La Honda preserve rehabilitated for amphibians, rangers
Thursday, March 1, 2012 11:23 am By Mark Noack Posted on March 1, 2012, Half Moon Bay Review
Red-legged frogs, San Francisco garter snakes and even a couple park rangers can all claim a new home at the La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve as part of plans to rehabilitate the old ranchland.
Buoyed by the success of a pilot project last year, the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District is ramping up plans to convert the old cattle ponds into habitat for the endangered frogs and snakes. Meanwhile, the open-space district is also advancing plans to restore an old farmhouse as a home for rangers.
The La Honda preserve has about 25 ponds that are still being used as a water source for the hundreds of cows that graze the grassy hillsides. Those ponds could also provide an attractive spot for endangered red-legged frogs to lay their eggs.
Starting back in 2010, the district’s planners fixed a failing pond that leaked, causing it to annually lose the water needed to sustain frog eggs.
One year later, the district biologists counted about a dozen red-legged frog hatchlings. Those early results galvanized the district to quickly restore other ponds.
“I’m just blown away that it was a success in the first year,” said MROSD biologist Julie Andersen. “Before, it was like a red-tagged house. Now we’re putting in the comforts to make it a home.”
On Feb. 22, 15 volunteers revisited the restored pond to tear out invasive thistles and shrubs and replace them with frog-friendly grasses. The garden work took place in a fenced-off area the size of a tennis court that is being set aside specifically for the frogs. The area was surrounded by barbed wire to prevent cattle from chomping on the native grasses and also included four cover boards meant to someday encourage a comeback of the San Francisco garter snake.
The district has applied for permits to restore two other ponds, which could happen this summer, Andersen said.
The open-space district first acquired the 5,760-acre La Honda preserve in 2004, and the property remains largely inaccessible to the public. MROSD is working to finish a master plan spelling out property management, and the current goal is to begin work on trails, parking and other necessities by 2014.
The district moved one step closer in December by approving a remodel project for an old Folger ranch house on the south side of the preserve. The house would become the future home for a tenant ranger who could keep off-hours watch over the land. Similar to the California State Parks, MROSD rangers are offered a subsidized home to encourage them to live on-site.
But having not been occupied for years, the home first needs a host of improvements, including a new roof, floor and utilities. The district has allocated $173,000 to repair the future ranger house.
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