Monday, Aug. 30, 2010

Urban sprawl could crowd wetlands, parks

Experts say encroachment affects quality of state parks

Despite Merced County's construction slump, plans are under way for the erection of mini-towns along the county's Westside, all at cost to the neighboring state parks.

While suburban sprawl may be robust for the local economy, it will slowly erode the buffer area between lands available for commercial and residential development and protected State Park lands and natural habitats.

According to David Widell, the general manager for Grasslands Water District in Merced County, encroachment is a bad deal for grasslands. Merced County is home to one of the largest and most intact vernal pool-grassland habitats in the world, according to the Nature Conservancy.

"When people get closer to wetlands, the viability of the quality of the habitat declines," Widell said.

Lights, noise, the proposed high-speed rail, mosquito abatement and roads all add up to affect that sensitive area. It all can create a fragmented habitat, making the core of the wetlands smaller.

Two new housing communities, Fox Hills and Villages of Laguna San Luis, slated for development in the next several years, could mar a visitor's view of the San Luis Reservoir State Recreation Area, said Greg Martin, superintendent of Merced County State Parks.

When they are finally developed, the communities will house thousands in the southwestern portion of the county near Santa Nella and Los Banos.

The Villages of Laguna San Luis could end up housing 45,000 people in 16,000 homes. The Fox Hills development, which includes a golf course, would stretch over 1,250 acres and provide housing for more than 7,000 people.

When visiting a park, people's view of rolling hills, may be replaced by housing developments, Martin warned.

"That's a lot of people," Martin said. "Basically, it's going to be its own town. What we have to be concerned with is that we are ready and able to handle the new visitation that these communities will impose on us."

Some blueprints for the California's High-Speed Rail project would have it cut through San Luis Reservoir State Recreation Area and Pacheco State Park as the route travels from San Jose to Merced.

With that, the state parks in Merced County would again fall victim to excessive noise and loss of view, Martin said.

Reporter Jamie Oppenheim can be reached at (209) 385-2407 or joppenheim@mercedsun-star.com.