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California Native Plant Society

Santa Clara Valley Chapter

Conservation

Action Alert: NO to light pollution from the Urban Confluence Light Tower project

4/29/2021

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audobon logoCNPS, Santa Clara Valley Chapter and Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society urge you to help stop the Urban Confluence Light Tower project.

 

What is happening:

The San Jose Light Tower Corporation (AKA Urban Confluence Silicon Valley) selected a 20-story tall illuminated structure made out of hundreds of long white rods to be “gifted” to San Jose and placed in Arena Green in downtown San Jose. This 150 million dollar unfunded structure,light tour button 200px intended to be an icon, will:

  • create devastating amounts of light pollution,
  • spill light into the riparian corridor
  • disrupt plant life cycles,
  • draw birds to their death, and
  • distract pilots landing at the airport

all at the confluence of the Guadalupe River and Los Gatos Creek. San Jose leaders crave the recognition that iconic structures can bring, but should our City become famous for environmental degradation, bird deaths and light pollution?

Why is this important:

LA reef light
Light Pollution from the Reef at Night
Photo Credit: Dion Noravian

Light pollution is no trivial matter. It disrupts biological functions in all living things, including people, plants, insects, birds and mammals.  It harms ecosystems, wildlife and human health.

This 200 foot tall illuminated structure will shine light across the City, spill light into the confluence of waterways on the valley floor, and will be visible all the way to Mt. Hamilton and Mt. Umunhum. This light will keep residents up at night, disorient and harm birds and wildlife, and pollute our view of the night sky. It could interfere with the research function of the world-famous Lick Observatory. It could distract pilots as they land at the nearby airport.

For more information, see Opinion Letters:

What Can You Do?

San Jose City Council Member Dev Davis of District 6 is collecting feedback about the project. Respond to the survey (closed)

Please Call or write to Mayor Liccardo and the San Jose City Council and tell them that you are a San Jose resident who is opposed to the light tower project (see contacts and links at the bottom).  Or call or write as a Bay Area resident who opposes the light pollution or who uses the San Jose airport

  • The wrong structure - An imposing 20 story tall, massive, illuminated structure will generate too much light pollution. This structure generates light pollution intentionally, by design, making it impossible to shield and protect residents, the riparian corridor, waterways and the dark sky from harm.
  • In the wrong place - Arena Green is at the confluence of two important waterways, and two riparian corridors. It is also an important community gathering place. This Project would dominate our public space and harm our riparian ecosystems, plants, birds, fish, beavers, and other wildlife by lighting up this sensitive environment.
  • At the wrong time - As the human and economic losses of the pandemic continue to haunt our community, San Jose should encourage investment in what people need and want - not in top-down projects.
  • The wrong symbol for San Jose - The illuminated, 20-story tall rods of this structure are intended by the designers to represent Silicon Valley Tech companies. Our diverse community and culture is not represented in this monolithic white structure that can harm us with light pollution. The promoters showed little interest in diversity, equity or inclusion.
  • Let’s help our community instead - The City should instead direct philanthropy to an environmentally sensitive project that improves our lives and celebrates San Jose’s rich culture, diverse history and distinctive communities.

A phone call takes 2 minutes. Find your district and contact your Mayor and Councilmember:

Mayor Sam Liccardo  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  408-535-4800

District 1:  Vice-Mayor Chappie Jones  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  408-535-4901

District 2:  Sergio Jimenez  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  408-535-4902

District 3:  Raul Peralez  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  408-535-4903

District 4:  David Cohen This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  408-535-4904

District 5:  Magdalena Carrasco  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  408-535-4905

District 6:  Dev Davis  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  408-535-4906

District 7:  Maya Esparza  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  408-535-4907

District 8:  Sylvia Arenas  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  408-535-4908

District 9:  Pam Foley  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  408-535-4909

District 10:  Matt Mahan  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  408-535-4910

Conservation Committee

The Conservation Committee is involved in multiple aspects of the conservation of California native plants and their habitat.  In addition to direct activity, it acts as an umbrella organization for all of the chapter's conservation activities.

