In late August the long awaited public review process will begin on the Pebble Beach Company/Sumitomo Bank of Japan's development plan for the world renowned Del Monte Forest. Some have aptly described this project as the "taking of the Forest out of Del Monte." The famed Seventeen Mile Drive which now wends its mystical way through beautiful tracts of wild Monterey pine forest, interspersed amid residential areas, would be irreparably degraded and the rarest jewels of the Monterey pine forest lost, should this plan succeed.

Ironically the project is being proposed at a time when this rare and ancient forest ecosystem, reduced to almost half its former range by a century of human development, is now threatened by a devastating epidemic of a lethal non-native fungal disease, pitch canker, which threatens to kill over 85% of Monterey pines. The public is only just beginning to appreciate the rarity and value of California's three native stands of Monterey pines. To emphasize the perilous situation of native Monterey pine forest, the California Native Plant Society's Monterey Bay Chapter is planning to submit a petition to list Monterey pine as a State Threatened Species. (See related article.)

In addition to pitch canker and development pressures, the integrity of the forest is threatened by non-native species invasions, genetic contamination from non-local stock, fire suppression, and misguided management practices. While the pine populations are known to have fluctuated with climate change, they have never been subjected to so many different assaults as they are now.

Monterey pine forest began its evolutionary journey some 25 million years ago in the highlands of what is now Mexico, migrating northward over the eons into what is today California. Unlike the redwoods, whose evolution has been of a shorter duration, there is only a tiny amount of native Monterey pine forest remaining today (about 13,000 acres) of which only about 3000 acres is in permanent preserves. Redwoods, by comparison, are permanently protected in over 80,000 acres.

What makes Pebble Beach Company's project of particular concern is that the proposed 318 luxury home sites, 18 hole-golf course and new equestrian center will destroy and fragment some of the rarest and most diverse areas of the Monterey Peninsula forest.

In 1994-97 the California Department of Fish and Game, with the aid of the California Nature Conservancy and the California Native Plant Society, commissioned a series of studies of the ecology of the Monterey Peninsula population of native Monterey pines. This three-part study culminated in a Conservation Strategy Report, which identified the areas of native forest of highest conservation priority because of their diversity and rarity.

The "ecological staircase" of six ancient marine terraces, described in the earlier studies by the biological consultants at Jones and Stokes Associates, has been the most impacted by human development on the Monterey Peninsula, and only fragments remain, most of them within Del Monte Forest. These areas contain many associated rare and endangered plant species also adapted to the acid and nutrient-poor soils of these terraces, not to mention habitat for myriad bird, animal and insect species. A map of Pebble Beach Company's plan overlaid on the Jones and Stokes high priority map reveals the devastation -- 500 acres, or over half of what remains of these rare terrace habitat areas in Del Monte Forest, will be impacted by this plan.

Click for full-size maps of Existing and Proposed Pebble Beach Plans.

A majestic old oak over 30 inches in diameter will be turned into firewood if present plans to relocate the 5th hole on the Pebble Beach Golf Course are carried out. The Ventana Chapter is asking for a stay of execution until the tree and the site can be studied by independent experts.

The giant tree became the subject of controversy only after the plan had been approved Nov. 19 by the Monterey County Planning Commission. Buried in the 40-page staff report was a list of trees that would be removed, but nowhere did the report reveal that it included a Landmark Tree (over 24" in diameter). Such trees are entitled to special protection under the county's oak ordinance. This particular oak, however, is in the Coastal Zone and is under the jurisdiction of the Del Monte Forest Coastal Plan which apparently does not bestow protection.

Forestry consultants for the Pebble Beach Company have stated that the tree is a safety hazard because it is riddled with heart rot and oak root fungus. One Pebble Beach executive characterized the tree as in its "death throes."

However, the oak has a healthy green canopy and shows little signs of the over watering that has afflicted many trees closer to the golf course. Indeed, local oak experts contacted by chapter members say that most old oaks have various kinds of fungal diseases, but are still capable of living out a long life span. Several knowledgeable golfers have pointed out that this spectacular oak could be the scenic focal point of a modestly redesigned 5th hole. Also, a forest pathologist has said that the tree does not exhibit symptoms of disease severe enough to justify its destruction.

Both The Herald and the San Francisco Chronicle carried photos and stories about the imminent destruction of this massive oak. To counteract the adverse publicity, Pebble Beach Company brought in a consultant heralded as the president of the respected California Oak Foundation for a "second opinion."

It turned out that the consultant was not independent but instead is a long-time consultant to the Pebble Beach Co. Neither was he the president nor authorized to represent the California Oak Foundation. Not surprisingly, he agreed that the tree had to go.

The State Parks Department uses a formula based on the proportion of a tree that is diseased to determine if it should be removed or treated and retained. The chapter believes that this type of examination by an independent expert should be done before any further action is taken. Time is short, because the work is proposed to be carried out in February after the AT&T Golf Tournament.

At press time the revised Pebble Beach Lot Program and Golf Course Environmental Impact Report was about to be released for public comment. The changes that have been made from earlier versions are unknown, but the Chapter remains deeply concerned about the impact of this project on the native Monterey pine forest as well as on traffic, water, viewshed and other issues raised by the Club earlier. As the public comment period may be over before the next Ventana reaches you, please watch the media for notice of public hearings and express your views to public officials, the newspapers and at the hearings.

The Pebble Beach Company's Lot Program proposes to affect over 600 acres of the rarest areas of the Monterey pine forest, cutting about 40,000 trees, wiping out significant populations of rare plants and destroying valuable plant and wildlife habitat.

A golf course is planned for the watershed of Pescadero Canyon, a 245 acre parcel of healthy, genetically diverse, unfragmented forest (sometimes called Jeffers Forest) and 350 houses planned for most of the remaining site which consists of ancient marine terrace fragments.

An alternative development proposal by Pebble Beach Company would move the golf course to another rare terrace while leaving Pescadero Canyon largely intact. The alternative proposal would still have a massive impact on rare plants and wildlife habitat and the rare terrace system. Each of the Pebble Beach Company proposals would create the most dense development of any in recent history on the Peninsula.

In July 1994 the Chapter adopted the following position regarding the project: "The Ventana Chapter supports the preservation of the native Monterey pine forest found in the Pescadero watershed, known locally as the Jeffers Forest, as a forest preserve." At that time the Chapter asked the Pebble Beach Company to alter its plans.

PINE PITCH CANKER ADDED THREAT

An added threat to the Monterey pine is the pine pitch canker, a deadly, non-native fungal disease. Scientists have predicted that this canker will kill up to 80% of existing Monterey pine trees. For this reason, preservation of habitat over the widest range of ecological variation is of utmost importance to assure that natural resistance to the fungus can express itself fully.

The native Monterey pine forest is a rare and unique forest ecosystem which is found only in three locations on the coast of California and two small islands off the coast of Baja. The forest of the Monterey Peninsula is the most varied and largest of the remaining populations. Development has destroyed and fragmented this forest, reducing its range and leaving it vulnerable to disease, genetic contamination and invasion by non-native plant species.

The Monterey pine is a "species of concern" to the California Department of Fish and Game and to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It is listed "endangered" by the California Native Plant Society and by the United Nations. Experts recommend protection of the Monterey pine partly because its gene pool is one of the most important sources worldwide for planted timber farms which slow destruction of the tropical rainforest. Locally, the Big Sur Land Trust and the Monterey Regional Park District have suggested a conservation strategy for the Monterey pine forest.

To learn more about the Monterey pine forest or to participate in walks in the forest call 624-1127 (Monterey Pine Forest Watch).

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