Santa Margarita's Yerba Buena Creek received a long-overdue cleanup on October 8 when 30 community volunteers spent the day removing vegetation and garbage from within the creek channel. Dead trees, poplar thickets, car seats, sleeping bags and more were removed from the length of the creek. Victor Rocha of the CCC and his crew of four kept the project moving by chipping plant material as fast as volunteers could pile it up. Materials that could not be chipped were disposed of in green waste and garbage receptacles provided by Mid-State Waste. This was a true community effort that will have a significant impact on the flow of water in the creek. Be sure to view the before and after photos to fully appreciate the results of everyone's hard work. Special thanks to Supervisor Patterson and Anne McMahon for leading the project through state and federal requirements and for working alongside the community volunteers in every way.

It had been several years since the creek was last cleaned by the county and, due to budget cuts, it's likely this will need to be an annual volunteer event. If you or someone you know is affected by creek flooding please consider how you can help the project in the coming years.

Thanks to:
San Luis Obispo County: Supervisor Jim Patterson, Anne McMahon
California Dept. of Fish and Game: Mike Hill
U.S. Fish and Wildlife: Steve Henry, Chris Kofron
Land Conservancy of SLO County: Brian Stark, Bob Hill and Margaret Nash
California Conservation Corps: Victor Rocha, Amy, Ashley, Christian, Pablo
Red-legged frog biologists: Marty Johnson, Joanna Iwanicha, Meredith Hardy
Local businesses: Oak Country Lumber, Santa Margarita Mercantile and Solomon's Porch
Community volunteers: Ken Wilson, Judi Taylor, Jerry Grotzinger, Dave Flynn, Boy Scout Troop 123, Mike Blank, Kyle Coots, Samadhy Coots, Mark Tomes, Robert Murach, Nick Fortune, Rob Kinnear, David Arndt, Bill Leys, Jennifer Allen, Tom Allen, Tom Becker, Tyler Nicholson, Greg Saenz, Chris Starkey, David Blakely, Larry Whipkey, Cal Gunther, and Enrique Mendoza.
Santa Margarita Community Forestry creek project leaders: John Wilkins and Heidi Petersen (community volunteers, too)