Of Local Interest in the Forest

On The Roads

• Warmer weather brings more traffic on our roads and the longer days has more deer and wild turkeys out feeding and foraging. Be aware of this, slow down, and observe the 25 mile per hour speed limit throughout the forest
  
  Photo by Don Eastman

• Well prepared drivers often have a “Vehicle Go Bag” in their cars that includes such items as a cell phone with a battery back up, a flashlight with new batteries, water, snacks, comfortable walking shoes, a blanket, and extra COVID masks.

• Pebble Beach and Cal Fire continue their extensive work on fuel abatement with brush clearance, hazardous tree removal, and the use of goat herds. Work continues on road surface replacement and the under-grounding of utility lines. Be aware that often there are work trucks and heavy equipment on our roads. Follow any direction given by the workers for traffic changes and drive slowly through sections where workers are present.

In Your Home

• Please do not throw Clorox Wipes or paper towels into your toilet or kitchen garbage disposal. It causes sewage backups like the recent sewer line blockage traced to a home in the Forest Lake and Lopez Road area.

• Senate Bill 1383, to be implemented by 2025, will change the way California manages organic waste with a 75% reduction in the amount of waste that goes to the landfill and a 25% of recovery of edible food, all by 2025.  Scientists found that in America 30-40% of all edible food is wasted. Greenwaste Outreach stated that initially only commercial facilities, such as restaurants and hotels, will be affected. Later in 2022-23 waste reduction procedures will affect homes and they may request that we maintain a separate smaller lidded container for food waste. Cost options and the possible need for a new Greenwaste facility that automatically separates the organic waste from the yard waste is currently being researched.

• Residents whose fire insurance has been cancelled by their company can contact the Pebble Beach Fire Station to ask for a property inspection.  If the property passes inspection the Fire Department will write the Insurance Company a letter on behalf of the resident.  Mention will be made that the District received a Class I rating after a comprehensive review, and a comparison of 45,000 other Fire districts.  Less than 1% of the Fire departments nationwide have obtained this honored rating.

• Lithium-ion batteries are being used in new ways within our homes because they are more powerful, lightweight, and hold a charge longer.  For example we use them now in robot vacuum cleaners, toys, and many power tools.  With the new usage, problems are being reported in many Waste Management and Recycling plants because these batteries have been improperly discarded and are causing serious fires.  Do not throw these batteries in the trash. Be aware of proper disposal methods and inform anyone working on your property to do the same (eg housekeepers, contractors, or gardeners).

In The Community

• Electric bicycles have become very popular and they are welcome in the forest as long as riders abide by all of the regulations.  Cyclists are asked to follow the rules of the road.  Do not ride two and three abreast blocking traffic lanes.  E-bikes are not allowed on the trails in the forest as the trails are specifically designed for walkers and equestrians.

• DMFPO members and friends from nearby communities gather  together once a month to pull weeds in the forest and work on the maintenance of the Del Monte Forest’s extensive trail system. This Weed Warrior group is organized by Weed Nut and DMFPO Director Katie Spitz. The group usually works on sunny days often with birds engaging in a feeding frenzy in the ocean nearby. At one of the last events the group pulled up mustard and New Zealand Spinach. It is unknown how these weeds came to Pebble Beach. Spinach could have come as ship ballast or perhaps used by sailors as a potential source of Vitamin C. New volunteers are always welcome in the group.
  If you would like more information or would like to join this group, please contact the DMFPO office at (831) 373-1618.
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• It may seem like a heavy population of lichen threatens the health of a plant, but it is actually more harmful to remove the lichen from a plant. Since lace lichen attaches itself to the outside of a branch or twig, it is what biologists call an epiphyte. Epiphytes do not harm their host because they are not taking any nutrients from the host. The lichen is a combination of a fungus, providing food and holding water, and algae, which provide photosynthesis. Neither could survive without the other.
  
  Lichens also provide cover and food for animals. Often a hummingbird will skillfully weave lichens together to camouflage its nest, and many moths have patterns mimicking the lichens they hide in and their larvae eat. Lichens have medicinal purposes as well. Studies are on-going for antibacterial properties. Often lichens are indicators of air quality.