-breaking drought we have been experiencing occupied our thoughts and concerns for most of the year. We reported its effect on birds, plants and animals as well as increased danger from falling trees and eroding cliffs. Because our geographical area experiences regular cycles of drought and floods and an El Niño is predicted for this winter, we have added a special feature on this weather phenomena on our web site.

White-tailed Kites Have the Last Word!
All through the spring and summer breeding seasons we looked in vain for signs of kites and kite nesting. This continuing disappointment was reported in several monthly newsletters. We despaired that 2015 would be the fourth “no chick” year for More Mesa. But in late summer the kites had apparently found a way! Four kites were spotted on the west side of More Mesa and even more exciting was the presence of three juveniles in the group. These three appear to have moved on, but a pair of adults still remain with us.

Plans for 2016
Despite mixed signals from the developers, 2016 is likely to be the year that our fight against development of More Mesa begins in earnest. We need to prepare. Therefore, we plan to raise $150,000 as a contingency campaign fund soon after we finish our planning in early 2016. I will be sure to keep you updated on developments.

As always … thank you all for your wonderful support, and for loving this very special place. Our warmest holiday wishes.

Valerie Olson
More Mesa Preservation Coalition.

El Niño: A New Feature on our Web Site
Weather is critical to what happens on More Mesa. Drought and its effects on More Mesa have been discussed over the last several years. Now with a “too-big-to-fail” El Niño about to alleviate some of that drought, a new section Ecology->Climate and Weather, has been added to the website for more information about our local weather. Two of the videos from that section are repeated in this post.

Droughts to Floods: Weather and Climate in Southern California and Potential Impact of El Nino

by Eric Boldt of the National Weather Service
Click on the heading if the video does not display in this page.

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El Niño – La Niña by Keith Meldahl

One of the clearest explanations of El Niño, La Niña and the southern oscillation, with excellent animation.

Finally … we urge you to please use extreme caution in windy weather and after it rains!
There is a reason they call Eucalyptus trees “widow makers.” They are brittle and often break off branches or fall during wind-storms. We have always advised visitors to More Mesa to stay away from these trees when it is windy. However, all our trees and especially Eucalyptus are in a very weakened condition as a result of the drought. This means they will be much more likely to splinter and break after severe rain events as well. Unhappily even our sturdy oaks, native to the area and generally adapted to droughts, are weakened and failing as well. 

White-tailed Kites Have the Last Word!

In the March News of this website we reported that there was evidence of potential nesting for the White-tailed Kite. This was welcome news as our famous signature raptor, a bird that historically lives and breeds in profusion on More Mesa had not produced a single chick for at least three years. And as the months went by with no further nesting signs we despaired that 2015 would be yet another “no chick” year. Now, we are delighted to report that the kites have found a way!

One of our most avid and dedicated birders, Jessie Altstatt, had been seeing one or two kites, all through July. Then, in late August she suddenly noted four kites. They were in the oaks close to Atascadero Creek on the north edge of More Mesa. Even more exciting was the conclusive identification of three juveniles among these four! The markings of juvenile kites are clearly shown in the accompanying photo, courtesy of Mark Holmgren. These are bold white margins on most of the dark feathers and gold breast feathering.

On another note, further identification revealed that this group was definitely not the family that bred in July at Lake Los Carneros.  Bottom line … this sighting, while it is exciting news for More Mesa, it is only our second kite breeding event in the entire Goleta Valley this season.

An additional observation about food, yields even further “food for thought.” The four birds reported were observed feeding on a larger mammal; perhaps a ground squirrel. This food choice is extremely interesting in that kites in the Goleta Valley almost always rely on California Voles, or to a lesser extent, on other vole-sized mammals as a food source.