The committee usually meets on the first Monday of each month at 7:30pm on Zoom. Check the calendar for meeting dates. Meetings are open to all interested members. For more information, please contact the committee chair, Carolyn Dorsch at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

  1. Conservation/Advocacy/Legislation
    • Attending and speaking at City Council, County Board of Supervisors, Water District, Planning Department and other pertinent public meetings.
    • Writing letters and submitting comments
    • Collaborating with other environmental organizations
    • Advocacy regarding legislation.
  2. Invasive plant species
    • Working with our local Weed Management Area
    • Regular weeding of significant habitat
    • Restoration efforts
  3. Vegetation (Ecosystems and habitat)
    • Restoration and enhancement of existing habitat
    • Creation of new habitat
  4. Rare and endangered plants
    • Documentation
    • Monitoring
    • Protection

Regular participants should subscribe to the Conservation Committee group.

Wildflower Reports

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Checklist of the Vascular Plants of San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties

This publication is now available documenting over 2,000 species occurring in our two counties. The checklist includes the scientific and common names as in the 2nd edition of The Jepson Manual. Each species also includes the local preserves the plant occurs in, and other information about our local plants. Softcover coil bound (5 ½) x (8 ½), 161 pages.160 pp. The checklist can be purchased from the online CNPS SCV Nursery store.

Edgewood Docent Training for Annual Spring Wildflower Walks

edgewood-wildflower-walksFriends of Edgewood Natural Preserve (FoE) offers docent training starting every January for their spring Wildflower Walks.  Edgewood’s soils provide displays of grassland wildflowers like those once seen all over California’s landscape.  Docents lead free, 3-hour walks on spring weekend mornings, to educate the public about the many interesting facts and beauties of Edgewood.

FoE’s wildflower docent training provides eight pairs of bi-weekly meetings: Wednesday evening talks (in Redwood City) followed by Saturday morning hikes that demonstrate, or build on, the Wednesday topic.  Trainees also observe at least two Wildflower Walks and go on a one-on-one walk with an experienced docent, to practice elements of leading hikes or to learn more about Edgewood. There is a small fee for training materials.

To register or for more information, please email the Docent Training Coordinator at
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit FriendsOfEdgewood.org/become-a-docent.

For other ways you can support Edgewood, visit the FoE's "get involved" page, at FriendsOfEdgewood.org/get-involved.

 

More Articles ...

  1. Edgewood & CNPS
  2. Seeds of Hope for San Mateo Thornmint
  3. Coyote Ridge Overview
  4. Special Status Plants of Coyote Ridge

Subcategories

Edgewood County Park and Natural Preserve

Edgewood County Park and Natural Preserve is located just west of Redwood City, in San Mateo County.  Though just 467 acres, Edgewood is widely known for fabulous wildflower displays and amazing diversity.  And as a Natural Preserve, its goal is to protect native species, including over 300 native plants!

Our CNPS chapter has a long and storied history (almost 40 years!) of exploring the Edgewood site before it was even a park, fighting to save it from development, and then working to protect and restore the habitats found there... visit our Edgewood page to learn more of the story, or visit our Edgewood Weed Warriors page to learn how you can help with restoration.

Coyote Ridge - Treasure of the Santa Clara Valley
Spring wildflowers at Coyote Ridge
(Photo: Ken Himes)

Imagine a place of sweeping vistas, singing grasses, wildflowers, eagles, falcons, coyotes, but few people.  All this within view of one of the largest metropolitan areas in America. All  this two miles from an interstate highway.  The hills on the eastern side of the Santa Clara Valley, known collectively as the Diablo Range, are in places made up of a rock known as serpentinite, or more commonly, just serpentine. Coyote Ridge is a block of serpentine fifteen miles long and two miles wide just east of  US 101.  In the spring it is a mass of wildflowers, right down to the highway.  Kestrels can be seen along the highway, hovering as they look for prey. Red-legged frogs can be seen in ponds, and pronghorns can be seen in the hills beyond.

The last healthy populations of the Bay checkerspot butterfly are found along Coyote Ridge, and there are at least fifteen plants identified by the California Native Plant Society as rare or endangered.  Since the early 1990's, CNPS-Santa Clara Valley has conducted vegetation surveys, monitored rare plant populations, led field trips, produced videos, brochures and articles, held public meetings, and advocated conservation policies before public bodies. Protection of this treasure has been adopted by the City of San Jose, the Valley Transportation Authority, the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority, the Silicon Valley Land Conservancy and the Nature Conservancy.

For more information, see our Coyote Ridge page

Invasives

Information can be found at CalIPC.org

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